Condo Media - August 2013 - 24

by Frank A. Lombardi, Esq.

C A I

R e g i o n a l

N e w s

RHoDe IsLAND

that “First Day of school” Feeling
Inside a Newly Transitioned Condo’s Unit Owners Meeting

his is the August issue, and for
the kids in our communities,
the first day of school will soon
put an end to these summer
days of carefree sun and fun. I was reminded of that first day when I recently attended a unit owners meeting for
a condominium — their first one since
the transition from developer control.
The air inside the meeting hall had the
distinct “first day of school” feel to it.
And like those all-important beginnings of the school year, no student
really wants to be there, but all realize
the importance and show up.
This particular condominium was
a small community of 30 units, built
within the last two years. The executive board members were not really
new to the game, and this would
become apparent to me very quickly.
While none had served on an executive board before, each had at least a
modicum of leadership experience.

Leadership Skills

The president seemed especially able
to field questions from the audience
— must have been his many years of
experience as chairman of the bowling league. I am mentioning him
because he had a good leadership style
that bears illustrating. For instance,
a unit owner raised his hand, again
like back in the classroom (there was
always someone who knew it all). For
whatever reason, this unit owner felt
that he could screen in his porch without permission from the board. The
president politely validated the man’s
question with words to the effect that,
“Well, with these documents that are
a bit vague regarding porches, I could
see how you might believe that, but,
24

Condo Media • August 2013

if you look at the bylaws, it specifically
says that any alterations to the unit,
common element, or limited common
element — which your porch would
be — needs approval from the board.
But let’s ask our legal counsel.” All
eyes were then on me and I reaffirmed
the president’s response, backed him
up, and added that the proposed
alteration would need unit owners’ approval as well. “OK,” he said,
“just wanted to check.” Although the
unit owner didn’t get the answer he
wanted, he wasn’t embarrassed about
having asked the question.
There were many other questions,
and the board members took turns
fielding them, helping one another
if they were stumped, or directing
questions to me or the insurance
representative present as well. One
issue bothering all members was the
reckless driving of some individuals. Clearly the board knew who the
culprits were, but rather than embarrass them publicly, they chose to
make their comments generally, and
appealed to their natural instincts as
parents, or in this case, grandparents
— “a lot of us have been blessed with
grandchildren — God forbid one of
them gets hit” or “hey, let’s face it,
most of us are too damned old to
jump out of the way of your car.”
That got the place rolling. The president got his point across with humor,
empathy, and a small but manageable
dose of fear.
The last item on the agenda was
the budget. Due to the developer’s
poor management of expenses, two
months post-transition the association was dealing with a deficit
to a degree that it warranted a fee

increase. The increase triggered
a requirement for unit owner approval. The board members, knowing
that this vote would be crucial, had
knocked on doors to get the word
out about the meeting. As a result,
most unit owners were in attendance.
I realize that this is a small community, and that knocking on doors may
not work in larger condominiums,
but here it proved to be successful.
The point is that these board members were proactive from the start.
There were many concerns and questions regarding the deficit, and many
wondered why the fees needed to
be raised at this early juncture. The
president and the rest of the board
patiently answered the questions and
essentially said that the developer
may not have represented the true
cost of running the condominium
— or had “low balled” the fee. They
got the message across that under the
circumstances, there was no sense in
sending good money after bad to sue
the developer and collect it from him.
My takeaway: Being proactive and
keeping it real proved to be a success,
as the unit owners unanimously approved the budget with the increase.
At the conclusion of the meeting,
the “first day of school” aroma fell
silently away and was replaced by a
smell of fresh coffee, pastries, and
assorted Italian cold cuts for the unit
owners. CM
Frank A. Lombardi, Esq. is a partner
in the law firm of Goodman, Shapiro
& Lombardi LLC. A long standing
member of CAI, he is the 2013 chapter
president-elect and a frequent chapter
author and speaker.

Condo Media - August 2013

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