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One more question, different topic.
I currently live a new Co-Op. We have been in existence for 3 years. All communication to our Board has to go through our management company. Questions, complaints, compliments have to be emailed or called in to a head contact at the management company.
Is this common? And how do you handle a case where you want to complain about the management company. Not that I want to as this time but these are things I wonder about.
First and foremost board members are shareholders and are deserving of the same right to privacy and quiet enjoyment in their domicile as any other resident
In our co-op, all communication is via the Management Office. It could be in a sealed envelope to be delivered to a Board Member or it could be sent as an open letter via the Management Office to the Board Member. Alternatively a shareholder may employ the USPS.
Regardless, it is our practice that all letters whether sealed or unsealed, addressed to the President only, addressed to one or a few Board Member or addressed to all Board Members receive the following treatment:
1. The original is time stamped and placed in the resident’s permanent folder (a history of everything and anything to do with the resident, e.g.: all communications, notes, warnings, etc.)
2. A copy is made and sent in the Friday management package to all Board Members and the co-op’s attorney. Yes, every Friday the property Manager sends a status report, letters, notes received, actions taken by the attorney, etc. Monthly the financials are sent in a similar manner.
We have a strict no distribution rule such that no one is permitted to place a note under or on any resident’s door.
Our attorney will send a warning note that one has violated the house rules, if one does in fact place a note or letter under a resident's door.
A shareholder can also write to the co-op's attorney if an egregious event has occurred or if one has concerns regarding health and habitability.
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Further, I should mention that we are not callous, in that if any board member receives a letter, via the office or USPS, we do read it and typically we will determine who should respond, e.g.: attorney, manager or board member.
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But, for day to day activities, events, repairs, questions, etc. all should be aware that the board members are not the intermediaries.
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we have a suggestion box where a board member checks several times a month.
the board member will either e-mail or at the next meeting share these comments. hopefully getting a constructive response.
we also started a grievence committee. this was set up to resolve issues between shareholders, without the board getting involved.
our committee consists of 4 members, 2 from the board & 2 shareholders.
if more info is needed, please write
JV makes a valid point in that Board members are Shareholders also and have the right to the same quiet peaceful enjoyment of their homes as you do. They do not like to be confronted in the halls, etc. any more than you would.
It is for this reason that a good property manager must be the buffer between the residents and the Board. This is what he is being paid for (among other things).
If your grievance is with the manager, or Management Company, then inform the manager that you wish to be present at the next board meeting or write a letter for the MA to provide to all board members (sealed as another poster recommended)
This to me is a good reason to have a bulletin board &/or a blog spot on your web site.
~AR
Thank you to those who responded.
I cannot speak for others in our co-op but I myself have never seeked out a Board member to complain or address an issue. I would never think to go to there home or anything along those line. I hope that others did not think I was suggesting such a thing.
I do not communicate with our Board/Managment office all that much. Not too many issues arise that I've needed to do that. Though, on a few occassions I have emailed our managment office asking that my question or concern be forwarded to our Board and I get an instant reply with an answer. If I persist that I want my message forwarded managment can be a bit snippy.
An example would be expressing interest in an online blog/co-op website. My email will be replied to withing a few minutes with a no and why they are a bad idea. I would be fine with that if I knew it was my Board responding and perhaps it is a similar response they just gave another Shareholder and thus a reply has already been drafed of sorts but I can never gather that. It is hard to tell who is saying what since this far our Board only issues one Newletter a year. So outside of that Newsletter I only hear from the Board once a year at the Annual Meeting. Not having any other access to them and a managment company that likes to shot down all ideas or suggestions and it's just an odd place to be in.
I do think Board members do an extream amount of work. It seems to be a full time job ontop of a paying job. I appreciate the effort and work that Boards put into their co-op and that holds true for my co-op as well. This is my first time living in a co-op and perhaps everything our building is experiencing is normal. I don't know. However, hearing from my Board in writting once a year and in person once a year and no way to know that you are communicating with them when you reach out... one feels a bit lost and out of the loop. As I expressed in my previous post, many Shareholders are pushing for a website to assist with communication but our managment office has pushed hard against it and keeps insisting to our Board that it is a bad idea.
Thanks again!
It's going to depend on both the size of your building and the style of your Board. In a large building, the policy of "Everything goes through the managing agent" may well be a necessity to preserve the sanity of Board members.
Once you get down to about 50 units, however, it's more a matter of style. Some Boards prefer to keep things formal, with the managing agent as the point of contact. Our Board is more hands-on: everyone in the building has the e-mail address of the Board president (me) and is free to contact me directly if they choose. We suggest that for day-to-day problems, residents first contact the super, and then the managing agent, but they are always free to talk to any Board member. People seem to appreciate the openness, and so far, no one has abused the process.
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Our board's standard line:
"If you have any questions or comments talk to the property manager, the super, or any board member."
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