The Secret To Handling An HOA Board

Last Friday we had a crisis on our hands. A very famous and notable celebrity we represented was coming to town for a rental and the HOA at the 11^th hour hadn’t approved him. He was moving in on Sunday and at 1pm there was no approval. Fortunately, I know the secret to handling HOA issues which I will share later in this post.

My first and last HOA meeting I ever attended took place at the Coromandel Townhouse and Condo development in Deerfield Illinois in the mid 1990’s. We hadn’t been there a year when an emergency meeting took place. The meeting was about poop!

Coromandel was a new development where the old Sara Lee was for those of you familiar with the Northern suburbs of Chicago. The subdivision was laid out like a big circle. Townhomes were built on the south, east, and north side. The west side had condos. In the middle was a beautiful lake. There were of course homes on the other side of the street. But I wanted that beautiful lake view.

The origins of the emergency meeting and the poop problem were twofold. First were the geese. Lots of geese also liked the beautiful lake. Geese are messy, pooping as often as George Santos tells a fib. So, to solve that issue, the HOA brought in beautiful swans. The beautiful swans while beautiful to look at were also messy (and mean, one almost swatting our poor 1 year old Sam with its giant wing bone). Second, people were not cleaning up after their dogs and there was poop all over the sidewalks. So, everyone came to the HOA meeting. One very very older gent was confused and thought the geese were pooping on all the sidewalks and not the dogs. Lots of yelling and accusations. Finally, the board concluded to take mug shots of everyone’s dog, and we had to put the photos on an outside bulletin board so neighbors could tattle on each other like that Maple Street episode of the Twilight Zone. If identified there would be a warning. Then a five dollar fine. Finally, a ten dollar fine! I suggested that there just be one $100 big fine and the problem would be solved. I was jeered off by the President of the HOA and haven’t been to a board meeting since. However, I learned how to deal with boards and HOA management companies when getting deals approved by understanding the “pass a buck” power mindset. *Disclaimer, not all HOA people are like this so if you are one of the good ones, I of course am not talking about you. Here though is what you are waiting for……..The secret is everything needs to be in writing.

So, back to our current situation. When the rental listing agent and tenant agent called me regarding Friday’s crisis, it reminded me of the Coromandel. I’m only called for emergency situations by our agents and never for rentals, but this was bad. A prominent management HOA company who you all know but will remain nameless had sat on an application that we submitted since December. The President of the HOA kept putting everyone off. Busy with a golf game. Doesn’t look at email after 4pm. Then a funeral of a friend. On and on. The owner had been involved trying to solve the issue. Then it’s 1pm on Friday and the celebrity and our Realtors calling me back-to-back.

Then I told everyone the secret. Start a paper trail and email everyone like mad. The owner called 3 times and wrote an email to the HOA. The tenant’s agent wrote 2 emails to 2 different people at the HOA documenting everyone and every misstep. The listing agent the same. It was a paperwork blitz. Phone calls can be ignored but not documentation of paperwork. That’s when heads roll. Finally, it took our listing agent saying “Expect to get a call from one of the local TV stations as they are interviewing this poor celebrity homeless soul with lots of stuff coming off the truck in the middle of the street this Monday morning mentioning you.” 10 minutes later, we get a call from the President and problem solved. So, if you don’t want to take “crap” from the HOA, remember to put it in writing!

Jeff Lichtenstein, originally from Chicago, got his start in the home furnishings textile business where he traveled over 35 weeks a year selling fabrics. After the family business was sold, Jeff moved to Florida and became a real estate agent. Today he is the owner and broker of Echo Fine Properties, a luxury residential brokerage voted best brokerage of the year. Jeff manages a non-traditional model of real estate that mimics a traditional business model. Echo has 80 agents, an average of one million dollars per transaction and over 500 million in annual sales. Between traveling for work and annual family trips to national parks with his wife and 2 now adult children, Jeff has visited 49 states. He is also one of the few Chicago White Sox fans you’ll ever meet. Some publications he has been quoted in.

Feel free to ask him a question directly at [email protected] including a complimentary real valuation of your home.

Posted in Jeff's Journal, Real Estate Tips, Resources on February 11, 2023 at 6:37 am.

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The Secret To Handling An HOA Board