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I know what you mean and believe me, I am with you. If your lobby and landscaping is still in good shape, it may need some retouches at lower cost to make it look refreshed. HOwever, total care of the building is important to even increase general quality of living of the building.
Years ago, the compactor rooms in my co-op were painted, holes patched to prevent bugs, and new ceramic tiles were used to make the room look nicer. The cost was less than $2,000. Interesting enough, many residents put down the project and even came to say they looked like shower closets, etc.
A year later, they were praising the look of the place and what a great idea was to do them over.
In your case, learn from water and wind. The elements will not break or wear the rock in one day, but over a period of time. If I were you, I would go to the pet shop and contribute to the point by planting some mice and roaches to add to the point! Well never mind devilish idea. When budget time comes, try to convince the board to put a discretionary amount of money such as $4K or $5K to do minor projects that will contribute to the enhancement of "occult" areas of the builidng.
Good luck!
AdC
A problem that I see in many board members is their lack of interest for the physical plant. I have told board members to come for a walk on Saturday or a Sunday to look at all the problems. GREAT IDEA!!! but the words do not follow the action.
So, when I tell them that we need to excavate certain areas of the foundation because of water penetration, they look incredulous.
What can I tell you. Unless it happens in the apartments of those who serve, it is not considered life threatening. No wonder you find individuals with garage doors that make noise, yet they questions whether the co-op needs to pay for it, or the gas leak behind the wall and who to charge for the problem.
AdC
AdC
That is the problem with some people on boards. They are there to service themselves only with no regard to anything else that happens to shareholders. I too am in the same boat. Can't get the board to focus on anything small that will aid in the long run. Keeping bugs and rodents out of a building is more important in the long run than having a pretty lobby. Where did these myopic people come from and when are they leaving? People elected to boards should be looking at the big picture to run their buildings
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Thanks for the advice. The property manager and I have tried to work money into the budget for minor projects and my board won't go for that either. And these are different board members, not all the same ones every year. They don't get it that because a bldg hasn't caved in doesn't mean it doesn't need work to keep it in good shape. Maybe something has to cave in before they got the picture. ugh
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