Subscribe for Daily Updates!
My condo has a very high maintenance fee. In addition, the management company that the board contracted charges exorbitant amount of fees. The unit owners are fed up and I've secured signatures from majority of the unit owners to overthrow the board. My question is: is that all I need to remove the board ? Who do I send the 'you have been fired' letter to ? The board president got wind of this and she went around and told people that the letter is not enough to remove her and the rest of the managers from the board. She said we'd need to call a meeting and we'd have to have a quarum. In the past, getting a quarum in the meeting has always been extremely difficult due to the fact that most of the owners don't live in the building (they rent their units out). I checked the 'house rules' and the rule says that the board can be removed 'with or without a cause' and it didn't say we'd have to have a live meeting just to have them removed from the board. How is this normally done ? If I have a letter from the majority of the unit owners, can't I just present it to the board president and wouldn't everybody on the board would just be removed, including the president herself ? Can't we then have a meeting to re-elect the new board ? Can the unit owners send in a proxy form nominating the new board without showing up in person ?
Join the Conversation Comments (3)I don't think 'the help/supervision of the building attorney' is practical in this situation. The building attorney is retained by the current board. As such, they are not interested in helping the condo owners to overthrow their 'employer'. We are thinking about getting our own attorney, and after the board is replaced, we will switch out the whole package, i.e. the attorney, the management company and the super.
Our by-laws allow stockholders to be present by proxy for quorum purposes, but votes must be cast by stockholders present in person only. You really do not want people voting on issues of which they are not aware by not being present at a meeting.
everthing from the amounbt of owners required to have a special meeting, the notification of everybody of this special meeting and what is is for, and whether your allowed to vote by proxy is in your by laws. The criteria for calling the special meeting, sifnatures , coin toss, will be in there, plus the amount od people required , it may not be 50% it may be another number.
The same goes for replacing a board, but that sounds very difficult, However you usually need to have the proxy's if allowed and notice and reason for meeting all mailed out in a certain time frame, in our by-laws it is the same as the requirement for the annual meeting, It will be a no more than X days ans no less than Y days, in my by laws for a special vote , that has to ne specified in the letter concerning the meeting.
everything on how to remove a board member is in there for your condo more or less, probably less.
You should have reasons on why your taking the action, usually in a co-op its in the proprietary lease condo may be ib the by-laws too , it should give you the right to look at the finances from the building. That is where you will find evidence of wrongful or wasteful spending. I always look for what is not there.or as i do look for what is not there, like pre payment penalties , payment made to obtain mortgage, especially finders fees.
If you want to replace them, or one, for finances, where is the overspending. If your by laws state that only in person voting as one poster says is his condo rule, it sounds like your screwed before you start,however that may not be legal, check with a lawyer. Voting by proxy may be superseded by NYS law. i do not know, but you need to know.
You really need to study the by laws . You know they will fight you, with their lawyer, so it may be better to try and find improper use of funds. something you can hang your hat on , as they say, or self dealing of funds, misappropriation of funds to board members. Good Luck
Hi Joan,
I don't know the particulars of your building's finances. I am concerned that making a blanket statement about "high maintenance charges = bad Board" though. That being said though, it could mean a “bad Board”.
I would suggest that you take a look at what level of finances your building needs to be fiscally sustainable, have cash reserves, and able to spend wisely (in order to lower expenses).
My fear on reading your post that you might replace one Board with another one – only to have the same basic fiscal drivers impacting both.
Good luck!
Now on my second term as president, I would greatly caution against equating high charges with a "bad" board. I now understand what it takes to run a building -- and in our case, repair and maintain -- and while in the ideal world, low maintenance and management fees would be lovely, that is not the reality when dealing with upkeep, bill, unexpected needs, etc. If the board is not communicating this need, then that is an issue that is easily resolved. It sounds to me like there is a big gap between board operations and what owners understand. I think the route to take is closing that gap...rather than replacing everyone. Trust me, once you sit in a board member's sit, your perspective changes. In the end, it is to satisfy the long-term needs of owners...and that often requires money. If you had a private home -- a house -- you would probably see that more clearly.
Introduce yourself to other members of Board Talk! Log in below or register here.
Board Talk members who registered prior to March 9th, 2016 will need to reset their password.
First, your buildings governing should have a provision regarding this kind of vote. Usually you have to call a meeting through a petition ( 10% or 25% of residents, not sure ). Then a vote to remove a board member. Finally an election to vote in new board. All this with the help/supervision of the building attorney. Proper forms, vote count and records must be kept. Any mistake can void the removal/election.
Residents can vote by proxy, it's the law.
You do have someone to replace them, right ?
It is very counterproductive to remove an entire board in just one shot. There needs to be some continuity in supervising/followup building affairs.
good luck
Thank you for rating!
You have already rated this page, you can only rate it once!
Your rating has been changed, thanks for rating!
Board Talk members who registered prior to March 9th, 2016 will need to reset their password.