OH, THE HORROR!
What’s really fun about
scary movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street is that the fear and horror is imaginary. We do like to be scared sometimes. The preternatural fear that is the intended result of every good horror film allows our flight or fight instincts to engage. We feel the rush of adrenalin like the threat is real, but we know we are actually quite safe.
In the first Elm Street movie, Freddy Krueger (a vengeful ghost who was once an insane child murderer released on a technicality and then burned alive by the vigilante parents of his victims who lived on that street) targets a group of teenagers for revenge by haunting their dreams, which kills them in real life. So essentially, you do something bad for whatever reason justifiable or not, and those bad actions come back to haunt you! For some of us, that unfortunately sounds rather like life in our community associations.
Very unfortunately, some of the worst community association horrors are – willingly and unwillingly - produced by board members. If you’re part of the community association or common interest community world as a homeowner, vendor, manager or other professional, you’ve seen or heard things in the course of community life that actually terrify you. Much of the dread can stem from board meetings and board members and the poor huddled masses over which the board wields its powers; both real and imaginary. If you’re too scared to attend your community’s board meeting or you’ve attended a meeting and left as a member of the walking dead, it’s time to face your fears and figure out what to do when boards go bad.
Let’s start with who’s on the board. What happens when board members aren’t really qualified to be on the board? For most associations, the essential qualification to be elected to the board of directors is unit ownership. How many associations have suffered under the nasty leadership of people who actually have no right to be on the board because nobody bothered to verify ownership? Sure, some board members say, “My unit’s in a trust.” Are you willing to take your neighbor’s word on that? Whether you’re on the board joined by this person or you’re just a homeowner, your answer should be a resounding “No!” Check with your association attorney and verify the ownership status of the brave (and/or depraved) residents who wish to run for the board.
That will help you avoid the trepidation experienced at one northside Chicago high-rise when owners sued other owners because a board member was
www.cai-illinois.org • 847.301.7505 | 57
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