Condo blues

[gcgang]

I've heard RE in Honolulu has been on an upswing for 8+ years. Probably not going to get a lot better.

If you're going to move anyways, you should be ok. I'd assume you could buy a comparable unit for 1/4-1/2 the price most places on the mainland.

 

[Freedom56]

My advice would be for you to get more involved with you condo board meetings and look over your financial reports. We revolted against our treasurer at our condo in Florida for wasteful spending and voted him out. He redecorated our two lobbies at a cost of $657K. It was previously re-decorated in 2012. He wasted absurd amounts of money such as, $12,000 on a grand piano for the main lobby that nobody plays. On top of that he was paying the store that sold it to our condo, $2000 per year for "tuning and maintenance" and it's a digital grand. He also spent $7000 per month for free coffee for all residents. He spent $3000 per month on lawn maintenance. The only lawn we have is artificial grass which we paid a fortune to install to reduce lawn maintenance costs. Many of us suspected that he was getting kickbacks. He left his position and the building. Our monthly fees dropped by 8.8% after we got rid of this loser.

 

[Texas Proud]

My advice would be for you to get more involved with you condo board meetings and look over your financial reports. We revolted against our treasurer at our condo in Florida for wasteful spending and voted him out. He redecorated our two lobbies at a cost of $657K. It was previously re-decorated in 2012. He wasted absurd amounts of money such as, $12,000 on a grand piano for the main lobby that nobody plays. On top of that he was paying the store that sold it to our condo, $2000 per year for "tuning and maintenance" and it's a digital grand. He also spent $7000 per month for free coffee for all residents. He spent $3000 per month on lawn maintenance. The only lawn we have is artificial grass which we paid a fortune to install to reduce lawn maintenance costs. Many of us suspected that he was getting kickbacks. He left his position and the building. Our monthly fees dropped by 8.8% after we got rid of this loser.

In my old neighborhood our annual assessment fees went way up... found out the president had signed contracts with HIS company... no kickbacks needed...


When someone found out about this there was a push to get him out at the next meeting... he kept delaying it over and over until someone forced the issue... so he held it at a place many miles away!! A bunch of people went anyhow and just before the vote he closed the meeting on some technicality.... took another couple of months to get him out...


It is important that people look at what is happening and not just ignore it... that can cost you money...

 

[audreyh1]

In my old neighborhood our annual assessment fees went way up... found out the president had signed contracts with HIS company... no kickbacks needed...


When someone found out about this there was a push to get him out at the next meeting... he kept delaying it over and over until someone forced the issue... so he held it at a place many miles away!! A bunch of people went anyhow and just before the vote he closed the meeting on some technicality.... took another couple of months to get him out...


It is important that people look at what is happening and not just ignore it... that can cost you money...

Wow. Unbelievable! He really though he could get away with it.

 

[pb4uski]

..... He also spent $7000 per month for free coffee for all residents. ...

How is that even possible?

 

[jollystomper]

How is that even possible?

Kickbacks.

 

[Scrapr]

How is that even possible?

McDonalds $1 coffee delivered by Uber Eats. The tip really gets ya

 

[Freedom56]

How is that even possible?

He subcontracted to a coffee service that rented the machine to our building along with a person who would come everyday to refill with fresh coffee, milk, sugar, and other ingredients. This machine made all the varieties of coffee you can imagine. But it was not worth spending $7000 per month or about $33 per month for every unit owner. Most owners spend about 1-2 months per year at their condo so they really did not benefit. This was one of the first contracts we cancelled after booting the guy out.

 

[RobbieB]

Hehe, yeah every owner should have hiked down to the office and had a cup a joe every day. Get his dollars worth.

Amazing.

 

[ivinsfan]

He subcontracted to a coffee service that rented the machine to our building along with a person who would come everyday to refill with fresh coffee, milk, sugar, and other ingredients. This machine made all the varieties of coffee you can imagine. But it was not worth spending $7000 per month or about $33 per month for every unit owner. Most owners spend about 1-2 months per year at their condo so they really did not benefit. This was one of the first contracts we cancelled after booting the guy out.

Like the "free" coffee machine at a lot of car dealers?, that's not even good coffee....

 

[Freedom56]

Like the "free" coffee machine at a lot of car dealers?, that's not even good coffee....

No this one was a nice machine. It made good coffee, espresso, latte, cappuccino, hot chocolate, and other beverages. It held 4 different varieties of coffee beans. It just did not make sense to give out free coffee. There were people clearly abusing it. As unit owners, we had a problem paying all that money for it.

 

[ivinsfan]

No this one was a nice machine. It made good coffee, espresso, latte, cappuccino, hot chocolate, and other beverages. It held 4 different varieties of coffee beans. It just did not make sense to give out free coffee. There were people clearly abusing it. As unit owners, we had a problem paying all that money for it.

And of course it wasn't really free was it?

 

[Freedom56]

And of course it wasn't really free was it?

If you were renting a unit, like the majority of the residents, it was free. Only 18% of the units are owner occupied. Many snowbirds bought their units as investment property and chose to rent it out. We have a majority owner who rents out his units. He was a big proponent of eliminating wasteful spending to reduce his operating expenses.

 

[ivinsfan]

If you were renting a unit, like the majority of the residents, it was free. Only 18% of the units are owner occupied. Many snowbirds bought their units as investment property and chose to rent it out. We have a majority owner who rents out his units. He was a big proponent of eliminating wasteful spending to reduce his operating expenses.

This is getting to be more of a problem. I know an area that has done 2 huge developments with more planned that pitched entirely and zoned for short term rentals. But the devil is in the details and the HOA are pretty substantial and the owners must use managements rental agents who take 1/3 of the rent money right off the top.

 

[fasteddie911]

Not sure what kind of building you're in, what your HOA fees were/are and what your plans were for moving to Hawaii. But it's not uncommon to see HOA fees in the 1k/month range. A lot of buildings are old, outdated and need work. Construction and materials are expensive in the islands. The issue with selling is that there's been a huge influx of condos (mostly high end though) that possibly has affected the market. Hard to say if you're panicking, depends on your numbers, but your concern is justified. This is just a reflection of one of many realities of living in Hawaii. Great place to visit, but different from living.