Condo Media - September 2016 - 32

AGE-OLD QUESTIONS
tal improvements that will improve
the long-term market value and appeal of the community.
"It's that tricky green banana
syndrome," Eriksen notes. Older
owners, who joke that they won't buy
green bananas they may not live long
enough to eat, often oppose major
repairs and renovations for the same
reason-they don't think they will use
them for very long.
While the structural changes an aging
population requires may create some

challenges for community associations,
their emotional and social needs are
more complicated and far more difficult to manage. The sharp-as-a-tack
80-year-old becomes forgetful at 90-
failing to pay association fees, or leaving
food untended on a stove; the go-to volunteer who served on every association
committee doesn't always recognize
residents she's known for years; the
once fastidious housekeeper becomes
a hoarder, creating a fire hazard that
threatens the entire community.

WAREHOUSING THE ELDERLY
Age-related impairments that are obvious to others may be invisible to the
seniors themselves, who are often unaware that they need help or unwilling
to ask for it. Adult children who don't
want the responsibility of dealing with
aging parents may "warehouse" them
in condominium communities, hoping
their parents will be able to manage on
their own, but expecting the association
to provide any assistance they need.
"Condominium communities are not
assisted living facilities," de Haan asserts. "Managers aren't trained health
care professionals and board members
aren't trained social workers." They
may be justifiably concerned about residents in need of help, but "you have to
draw a fine line between being a decent
person who cares about others, and
not taking on liability that can have a
terrible impact. People with the best
of intentions can become victims of
the 'no-good-deed-goes-unpunished'
adage," she cautions.
The board member who helps the
frail elder move from his bed to his
couch will almost certainly be sued
if the individual falls in the process.
The manager who offers to drive a
resident to a doctor's appointment
or the grocery store incurs similar
and obvious liability risks. And the
association that generously makes old
wheelchairs and walkers available to
residents would be on the hook if that
equipment failed. That's why de Haan
advised one of her association clients
to end that service.
THE 'GRANDMOTHER RULE'
Liability isn't the only concern for wellintentioned associations. Many managers are governed by "the grandmother
rule," Eriksen notes-they treat struggling elders the way they would want
others to treat their own grandmother.
"They feel an obligation to monitor older
residents and to provide special services
to them." The problem, he says, is that
the time a manager spends running
errands for seniors or just listening to
them, detracts from other association

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Condo Media - September 2016

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