When children have parents that are airheads, one of two things happens. Either the children become the responsible ones and begin looking out for the parents, or-as in this case-the children go through life completely clueless and they have absolutely no idea why so many strange things keep happening to them.
I work with a property where there are 4 individual units in a building. One of the units is occupied by a single mother with two children ages 10 and 15. Early this spring, they were grilling outside, and being the conscientious residents that they are, the promptly took the grill into their garage once they were done so they didn't leave it out on the driveway which is against the rules. Of course, it was still hot and it caused a small fire in the garage. No serious damage done, but the neighbors began to get concerned. I wrote them and their landlord each a letter to let them know this practice is not allowed. OK, so here we are in November, and no more issues. Until this weekend.
The mom left the two children home alone. No big deal, they are old enough to stay home alone. Unfortunately, they are apparently as airy as their mother. They both decided to leave the home with the TV on, water spilling over the sink in the laundry room, and food cooking on the stove. Of course, they did, however, remember to lock the door behind them. Yes, you guessed it, a couple of heroic homeowners broke the door down and put out the fire with a fire extinguisher. They cleared the rest of the building and took care of the problem all before anyone residing in that unit came home. Everyone feels fortunate to have had these observant homeowners living next door. The damage to the unit is minimal and there is no damage to any of the other three units.
There really is nothing to say about this one, except "you can't fix stupid." Therefore, the other residents in the building are pushing to get the tenants evicted and I can't say I blame them.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
So That's Where That Went
Every fall, we sent out contractors to clean the gutters at the properties. This prevents them from clogging and gets all the debris out of them. This year, however, I got a report back from a 150 unit townhome association with some unusual findings.
Typically, there are leaves, birds' nests, and the random tennis balls and golf balls. Even, the periodic child's toy will show up in a gutter. However, the contractor at this association found some rather unusual items in addition to the regular things. Found this year, were two remote controls from radio controlled cars, one garage door opener, and a playstation controller. These were all found in different locations, not the same home.
The suggestion from the contractor was that these items were thrown out the windows of the second floor and onto the roof of the first floor and no one bothered to retrieve them, therefore they eventually made their way into the gutters.
Doesn't it make you wonder what goes on in other people's homes that they would toss these items out the window, and wouldn't seem to care that they are gone? The most bizzare thing to me, though, is that it didn't just happen to one home, it was 4 different homes. It really makes me wonder...but that makes my head hurt.
Typically, there are leaves, birds' nests, and the random tennis balls and golf balls. Even, the periodic child's toy will show up in a gutter. However, the contractor at this association found some rather unusual items in addition to the regular things. Found this year, were two remote controls from radio controlled cars, one garage door opener, and a playstation controller. These were all found in different locations, not the same home.
The suggestion from the contractor was that these items were thrown out the windows of the second floor and onto the roof of the first floor and no one bothered to retrieve them, therefore they eventually made their way into the gutters.
Doesn't it make you wonder what goes on in other people's homes that they would toss these items out the window, and wouldn't seem to care that they are gone? The most bizzare thing to me, though, is that it didn't just happen to one home, it was 4 different homes. It really makes me wonder...but that makes my head hurt.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Not To Be Out Done...
The entire office got a big laugh about the letter from the homeowner regarding the "Garbage Gestapo". This, of course, could not go without a response, so the assistant who works on that property and I crafted the following letter:
Your recent letter to the association is being forwarded to the Association Coalition SWAT Team. They are a very elite group operating undercover. Few, if any, know of their existence. One could be your neighbor, your friend, your mom or dad. Their identity will only be revealed if you are invited to join.
Upon passing your initiation, you must remain anonymous-revealing nothing. No t-shirts with identifying lettering can be worn, no drinking in garages as this brings attention to the team (and that old lady is a blabbermouth), no pillow bags full of door knobs, or socks filled with nickels can be used. These items leave marks. This team prefers more subtle forms of punishment that is unidentifiable and untraceable.
Their main function is to assess the violation, correct the problem and slip away into the night unnoticed. Their target is unaware of their visit but is aware something has happened. If you choose to join the team and successfully pass the initiation process, you will be issued a uniform which may be worn only during “missions”. These uniforms are created to match the exact color scheme of the community so members may move about un-noticed.
This letter is being sent anonymously to protect the innocent and will self destruct once read. If you are selected for membership, a covert group of the selection committee will contact you.
Your recent letter to the association is being forwarded to the Association Coalition SWAT Team. They are a very elite group operating undercover. Few, if any, know of their existence. One could be your neighbor, your friend, your mom or dad. Their identity will only be revealed if you are invited to join.
Upon passing your initiation, you must remain anonymous-revealing nothing. No t-shirts with identifying lettering can be worn, no drinking in garages as this brings attention to the team (and that old lady is a blabbermouth), no pillow bags full of door knobs, or socks filled with nickels can be used. These items leave marks. This team prefers more subtle forms of punishment that is unidentifiable and untraceable.
Their main function is to assess the violation, correct the problem and slip away into the night unnoticed. Their target is unaware of their visit but is aware something has happened. If you choose to join the team and successfully pass the initiation process, you will be issued a uniform which may be worn only during “missions”. These uniforms are created to match the exact color scheme of the community so members may move about un-noticed.
This letter is being sent anonymously to protect the innocent and will self destruct once read. If you are selected for membership, a covert group of the selection committee will contact you.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Homeowners Have a Sense of Humor, Too
In the city and suburbs, trash is a big deal. The villages and the associations regulate when you can put your garbage out for pickup. Usually it's after 6 pm the night before pickup and the empty receptacles must be retrieved from the curb the night of pickup. This is sometimes a challenge for people particularly on weeks where pickup is delayed because of a monday holiday. Therefore, we are constantly sending out reminder letters to people about trash violations. This does, sometimes create challenges for us because we are unable to identify the "violator" and end up sending letters to all occupants of a building.
One homeowner, frustrated due to the absurdity of the rules and our required enforcement of them as well as the time and expense of this enforcement sent us the following letter. (I edited some of it for grammar and to preserve anonymity.)
We recently recieved a violation letter because someone in our building placed their garbage out one day early due to the Labor Day holiday. I observed many such violatiors in our community. I assume many people received letters because someone in their building failed to understand that trash collection must be delayed due to a national holiday. These letters do little to solve the problem while wasting precious assoication funds on postage.
I believe I have a solution that will fix the problems that occur as many as 10 times per year. I, along with several of my neighbors, can no longer stand these deviants placing ther trash receptacles out as much as one full day early. What I propose is a vigilante group similar to the Guardian Angels or Black Panthers. During weeks with national holidays, we will patrol the neighborhood and determine who has placed their refuse out too early. Many of the hooligans go as far as to blatantly put their address on the side of the receptacle. We will then return these receptacles to the townhouse from which they came by any means necessary. We are not opposed to violence. I am also willing to enforce other rules and regulations should the need arise.
Since this is a volunteer organization, we will save hundreds, possibly thouhsands, of dollars in postage. I would also like to mention, I have previous experience in code enforcement. While attending college, a resident in my apartment complex repeatedly violated the quiet hours. I savagely beat him with a pillowcase full of doorknobs. The campus police said they had never seen someone who was so adamant about apartment covenants. The judge said my actions bordered on insanity. While awaiting your response, I will be brainstorming names. Currently, I am thinking "Garbage Gestapo". I will be making t-shirts. This will also give us an excuse to drink heavily in my garage on a weekday. I mean other than Shitfaced Monday and Thirsty Thursday. Many of us already have our own weapons so you will not need to provide us with anything. As mentioned earlier, I prefer a pillowcase of door knobs and to a lesser extent, a sock filled with nickels. With Columbus Day just around the corner, we must move swiftly and without remorse. Please let me know when you want us to start. God Belss America.
We are crafting an equally clever response to this homeowner. I am thinking we will want to send it anonymously from the current militia of this homeowners' association inviting him to join the secret society, but reminding him that pillowcases with doorknobs leave marks and that they prefer more subtle enforcement proceedures that will cause injuries, but leave no external evidence of the enforcement proceedings.
One homeowner, frustrated due to the absurdity of the rules and our required enforcement of them as well as the time and expense of this enforcement sent us the following letter. (I edited some of it for grammar and to preserve anonymity.)
We recently recieved a violation letter because someone in our building placed their garbage out one day early due to the Labor Day holiday. I observed many such violatiors in our community. I assume many people received letters because someone in their building failed to understand that trash collection must be delayed due to a national holiday. These letters do little to solve the problem while wasting precious assoication funds on postage.
I believe I have a solution that will fix the problems that occur as many as 10 times per year. I, along with several of my neighbors, can no longer stand these deviants placing ther trash receptacles out as much as one full day early. What I propose is a vigilante group similar to the Guardian Angels or Black Panthers. During weeks with national holidays, we will patrol the neighborhood and determine who has placed their refuse out too early. Many of the hooligans go as far as to blatantly put their address on the side of the receptacle. We will then return these receptacles to the townhouse from which they came by any means necessary. We are not opposed to violence. I am also willing to enforce other rules and regulations should the need arise.
Since this is a volunteer organization, we will save hundreds, possibly thouhsands, of dollars in postage. I would also like to mention, I have previous experience in code enforcement. While attending college, a resident in my apartment complex repeatedly violated the quiet hours. I savagely beat him with a pillowcase full of doorknobs. The campus police said they had never seen someone who was so adamant about apartment covenants. The judge said my actions bordered on insanity. While awaiting your response, I will be brainstorming names. Currently, I am thinking "Garbage Gestapo". I will be making t-shirts. This will also give us an excuse to drink heavily in my garage on a weekday. I mean other than Shitfaced Monday and Thirsty Thursday. Many of us already have our own weapons so you will not need to provide us with anything. As mentioned earlier, I prefer a pillowcase of door knobs and to a lesser extent, a sock filled with nickels. With Columbus Day just around the corner, we must move swiftly and without remorse. Please let me know when you want us to start. God Belss America.
We are crafting an equally clever response to this homeowner. I am thinking we will want to send it anonymously from the current militia of this homeowners' association inviting him to join the secret society, but reminding him that pillowcases with doorknobs leave marks and that they prefer more subtle enforcement proceedures that will cause injuries, but leave no external evidence of the enforcement proceedings.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Gotta Have Fun Sometimes
Its late in the summer and everyone's tired. Because of this, sometimes we get a bit goofy to blow off a bit of steam. Today, we got an invoice from a vendor who is obviously having as stressful a summer as we have had. The work order was for cleaning up doggie "landmines". No one's favorite job, but someone has to do it. This was the description of work completed on the invoice:
"Cleaned up all dog waste from common area around this unit. Placed in paper bag, set on fire, dropped bag on porch, rang doorbell and left."
"Cleaned up all dog waste from common area around this unit. Placed in paper bag, set on fire, dropped bag on porch, rang doorbell and left."
Monday, August 31, 2009
My Homeowners are Stupider Than Your Homeowners part 2
Ok, last time, my boss won the stupid homeowner contest. This time, the other company's Owner won.
When one homeowner was told by another homeowner that the staff and public safety had been chasing a wounded fox around the property, her response was "We don't have wildlife here. This is a GATED community."
There's nothing else to say after that comment.
When one homeowner was told by another homeowner that the staff and public safety had been chasing a wounded fox around the property, her response was "We don't have wildlife here. This is a GATED community."
There's nothing else to say after that comment.
Monday, August 10, 2009
You Just Can't Fix Stupid-part 1
Most of my job entails solving problems. People call me with a roof leak, and I send a roofer out to fix it. Someone has a problem with a neighbor, I send a letter to the neighbor to remind them of the rules. Landscaping request, I handle it. You get the idea. Unfortunately, sometimes I get those calls that I just have to shake my head and say "I'm sorry, I can't fix stupid." Of course, I don't actually say that, but sometimes I would like to. Here are the most recent stupid moments.
We recently sealcoated the driveways at one of the properties where I work. The sealcoaters always put up stakes and tie rope across the entrance to the driveway to let everyone know to stay off the driveway until the barricade is removed. One homeowner, apparently thought this only applied to cars. This homeowner allowed his child (about 4 years old) to repeatedly drive down the sidewalk from their door, across the driveway, make a loop or two, and then ride back down the sidewalk to the front door again. Needless to say, most homeowners would have stopped the child after the first set of tracks across the sidewalk. Not this homeowner. There are at least 6 sets of tracks across the drive and sidewalk. They are being charged for the cleanup.
Another property I work on is called a mid rise. This is a 6 story building with an elevator. Not a high rise, but not a walk up. This building has a trash chute for homeowners to dispose of their trash without having to go to the basement and track their garbage through the hallway and elevator. One bright homeowner decided to put out his cigarette and empty his trash. As he (I say he because I can't imagine a woman doing this, but we were unable to identify this genius.) was emptying the trash, he picked up the ashtray and emptied that into the trash bag. Yes, the one with the just extinguished ashes. The bag went down the chute and smoldered for a while, sat in the garbage bin in the basement, and then finally caught the trash room on fire. This set off the sprinklers for that room, shut down the trash chute and called the fire department. It happened on a weekend and I refused to pay overtime for anyone I didn't have to. We had to pay to get the sprinklers back up and running and to have the fire system re-set, (total about $1000) but I didn't have to have the trash chute repaired and opened, so I called the company on Monday and told them to get to it when they could. There was no way to identify the culprit in this situation, so all the tenants of the building got to deal with no trash chute for three days.
Finally, the last I can't fix stupid is definitely one that takes the cake (until the next time). We had a sewer backup in one of the homes. I called the plumber and had the issue corrected right away, but there was still the backup "stuff" in the utility room. The homeowner is hard of hearing, so I scheduled a cleanup while she was in my office. I asked the company if they could come out that afternoon which they were able to do, but the homeowner said no, that wouldn't work, so we set it up for the following afternoon. (I have had this happen to me, and I can't imagine living with that stench for an entire day, but that's what she wanted) So, the contractor called me just shortly after arriving to the home. Instead of using her front door, the elderly woman had gone from her garage, through the utility room, into the rest of the house several times before the cleanup. She was wearing fuzzy slippers and tracked all the "gunk" throughout the rest of the house. Now, this stuff was all over the carpet in each of the rooms and she had decided to lay down on the couch with her fuzzy slippers, so the stuff was now all over the couch, too. She was demanding the contractor clean it all because it all. The contractor asked me what he was supposed to clean. I told him to clean the original backup and let her deal with the rest. The homeowners' association would pay to clean the backup mess. Perhaps the woman's individual homeowner's insurance will pay for stupid, but the association will not. BTW, the couch was out on the curb that following trash day. I don't' know if she got a new couch from her insurance, but it was apparently not cleanable.
We recently sealcoated the driveways at one of the properties where I work. The sealcoaters always put up stakes and tie rope across the entrance to the driveway to let everyone know to stay off the driveway until the barricade is removed. One homeowner, apparently thought this only applied to cars. This homeowner allowed his child (about 4 years old) to repeatedly drive down the sidewalk from their door, across the driveway, make a loop or two, and then ride back down the sidewalk to the front door again. Needless to say, most homeowners would have stopped the child after the first set of tracks across the sidewalk. Not this homeowner. There are at least 6 sets of tracks across the drive and sidewalk. They are being charged for the cleanup.
Another property I work on is called a mid rise. This is a 6 story building with an elevator. Not a high rise, but not a walk up. This building has a trash chute for homeowners to dispose of their trash without having to go to the basement and track their garbage through the hallway and elevator. One bright homeowner decided to put out his cigarette and empty his trash. As he (I say he because I can't imagine a woman doing this, but we were unable to identify this genius.) was emptying the trash, he picked up the ashtray and emptied that into the trash bag. Yes, the one with the just extinguished ashes. The bag went down the chute and smoldered for a while, sat in the garbage bin in the basement, and then finally caught the trash room on fire. This set off the sprinklers for that room, shut down the trash chute and called the fire department. It happened on a weekend and I refused to pay overtime for anyone I didn't have to. We had to pay to get the sprinklers back up and running and to have the fire system re-set, (total about $1000) but I didn't have to have the trash chute repaired and opened, so I called the company on Monday and told them to get to it when they could. There was no way to identify the culprit in this situation, so all the tenants of the building got to deal with no trash chute for three days.
Finally, the last I can't fix stupid is definitely one that takes the cake (until the next time). We had a sewer backup in one of the homes. I called the plumber and had the issue corrected right away, but there was still the backup "stuff" in the utility room. The homeowner is hard of hearing, so I scheduled a cleanup while she was in my office. I asked the company if they could come out that afternoon which they were able to do, but the homeowner said no, that wouldn't work, so we set it up for the following afternoon. (I have had this happen to me, and I can't imagine living with that stench for an entire day, but that's what she wanted) So, the contractor called me just shortly after arriving to the home. Instead of using her front door, the elderly woman had gone from her garage, through the utility room, into the rest of the house several times before the cleanup. She was wearing fuzzy slippers and tracked all the "gunk" throughout the rest of the house. Now, this stuff was all over the carpet in each of the rooms and she had decided to lay down on the couch with her fuzzy slippers, so the stuff was now all over the couch, too. She was demanding the contractor clean it all because it all. The contractor asked me what he was supposed to clean. I told him to clean the original backup and let her deal with the rest. The homeowners' association would pay to clean the backup mess. Perhaps the woman's individual homeowner's insurance will pay for stupid, but the association will not. BTW, the couch was out on the curb that following trash day. I don't' know if she got a new couch from her insurance, but it was apparently not cleanable.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
I Have a New Product Invention
This economy has people crabby. I just started doing spring walk throughs and as usual, I had to send out quite a few letters telling people that they need to clean up after their dog does it's business. This usually gets a few phone calls from people who don't have dogs, but other people are letting their dogs make deposits in their yard. I always get at least one person demanding to know how I know it was thier dog.
This time, though, I had a lady who was just crabby. She didn't leave her name, or even her address, so I don't know how she expected me to do anything, but I thought her approach was interesting. She told me that "unless the dog leaves a nametag on it, how do I know whose it was?" I just found that amusing. Almost as amusing as the idea was her outrage evident on the voice mail.
I shared this information with a co-worker and we decided that nametags would be a good idea. So I came up with a new product idea. Everyone who lives in a condominium association and has a pet must feed their animal a bacon or pork flavored glow in the dark treat daily. These treats would be designed specially for each address so that we would know where the "deposits" came from. Why glow in the dark? Why not. As long as we are being riddiculous, why not make them glow in the dark so when you are walking at night, you can see the "landmines" and avoid them.
Of course, then I started thinking about all the potential problems. What if we had a chihuahua who lived at 143234 W. Minneapolis Blvd? The poor thing would have digestive issues if it weren't a flexible treat. And then what about a great dane with an addres of 2 Jo st. it would get lost!
OK. Can you tell I had trouble sleeping last night? Sometimes I just wish people could listen to themselves and they would realize that they sound as riddiculous as this entire entry.
This time, though, I had a lady who was just crabby. She didn't leave her name, or even her address, so I don't know how she expected me to do anything, but I thought her approach was interesting. She told me that "unless the dog leaves a nametag on it, how do I know whose it was?" I just found that amusing. Almost as amusing as the idea was her outrage evident on the voice mail.
I shared this information with a co-worker and we decided that nametags would be a good idea. So I came up with a new product idea. Everyone who lives in a condominium association and has a pet must feed their animal a bacon or pork flavored glow in the dark treat daily. These treats would be designed specially for each address so that we would know where the "deposits" came from. Why glow in the dark? Why not. As long as we are being riddiculous, why not make them glow in the dark so when you are walking at night, you can see the "landmines" and avoid them.
Of course, then I started thinking about all the potential problems. What if we had a chihuahua who lived at 143234 W. Minneapolis Blvd? The poor thing would have digestive issues if it weren't a flexible treat. And then what about a great dane with an addres of 2 Jo st. it would get lost!
OK. Can you tell I had trouble sleeping last night? Sometimes I just wish people could listen to themselves and they would realize that they sound as riddiculous as this entire entry.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
What ARE Some People Thinking?
Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking when they do things. They get mad at a neighbor and decide to pick on every little thing they do, then they are surprised when they are reported for breaking the rules. what everyone seems to forget is that they have to live next to these people. Didn't they think about that before they started acting like children?
On the other hand, some people do things that make me shake my head in amazement.
I have a homeowner who in her first conversation with me explained that several years ago, when she lived accross the street, she went to a party and met another homeowner. They were both drunk and had a one night stand. OK, people do stupid things, but telling me over the phone on our first conversation seems a bit odd.
So anyway, the first chance she gets, she sells the unit she is in and moves directly below the man with whom she had the fling. Now she wonders why he wants nothing to do with her?
She tries to be nice and according to other homeowners it comes accross as stalking type behavior, which it probably is. So now, she has a problem with a leak from this guy's unit into hers and she's upset because he won't talk to her. Really? Did she think he was going to be her best friend? We had to intervene and get things moving. The homeowner upstairs was more than happy to do whatever it took to get her to shut up and leave him alone. She, on the other hand, was prolonging everything. She wanted attention right away, but when we scheduled someone to come out to look at it, she cancelled. The guys didn't get the message, so they knocked on her door, she was there, but refused to let them in. Then she calls me upset because she wants something done NOW! And she really wonders why this guy ignores her?
So, lesson here-next time you think your life is messed up, think about this situation. It can ALWAYS be worse.
On the other hand, some people do things that make me shake my head in amazement.
I have a homeowner who in her first conversation with me explained that several years ago, when she lived accross the street, she went to a party and met another homeowner. They were both drunk and had a one night stand. OK, people do stupid things, but telling me over the phone on our first conversation seems a bit odd.
So anyway, the first chance she gets, she sells the unit she is in and moves directly below the man with whom she had the fling. Now she wonders why he wants nothing to do with her?
She tries to be nice and according to other homeowners it comes accross as stalking type behavior, which it probably is. So now, she has a problem with a leak from this guy's unit into hers and she's upset because he won't talk to her. Really? Did she think he was going to be her best friend? We had to intervene and get things moving. The homeowner upstairs was more than happy to do whatever it took to get her to shut up and leave him alone. She, on the other hand, was prolonging everything. She wanted attention right away, but when we scheduled someone to come out to look at it, she cancelled. The guys didn't get the message, so they knocked on her door, she was there, but refused to let them in. Then she calls me upset because she wants something done NOW! And she really wonders why this guy ignores her?
So, lesson here-next time you think your life is messed up, think about this situation. It can ALWAYS be worse.
Monday, March 23, 2009
My Homeowners are Dumber Than Your Homeowners
That's the game my boss was playing today via e-mail with a colleague who also owns a property management business. My boss won this round. Yes, it was one of my homeowners.
I got a call last week from a homeowner who wanted to make a couple of landscaping requests. One was for some new landscaping in the beds in the front of her 4 unit condo and one for some sod on a dead patch in the rear of the building.
I told her what I tell all homeowners this time of year. "We will put you on the list and when we do the landscape inspection in about a month, we will check it out. Depending on how much work needs to be done throughout the property and how much money is available, we will get to as much of it as we can."
So, I suggested she send me an e-mail with a description of what she would like to see done with the front of the building so we would have an idea of the scope of the project. She offered to send pictures. I told her that was even better. So, today, I got the pictures and a reminder about her requests. Without looking at the pictures, I responded back that I would place it in the file for review at the walk through. I got a few minutes later in the day and decided to look at the pictures. This is where the boss got involved. I sent them to her for an opinion. She came running out of the office doubled over laughing.
"Is this picture right outside her unit?" She asked me. I had to look it up because I was pretty sure it wouldn't be. But yep it was. She sent us a picture of a large area of dead grass and a bunch of piles of "landmines" from her dog. And she didn't understand why the grass wouldn't grow there.
For those of you who don't do property management, when we identify that someone has damaged common area, we charge them for all the costs to repair it. This in many cases is a damaged garage door or carpet stains, but probably most often it is dog damage on the lawn. So, this woman was kind enough to report herself for damaging the lawn and I get to send her a bill for the damages. It will probably be around a $100 bill because it is a rather large spot. If she doesn't keep the sod watered, or she continues to let her dog use that area to relieve itself, she will still not have good turf and may be charged to have it done again. Also in the picture was a dog leash tied to a post which is also a violation, so now she has reported herself on two different violations. Gotta love cooperative homeowners! I bet I won't be hearing from her again any time soon, even if she does have an association responsibility request.
I got a call last week from a homeowner who wanted to make a couple of landscaping requests. One was for some new landscaping in the beds in the front of her 4 unit condo and one for some sod on a dead patch in the rear of the building.
I told her what I tell all homeowners this time of year. "We will put you on the list and when we do the landscape inspection in about a month, we will check it out. Depending on how much work needs to be done throughout the property and how much money is available, we will get to as much of it as we can."
So, I suggested she send me an e-mail with a description of what she would like to see done with the front of the building so we would have an idea of the scope of the project. She offered to send pictures. I told her that was even better. So, today, I got the pictures and a reminder about her requests. Without looking at the pictures, I responded back that I would place it in the file for review at the walk through. I got a few minutes later in the day and decided to look at the pictures. This is where the boss got involved. I sent them to her for an opinion. She came running out of the office doubled over laughing.
"Is this picture right outside her unit?" She asked me. I had to look it up because I was pretty sure it wouldn't be. But yep it was. She sent us a picture of a large area of dead grass and a bunch of piles of "landmines" from her dog. And she didn't understand why the grass wouldn't grow there.
For those of you who don't do property management, when we identify that someone has damaged common area, we charge them for all the costs to repair it. This in many cases is a damaged garage door or carpet stains, but probably most often it is dog damage on the lawn. So, this woman was kind enough to report herself for damaging the lawn and I get to send her a bill for the damages. It will probably be around a $100 bill because it is a rather large spot. If she doesn't keep the sod watered, or she continues to let her dog use that area to relieve itself, she will still not have good turf and may be charged to have it done again. Also in the picture was a dog leash tied to a post which is also a violation, so now she has reported herself on two different violations. Gotta love cooperative homeowners! I bet I won't be hearing from her again any time soon, even if she does have an association responsibility request.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Cabin Fever Sets In!
It's been a wild winter already. We have exceeded our number of snowfall plows and everyone is paying for each snowfall that happens until the end of the season. It has been -18 degrees one day and +25 degrees the next. Everyone is tired of the winter and they are all crabby.
My week last week was supposed to be nice and quiet and allow me to get caught up on all the little organizational things that need to be done. Not only did I not get that done, I was struggling to keep up with all the every day things. You know it's going to be a bad day when you come in and you have 14 voice mail messages waiting for you. In this business, a voice mail generates a phone call back, a work order to create, or three other calls to track something down. Therefore, 14 voice mails is most of my morning. That was every day last week, give or take a voice mail or two. In comparison, the week before was 2 or three voice mails a day when I came in.
Most of the problems are stemming from the weather. They have an ice dam, they have no ice melt, there was a water pipe burst in a neighbor's unit, or they don't like the job the snow plows are doing. All very reasonable issues, it's just a lot when it happens all at once.
Of course, we have a lot of foreclosures in the different associations, so I sent out two different contractors and several board members to check on them to see if they are occupied or otherwise taken care of. If not, they had to be broken into and winterized. I'm sure this saved us some headaches in the long run. In the here and now, we still had a bunch of other pipes freeze. People living in their units but they had poorly insulated pipes and things froze. On top of this, the mechanical room of one of our mid rise buildings is not heated, and therefore a booster pump froze and broke leaving 35 units without water for a day.
So, everyone in the office is going crazy just trying to stay afloat. This can be good, because no one has time to pick on anyone else, but it can also be bad, because by the end of the week, we were all grumpy.
Now, if we are crabby, you know the homeowners are going to be, too. No one has any patience any more. They all want something and they all want it now. On top of that, they have nothing better to do since they are trapped inside, so they start finding things to pick on with their neighbors. Suddenly, homeowners are fed up with the same noises their neighbors have been making for months. They call to complain about something to do with landscaping because they just thought about it and want it on record. Then, in the course of our jobs, we have all sent out "nasty grams" to people reminding them of some paperwork they have forgotten to submit or to tell them they are in violation of a rule. This, as a general rule, generates phone calls from a few people. In the midst of cabin fever, it generates more, and they are all crabby. Additionally, the brains of some of our board members have frozen along with the snow, and they are asking some of the most ridiculous questions.
When you take a step back and realize that it is just cabin fever, it is somewhat comical. When I am in the middle of it, it just makes me want to pull my hair out.
OK, that's enough about life in property management. There's nothing amusing about this one, just rambling about this crazy business we are in.
My week last week was supposed to be nice and quiet and allow me to get caught up on all the little organizational things that need to be done. Not only did I not get that done, I was struggling to keep up with all the every day things. You know it's going to be a bad day when you come in and you have 14 voice mail messages waiting for you. In this business, a voice mail generates a phone call back, a work order to create, or three other calls to track something down. Therefore, 14 voice mails is most of my morning. That was every day last week, give or take a voice mail or two. In comparison, the week before was 2 or three voice mails a day when I came in.
Most of the problems are stemming from the weather. They have an ice dam, they have no ice melt, there was a water pipe burst in a neighbor's unit, or they don't like the job the snow plows are doing. All very reasonable issues, it's just a lot when it happens all at once.
Of course, we have a lot of foreclosures in the different associations, so I sent out two different contractors and several board members to check on them to see if they are occupied or otherwise taken care of. If not, they had to be broken into and winterized. I'm sure this saved us some headaches in the long run. In the here and now, we still had a bunch of other pipes freeze. People living in their units but they had poorly insulated pipes and things froze. On top of this, the mechanical room of one of our mid rise buildings is not heated, and therefore a booster pump froze and broke leaving 35 units without water for a day.
So, everyone in the office is going crazy just trying to stay afloat. This can be good, because no one has time to pick on anyone else, but it can also be bad, because by the end of the week, we were all grumpy.
Now, if we are crabby, you know the homeowners are going to be, too. No one has any patience any more. They all want something and they all want it now. On top of that, they have nothing better to do since they are trapped inside, so they start finding things to pick on with their neighbors. Suddenly, homeowners are fed up with the same noises their neighbors have been making for months. They call to complain about something to do with landscaping because they just thought about it and want it on record. Then, in the course of our jobs, we have all sent out "nasty grams" to people reminding them of some paperwork they have forgotten to submit or to tell them they are in violation of a rule. This, as a general rule, generates phone calls from a few people. In the midst of cabin fever, it generates more, and they are all crabby. Additionally, the brains of some of our board members have frozen along with the snow, and they are asking some of the most ridiculous questions.
When you take a step back and realize that it is just cabin fever, it is somewhat comical. When I am in the middle of it, it just makes me want to pull my hair out.
OK, that's enough about life in property management. There's nothing amusing about this one, just rambling about this crazy business we are in.
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