HOA Missmanagement Question

[Spencer King]

Hi Everyone ,

I am a new investor. I have recently purchased a new condo on the Eastside of Athens, GA. I have spent the summer renovating the inside, and I am really proud of how things have turned out. However, now that the inside of the place is taken care of, I am turning my attention to the exterior and complex.

The complex HOA is managed by a large property management company which is very big in Athens. The company has not been doing an adequate job of managing the outside of the buildings and complex in general. There are numerous problems: several deep potholes in the parking lots, soil erosion under several of the sidewalks, no landscaping whatsoever, half of the complex lighting is burnt out, and this list goes on. The HOA dues also have not been increased since the complex was built 20 years ago. So, part of the problem is there is a serious lack of funds to work with for complex upkeep anyway. I would love to take control of the HOA and work with the property management company or switch property management companies to improve the state of the complex.

The problem I am facing the fact that most of the other owners in the complex are absentee investors who either do not know or care about attending or being a part of the homeowners association. How can I take control or convince the other owner to be a part of the HOA to make some changes?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Spencer 

[Taylor L.]

The way I see it you have two main options: One, hustle hustle hustle to get yourself voted on the board. Actively reach out to other owners and explain the problems to them in a way that is relevant to them: their investment is falling apart and you're going to work to fix it. Even better, you are also an investor in the complex. All they need to do is vote you onto the board.

The second option is to cut your losses and sell. If you exhaust all other options and can't take control to fix the issues, then you have a decision to make. Gut it out, or sell/cut your losses and move on. It's not ideal at all, but unfortunately that's one of the risks of condo ownership. I did that at one point and am glad I got out.