Why are such replacements required? Well, I put a post here last year about "spalling brick". Brick is porous and is not a good selection for window sills. Snow and ice accumulates atop the sill in the winter, freezes and thaws. The water enters the porous brick and expands upon freezing. This causes a chipping of the brick. The mortar requires frequent and continuous repair. All wonderful for contractors, but a source of continuing expense to the association.
Water can enter the walls through the loose and cracked mortar or brick and this, as we know, results in damage to the interior wall and can result in mold. All additional expense to the association. So the solution? Rather than replace the brick with brick, or repair the mortar, replace the sill for a cost about the same of the cost of one year of repairs. Limestone has the advantage of requiring caulking about once each 10 years, or longer. The limestone sill has a life of 50 or more years.
But those eager to sell will be long gone, so this type of repair is a "waste of funds" to them.
Our former AD did not find support among the new board members for this. The current board has not discussed this in view of the association members during the meetings. So, if you are one of the lucky ones, and your sills were updated, you can "count your blessings". The rest of us will have to do with the 35 year old brick.
This is, of course entirely at the discretion of board members. Last year, our CD voted against all driveway repairs. Lakecliffe was left to decay. If you have problems with selling your unit, I suggest you write the board. From my experience, emails sent to our CD are ignored, and never make it to the board at large. So, using that method is about as useful and effective as putting your note on toilet paper and flushing it. However, the choice is yours. Do you want results, or do you want reasons and excuses?
This shows the brick on a typical window:
Here is an enlarged image:
And, here is the photo of a new limestone sill. Our CD complained about the white color during an association meeting. The former AD pointed out, during an association meeting, that limestone ages and darkens as time passes. There are many, many buildings in the area with limestone, of which Indiana limestone is architecturally popular.
Motivated Unit Owners
Returning to those unit owners who are "eager to sell", here is a little arithmetic to consider.
Who is it that is really motivated here at BLMH? Well, those who "want things" are the most motivated. They are sure to vote and to press the board. Who are these motivated unit owners? One group is those who have already hired a real estate broker and are selling their unit. If you want a rough count, just walk the complex and count the lock boxes. Then, there is another, similar group. Those are the unit owners who want to sell, but for a variety of reasons, can't or won't. They are here simply because the real estate market, in general, is such a difficult one. They are biding their time and certainly have no wish or desire to put money into the coffers of BLMH, and build reserves for "future" repairs and maintenance. How many unit owners are represented in this group? Who knows? These two groups, combined, have no interest in BLMH beyond immediate needs. Do landscaping and make it pretty. Just as with selling a home, slap some paint on the rotting wood, hide the defects and make it look pretty so it will sell. Certainly, raising of fees is counter productive to this group.
As an example, a former board member once related a story to me. Here at BLMH several unit owners who were selling their units petitioned the board to return their percentage of fees, which were retained in the reserves! It was "unfair" for the association to have the fees of owner who were leaving! Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Another group or groups are those who want garage sales, or want to park a truck, camper, boat or trailer. It can cost $100 or more each month to store a boat or camper or truck off the property. That is a powerful motivation. If a unit owner could store their things here, that would represent a large savings to them. Quite a motivation! Garage sales can be a source of income. Another powerful motivation.
Using a little arithmetic, the actual "majority of us", which is to say, the majority of those voting, is about 26% of the units. That's because about 50% of us don't bother to vote. So 26% is a "majority" of the 50% who vote. Or, to put it another way, 26% of the unit owners are "the majority of us" and are supposedly pressing for all kinds of "change" here at BLMH. Using a little more arithmetic, it is entirely possible that 35% of our voters "the majority of us" have lock boxes and are attempting to exit. I have walked the association and I know the number of such boxes and of foreclosures. That information is available to those who ask. It is also possible that an equal number, or a group equal in size to those who are actually selling, are sitting in the wings and waiting for their opportunity. That accounts for 70% of the voting block. Then, if we take into consideration the truck and trailer people, the "garage sales" group, and those looking for specific changes such as benches, more landscaping, etc. We can easily reach 100% of the 26% of unit owners necessary to control the votes and the association.
So, who is really running the show here at BLMH, and who is really represented by our Board of Managers? And who is getting the attention of the board, which is taking us into this new direction of "change"?
It is quite possible it isn't the 74% of us! It is not the majority which intends to live here and stay here and has something vested in where the association is in 10 or 20 years. Perhaps that is why all the talk and willingness on the board to reduce fees. Those selling or anticipating an exit, or those who want to reduce their monthly expenses by parking their campers and boats and trailers and trucks here, certainly are a motivated group. It is quite possible they are the ones really controlling this association. Certain members of the Board of Managers are very willing to work "for the majority" of us, whoever that is, and that alleged majority is cited and quoted by the board as those pressing for certain kinds of change. Voting "NO" for driveway repairs would certainly make sense in that context. It has an added "bonus". If this association did all the repairs that are necessary, that money would come from reserves. Suddenly, those reserves would drop, and by a large sum. That would put pressure on a fee increase. It might also make this association less desirable from a home buyer's perspective. Our CD is talking about minimum percentages of reserves. So, vote for parties, keep the fees constant, avoid large expenditures and do what you can to make units more "saleable" - lots of flowers, shrubs and mulch, and keep painting.
I think this is something to think about. When you read the meeting notes, or next come to an association meeting, I suggest you observe the members of the Board of Managers, and question where THEY are coming from, and what is their possible motivation.
To use that infamous phrase of our CD, "a majority of us" wanted "Change" here at BLMH. That "majority" was never qualified and that "change" was and remains undefined. I don't accept unspecific terms such as "better". "Better" for whom?
