POA trying to charge me for repair I never approved

[Coley Mitchell]

Hello BP,

I am dealing with an issue with my POA management company and am wondering best way to deal with it.

My unit (located in GA) had a cracked window in my rental property that I guess is a common occurrence at the community due to foundation settling. This was brought to my attention by my property manager when she did the walk through with my last tenant before they vacated.

My prop manager informed me that the POA had covered these repairs in the past and that she would coordinate the repair for me prior to my new tenant moving in. I was included on emails from my prop manager and the POA management co. regarding setting a time to see the window and setting a time to do a repair. Not a single word about money was mentioned.

A couple months ago I was presented with a bill from the POA management co for the window repair. I immediately inquired as to why I was receiving a bill for something that I never approved and was told that notification of the repair and the costs involved had been "given in advance". When I asked for proof of this notification, I didnt get any reply and kind of forget about it.

Yesterday, I received another email with the bill saying that it was late and had to be paid before a lien would be placed on unit. I referenced my previous email and again asked for some sort of proof that the repair had been approved. After much posturing they finally stated that someone from my prop management company had verbally given permission to do the repair the day of the appt. My prop manager (whom I have worked with for 4 years and trust implicitly) insists that no such permission was given by her or her maintenance tech who was actually the person on site that day.

The POA management co states that per the GA Condominium Act and the POA Docs state that windows are "limited common elements" and are the responsibility of the owner. My research of the GA Condo Act indicates the exact opposite (that windows are responsibility of POA).

I called my attorney to get his input, but believe it or not it turns out he is on retainer with my POA so he couldnt talk to me due to conflict of interest. This may be a blessing because I know the his costs far outweigh the repair costs for the window (only around $300).

The money isnt the problem, but I dont handle it well when I think someone is trying to put one over on me. Especially in light of the fact that I havent been so much as a day late on my HOA dues in at least 2 years.

They are threatening to put a lien on place and pursuing me legally if need be. I think I may tell them I look forward to hearing from their attorney (who I will mention by name).

What would you do?

-Coley