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April 15, 2008

How To Communicate Concerns in Your HOA

Ranting, Raving, Cussing, Threatening, Yelling ... are these ways to get attention? Yes they are. But are they the way to get the right kind of attention? The answer is "no". If you want to get the right kind of attention to your concerns in your HOA, try a balanced written communication. Take advice from my recently released book THE CONDO ANSWER BOOK which can be purchased through my website at http://www.californiacondoguru.com. A lot of people write to me and want some "inexpensive advice." I guess it is time to start talking about a helpful resource close to my heart. Here is a passage from the book with helpful advice.

"Showing interest by attending meetings would seem to be the best place to start developing a relationship with the board. Providing questions, concerns or demands in writing may be the method most likely to engender a response and deserved accountability, especially if a board does not appear to be responsive. It is harder to ignore the piece of paper than a face-to-face request which can be dismissed with an: 'I will look into it.'

A written presentation serves several valuable purposes:

[*] It Tends to Illustrate A More “Thoughtful” Approach. A writing tends to force a person to think things through in terms of organization, structure and message, which often presents a more cohesive and understandable demand, question or concern.

[*] It More Likely Assures Delivery of An Accurate Message. A writing gives the recipient of the message the opportunity to deliver it as stated by the writer to all parties that need to see it, which is much more likely to be accurate than the "telephone game" which leads to paraphrasing and re-paraphrasing which often leads to an incorrect message, and which also often gets sprinkled with personal "flavor" as it is passed along.

[*] A Pragmatic Written Presentation of Materials Avoids Idiocy in Delivery (Usually). A writing tends to (although not always the case) be presented in a less offensive manner than a personal affront or confrontation involving "demands", because it tends to temper the emotion somewhat. When you are trying to make a point, you need a process that will allow you to think clearly. Often when people start speaking from a level of frustration, they feed off of it and the message gets skewed or lost. Who wants to look bad on paper? Spouting epithets or threats on paper or otherwise is not advisable under any circumstances, but on paper, they cannot be retracted. You can count a strike against your cause if your demands erupt into a non-cohesive rant or something more. The board will give the message less credibility - the directors may not even finish listening or reading the message if it is offensive in nature. Dissatisfaction, complaints and discrepancies can be noted in a non-confrontational nature. Even better, if you can offer possible solutions to the problems raised, your message may even receive praise, accolades, or a “thank you”.

[*] A Written Message Gives The Recipient a Better Opportunity to Fully “Digest” the Message. Confronting board members with a complicated message given orally may cause a good portion of the message to be lost. The method of delivery plays a large part, but human capacity (or lack thereof) causes part of every message to be lost in translation. If a board member has anything else on their mind when you approach them (a very likely scenario), your message will not receive undivided attention.

[*] Creation of a (Good) Paper Trail. A writing creates a "record" that is hard to ignore and that tends to invite a response, even if just to avoid appearing unresponsive.

[*] Credibility. If it comes down to needing credible evidence either to share with other owners whom you might want to enlist, an attorney with whom you might want to consult, or seeking objective review of a demand, a writing creates a "record" that speaks louder than "he said, she said" types of testimony.

One cannot stress too much the importance of a good, solid written paper trail. It is hard to ignore if matters escalate to needing a third party intervention - like court - to get relief to demands that are made and ignored. Hearing officers even in small claims court, should matters "escalate" to this step, will often ask the party with the demands if they have presented them to the other side in writing, before coming to court. Some small claims judges will not entertain a claim if no written demand was presented before filing the complaint that started the proceeding. A party can say "I called them 10 times and demanded that ...." - which is less compelling (since there is no record of what was said other than testimony) than a well constructed written "demand" providing clearly what it is you want, what the authority is that entitles you to have it, and how urgent it is that you have it including what losses you have incurred because you did not get it."

Take my word for it, a well written, well researched presentation is likely to get a better result than an "attack" on the only people that can help, i.e., the Board.

Posted by Beth Grimm at April 15, 2008 10:02 PM