A Kat's Meow Ltd

Regardless of what profession you call your own, I’m certain you have stories you could share about the people you meet each day.  Some of these stories may be funny, others sad, and others just bizarre.  While as an HOA manager I’d like to say that I’m no different than anyone else when it comes to meeting someone with an interesting disposition, I have what you might call a captive audience.

As a whole the home owners within the communities we work with are happy with their lives, their community, and the way their community is operated (i.e. you rarely hear from them).  However, there are always some people within each community that have a different perspective, a view that very little is right, and it’s up to them to correct things (i.e. the vocal few).

Over the years of working in HOA management, I have come across some interesting people who have distinctly different views of the world around them.  One example that comes to mind is Mr. Jones (whose name has been changed to protect the guilty – strike that, the innocent).

Each month I have a pretty good barometer of how Mr. Jones’ month is going.  Mr. Jones pays his monthly association dues on time, and shares a little bit of himself with each payment.  On the really bad months, I’ll find from half a dozen to as many as 15 staples holding his check to the coupon (evidently Mr. Jones lives in a drafty home where he has to secure his payments).  Well, he must be having a bad month.  When I see either 1 or no staples, it’s a good month.  Unfortunately, most months I spend more time than I’d care to removing the  staples so I can cash that 1 check that doesn’t even go into my account.

While it might be easy to complain about pulling staples, doesn’t it make more sense to just smile about it and move on with a positive attitude?  After all, without a few lemons, would we really understand how pleasant lemonade was?

However, returning to Mr. Jones, “the community is ugly and in shambles.”  “How could you let the community fall into such ruins?”  My first attempts centered around involving Mr. Jones with the “pulse” of the community.  Why not involve this citizen with identifying ways to improve the community?  After all, he was concerned.

Easier said than done!  When asked what was “specifically” wrong with the community, and what could be done to make improvements, the resounding answer was, “everything is wrong, and you made it that way.”  Wow!  We just started working with the Mr. Jones’ community 2 months ago, and we’ve ruined everything already.  As a child I’m sure my mom could have easily related to Mr. Jones.  I had fun as a kid, and that meant playing hard (on mom’s furniture, through her garden, and sometimes swinging on her laundry line).  But how could I have ruined this community so quickly?

While I could elaborate on the plan “B,” plan “C,” plan “D,” etc, etc, etc, as much as I tried to extract details regarding Mr. Jones concerns, the less rational the reasons Mr. Jones’ gave.  At that point I realized that Mr. Jones wasn’t interested in change.  If Mr. Jones was truly interested in change, that change must come from within.  That change within would only happen if Mr. Jones chose to clearly and concretely identify the concerns he had, and why they were concerns to him.  If he didn’t know what bothered him and why, I’m sure I’d ruin his concerns if I tried to help him.  Right!??

My 1^st response to “concerned citizens” is to ask for concrete issues, the reasons that lead to these issues, and asking for clear explanations to resolve these issues.  My 2^nd response is to acknowledge I can’t consume 99% of my time on 1% of the community population that just want to complain, regardless of what may come from their complaining.  I believe this complaining is simply their “release mechanism” that allows them to act out their frustrations towards innocuous people (i.e. the Management Company, the Board of Directors, etc.) they don’t even know.

For those home owners who have legitimate concerns, I’m looking for people who:

·         Are positive.

·         Can think beyond themselves.

·         Look to what is the best for the community.

·         Are concise in describing their concerns.

·         Can provide clear and reasonable solutions to the issue.

·         Will volunteer their time and energy to correcting the issue.

·         Will solicit support from their neighbors to lighten the load.

·         Have reviewed their governing documents, first, to see why things are done as they are, or to conceive of ways to improve the processes in place.

While it may be easy to complain about how the community arrived at where it is, it’s the people who are willing to contribute to the success of the community that deserve the time, effort, and resources of the community.

So, what kind of community member will you be?

By: Jeff Frenzel