Issues with my condo board

[GoinAllTheWay]

/\/\/\

LOL, was going to say the same thing. You some kinda strong!

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by Poison

Thats basically what i want to know, if they wont compromise with me whether i can mount a huge post in my backyard and mount the dish to that, as that isnt common property.

Its my understanding that in a lot of places you could get away with your post idea. Check your condo documents though. They could bitch about just about anything you do if they decided to based on some stupid 'eyesore' clause in there.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

I absolutely hate HOAs with every ounce of my body. I was living in one where the board was all seniors who would schedule votes, meetings and whatnot during business hours way down south (condos were in the NW) so that they could control everything as most normal people worked during the day. One of the hot issues was satellite dishes, I found out that in the States that legally they can't stop you from putting up a dish because of a FCC ruling and fair business practices. I was probably going to murder the board if I didn't get out of there.

Which condo is this?? I just moved into one with HOA and a bunch of seniors running the board.

[Flash]

My grandmother lives in a condo where the board dictates EVERYTHING. And that includes things she has on her patio/balcony. They sent her a letter asking her to remove the cooler she had out there. And her board also voted on no satellite dishes for anyone because of the "eyesore" factor. Apparently she was the only senior in her building who wanted one, the rest seemingly adore cable.

[The Ditch]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

Which condo is this?? I just moved into one with HOA and a bunch of seniors running the board.

Hamptons La Vita, or as I called it, Del Boca Vista.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by fotze

How are you going to convince captain crunch to climb on the roof?

Lure him with candy...

[Vulcan]

You could try disguising it as in post #3. This thread will give you some ideas on what to do.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=32696

[Winsor_Pilates]

I think you'd get away with the pole in the backyard thing. The problem is that you mounted something on common property, and boards are generally very picky about that, becaue they don't want to set a precedent for people sticking up whatever, wherever.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

I think you'd get away with the pole in the backyard thing. The problem is that you mounted something on common property, and boards are generally very picky about that, becaue they don't want to set a precedent for people sticking up whatever, wherever.

Likely they could still deem it as an eyesore though. It doesn't matter if its on a private area - if its visible from the street it can be called an eyesore.

[Vulcan]

Post #28 in that link I gave really gets into the Alberta Land Titles situation and whether they can fine you or not for it being an eyesore. The poster ended up owning the board.

[Poison]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Post #28 in that link I gave really gets into the Alberta Land Titles situation and whether they can fine you or not. The poster ended up owning the board.

Ya im going to look into that, his point was to make sure your board is properly registered, and if it isnt then youre in the driver seat, anyone know the website for land title/board registration?

[normtwofinger]

Buy a big ceramic pot. Fill it up with concrete and put a post in it and attach the dish to that. Use some fake vines/branches to disguise it as a shrub.

[Poison]

Ya i could try the disguise route too, but i tend to think they are trying to lean on me now and would fight me on that as well.

[Flame On]

Condo boards suck.
Mabye ask a bunch of people in the condo, explain it to them and maybe even draw up something they can sign, then show that to the condo pres. Write to the board and ask for it to be brought up at the next meeting/voted on. If you get a alot of support they may pretend to listen. If it's changed with the condo rules the management company problem goes away.
But in my experience what will happen is they say "if we do it for you we have to do it for everyone". They lean on that like a crutch and use it in fact to do NOTHING ever.

[Incinerator]

Originally Posted by Poison

Thats the thing i dont have a balcony to put it on, ok so if im resigned to taking it down my question is this.
Can they have any issue with anything i do in my backyard?
Im really feeling like being a complete a$$ if they dont want to compromise and putting up the ugliest post in the middle of it and mounting my dish to that, do the bylaws stretch to my backyard????

I havent asked yet but i was thinking about putting it on the fence as well, which really should not be an issue as it is very old and scheduled to be replaced in the spring next year, but i have the feeling they are just going to reject anything i want to compromise on thus the backyard question.

Condo bylaws are typically ironclad when it comes to use & occupancy restrictions, so you will definitely lose the battle to have it on the roof 11 times out of 10 if you even bother to try. As for mounting it on the fence, that is also common property so it's definitely no better than the roof.

As for whoever mentioned the American FCC ruling, no court in Alberta would be on your side if you wanted a satellite dish bad enough to take your condo board to court, even your lawyer would laugh at the free money you're offering him if you mentioned this to him. The premise of buying a condo in Alberta is that you're buying into this "club" because you like the type of lifestyle that the bylaws are designed to provide, that's why you're provided a chance to review the documents before you buy, whether resale or new. Saying that you thought it was ok or that you didn't know the bylaw existed will not cut it as a valid defense.

Now you might get away with mounting it on a post in your backyard, but that would depend on how picky your board is. Without looking at your condo plan, I would hazard a guess that you are in a conventional condo unit, with your backyard being common property but designated as "exclusive use" for you. Which means it's still common property and the "eyesore" bylaw(s) still apply.

I know some boards are not as picky as long as you don't actually screw anything onto fences/walls/roofs etc. You may even consider mounting it on a tripod as I've seen some townhouse owners do. But as with anything else that might contravene your condo bylaws, try at your own risk, and be prepared to comply when you are asked to switch to cable or find a new home.

As a final note, if you decide not to pay for the roof repair, the board will likely place a caveat on your title and/or bill your mortgage issuer for the funds plus interest. So it is definitely in your best interest to settle this bill ASAP.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

You could try disguising it as in post #3. This thread will give you some ideas on what to do.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=32696

LOL, love the sat rock!





You could even put plastic shrubs along the side of the exposed area (sat signals go threw plastic)

[Ice]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

, I found out that in the States that legally they can't stop you from putting up a dish because of a FCC ruling and fair business practices. I was probably going to murder the board if I didn't get out of there.

I was going to say, you should check into the laws in Canada, because there could be something on the books there already. Our HOA wasn't aware of the law until a homeowner brought it to their attention. Now, they have to allow satellite dishes on houses. The only thing they can do is have it be as out of sight as possible. If it can be at the back of the house and you mount it on the front they can make you move it.

You could call your satellite provider, or even visit their website. They would benefit from such legislation so its in their best interest to make it publicly known.

[Poison]

Fair enough, im again willing to compromise, pay the roof bill and move on if they are willing to work with me.
To tell me basically i have no choice in my television provider since i cant mount a dish is very wrong in my book and again makes that FCC ruling very common sense to me.

So i thought of this, im obviously pushing my luck taking this route but like i mentioned earlier i got the first dish approved, if they approved the first dish couldnt i site this as to why they broke the bylaw for one dish but not for the other?

[Incinerator]

Originally Posted by Poison

Fair enough, im again willing to compromise, pay the roof bill and move on if they are willing to work with me.
To tell me basically i have no choice in my television provider since i cant mount a dish is very wrong in my book and again makes that FCC ruling very common sense to me.

So i thought of this, im obviously pushing my luck taking this route but like i mentioned earlier i got the first dish approved, if they approved the first dish couldnt i site this as to why they broke the bylaw for one dish but not for the other?

Again this is the point of reviewing the documents before you buy into any condominiums, your choice of buying into the complex translate to you making an implicit choice of going with cable (if the bylaws indeed states "no dish"). So once you're in, legally you have no leg to stand on if you decide to change your mind and put up a dish.

Why they approved the first dish I cannot tell you, maybe you attached a case of their favorite beer with your letter when you first asked for approval . Although most bylaws provide much discretion to the board in enforcing them, IMO any board who decides to make an exemption here and there risks losing all credibility with the unit owners when they do have to enforce something of the same nature.

Some bylaws will have an "out" clause for the satellite rule by saying you may "not have the dish unless there's specific written approval from the board..." or something to that effect. If that's the case then you'd have a much better chance at it.

So in your specific case, if you play nice with them they might just let you have your 2nd dish mounted on a fence or something, however they'd also risk someone else in your complex complaining about the eyesore you have with the dish now in a more visible location. Like I mentioned above, review your registered bylaws throughly, and anything you do contrary to them, do so at your own risk. You can obtain the official copy of your bylaws from Alberta Land Titles, all you need is your Condominium Corporation Number.

[jammies]

For all those of you who say "condo boards suck", why don't you DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT and get on the board yourself? No, wait, that would take actual effort, what was I thinking?

I used to be in a condo, and after I didn't like some of what went on, I got myself elected president of the board and worked with the other board members to make changes. I also learned to deal with the whiny owners who thought the rules should be modified every which way for their convenience, and after a while I got to hating the "waaah waaah waaah" attitude of 90% of people - which put me a long way into being the misanthrope I am now.

As for the OP, my advice is to see if you can attend the next board meeting and put your case across in a reasonable and non-confrontational manner; if you already had a dish, it doesn't seem reasonable to deny you moving said dish to another location. If being reasonable doesn't work, THEN bring up the idea of putting it on your own property on an ugly-ass post, and see if that gets them to be more reasonable.