Community Chat

[SahmIam]

@Isobel Archer  Ok.

[jellyBEAN]

I don't mean to beat a dead horse here but I did contact a local reputable service to come and have a look.  He stated he deals w/my Real Estate Mgmt office all the time as he does the work for the community right next door to ours.  He said he put a bid in to do the work here, but was turned down as his price was most likely higher than who they decided to go with.  Anyway, he looked at my driveway as well as some of my neighbors and said they didn't know what they were doing.  Lines and patches and bleach spots and missed areas, etc...He advised that what happened to me was mine being the guinea pig of al the driveways, they used too much pressure, too small of a pressure device and the wrong chemicals that washed away the rough coat on top of the driveway.  He said he could improve it by about 70% but it will never be what it was. 

Since he does work for our office I'm hoping I can get him to do the improvement.  It is very obvious the contractor hired didn't know what they were doing and didn't have enough guys on the job.  One guy was all they had, and some woman following him rinsing everything off sometimes.  Even all the residue is still out in the street in front of all the homes.  He said if I had the original guy come back they could do even worse damage to it because they are not professionals.  He told me he knew who was doing the work and he'd be surprised if they even have insurance. Honestly I am afraid for them to come back and TRY something else if they are not sure what they are doing.  I don't even know if I want them power washing my home. 

Looks like I'm going to have to stand my ground here.  Jeeezz, well at least I know it can look a little better.

[Isobel Archer]

I would be careful about hiring someone else to try to fix this.  That would probably completely take the first company out of the picture in terms of responsibility.

Also, do you own the driveway or not?  If not, you may become liable yourself for the damage if you hire someone to work on it.

At this point I would wait to see what they do - and continue to insist on having the full damage repaired - even if that means replacing the driveway.

[Mom2Dogs]

@jellyBEAN ...what a pain and I would be angry as well...my only comment is do nothing until you have exhausted all other possibilities thru your HOA....so you will have to be very patient....

and I hope you have taken some photos and save all emails.  Good luck.

[deepwaterdotter]

This thread has 'opened my eyes' regarding the workings of a condo-affiliated HOA.

[Somertime]

@jellyBEAN   I would be very careful hiring someone else to clean the driveway at this point.  I am pretty sure you do not own the driveway, it is part of the common area of the Condo. You own the interior of your "unit". You could place yourself in jeopardy with the HOA and as a result be fined for your actions.  Keep the information the other gentleman has given you.

I would suggest you speak to the Property Manager and ask about you undertaking the cleaning of the driveway on your own and at your own expense and if that would be satisfactory.  Try not to take your anger out on the Property Manager, it is not her fault, the Board is the one who picked the contractor and signed the contract.

If the Board agrees to you undertaking the correction at your expense, you have settled the matter, quickly to your satisfaction.  I am sure the cost is under $200.00 and well worth the peace of mind.

[Lindsays Grandma]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

@jellyBEAN.  Small claims court would be my suggestion but if this is community owned property that might not fly.  You need to pressure your HOA to get it done right.  Remember,  the squeeky wheel gets the oil, and you need to squeek until you're borderline obnoxious.  Nag, nag, nag.

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@Kachina624 , Great advice, I would hound them until the issue was fixed.  I owned and lived in a townhouse for fourteen years and if I saw a hose connected to my water while the next door house was being washed that hose would have been disconnected in a New York minute.

[Stray]

I am President of our Condo Board.  Ask to meet with the entire Board and/or ADR committee; the Association has insurance and a claim should be submitted.  The vendor was hired by the association & they are responsible for repair or replacement.  Legal action just causes unessary charges to your Association.  It should be settled internally.  If you get no satisfaction from your Board, every Association has an attorney.  In our Condo., he attends all Open Board meetings & residents often ask his advice openly.  If your Association attorney is not known to you, ask for his/her name & contact information.  Contact him/her.  Your case is pretty clear & damage was not caused by you. 

[Stray]

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@hellodali wrote:

I hesitate to write this because I have not read each and every post.   I have read the initials ones and the last one concerns me.  I would not get a private company to do anything and then attempt to charge it back to the HOA.  In most cases the  HOA is the final authority unless you go to court and win.

Here at my condo if we do not pay our entire condo fee, we are then denied privileges, pool access, etc.  On top of that, there is a fee with interest added on monthly and that adds up quickly.  At one point if the fees get too high, they will slap a lien on the condo unit.

The HOA has free legal advice because the lawyers are paid for through HOA fees.   

I just wanted to throw my two cents in.  I was on our condo board for eight years and since we were elected by the people, we ran our association like a small government. 

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@hellodali - I agree.  If the home owner tries to correct the problem, it could be said she caused further damage.  Leave it as is and work through your HOA.  I know our Board would take responsibility & fix it.   I'm president of our Board and in our case the Association attorney is quite helpful to owners.  It is his/her job to decrease risk to the Association so he often reviews resident complaints and advises the Board re action.  Lawsuits are costly to Associations & his/her job is to avoid them. 

[Stray]

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@esmerelda wrote:

It sounds more like what happens with a timeshare. 

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@esmerelda - it's not a time share.  Most complexes, gated communities, over 55, highrises etc., grounds are the responsibility of the HOA.  You pay for these services via your maintenance fees.  There are often rules for the color scheme of your home, guidelines re shrubbery, decor etc.