Regina Corcoran's - "Pursuing the American Dream"
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Condo courtesy

By Regina Corcoran Special to The Citizen

If there is one job title I have empathy for, it's the condominium manager.

Condo managers are under everyone's boot heel. They serve at the pleasure of the condo board of directors who hired them -- and can fire them.

Try to convince the condo owners that the manager isn't everything from their "Girl Friday" to their personal 24/7 maintenance man.

The renters often confuse the condo manager for mom -- and in this case mom is a non-gender-specific word.

Managers of apartment complexes do have owners to answer to, but not 168 of them. Apartment managers can evict tenants if they are unruly or don't pay their rent on time (or at all).

Condo managers suffer all of the trials and none of the solutions. They can't evict renters. They are stuck with the owners. They are everyone's dart board.

Let's examine the pecking order.

Potential renters probably needn't seek the condo manager for showings of rentals. Many condo managers are not licensed real estate salespersons or brokers. So Florida statutes would prohibit them from participating in rental activities. To find a rental, contact the owner, call the telephone number in the ad or call a Realtor to inquire.

In short, renters should not confuse the condominium manager with a property manager. He or she does not collect rent, hand out lease applications or establish rental rates.

Most condominium complexes don't have an approval procedure for rentals. One local condo recently initiated one.

At first, this provoked the owners who feared too much restraint. They took the "you can't do that!" approach.

If done properly, with good legal advice, it could be a good idea. The complex could prohibit renting to those with prior complaints or damages or with certain types of criminal convictions.

When the renters have a problem: In most cases, the owners of the condo unit will supply the solution. Air conditioning (or furnace) doesn't work? Call the owner or his/her agent. Leaky anything? Call the owner or agent. Coming home from Duval Street at midnight and lost your key? Wow, is your owner or agent going to be happy to hear from you!

The exception would be a condo-related problem. Examples include somebody parked in your reserved carport, your upstairs neighbor flicking cigarette butts off the balcony and they blow back into yours or no propane in the common area barbecues.

In cases like that, the renter could call the condo manager or staff for assistance.

When the renter is the problem: The solutions for the person with the problem are about the same whether the one causing the problem is an owner or renter.

The person can always try direct address and talk to the person causing the problem. Often, they would sooner slide down a gigantic razor blade into a pool filled with Mercurochrome.

If so, they may call the owner or his/her agent -- if they know how. If they find that as revolting as volunteering for an IRS audit, then try alternative three.

Yes, call the condo manager. If the neighbor is barbecuing liver on the balcony, partying until 3 a.m. complete with loud music, slurred voices and bad singing, or the dog is yapping incessantly, calling the condo manager is permitted.

If the person causing the problem is a renter, the condo manager will call the owner/agent and do what condo managers do best: become a consummate statesman and request, require or insist that the owner/agent cure the problem.

What do you think?

Regina E. Corcoran, SRA, is a Florida real estate broker, state-certified residential appraiser and residential contractor. She is president of AmeriRealty Corp. and vice president of AmeriMortgage Corp. She can be reached at ReginaECorcoran@cs.com. Corcoran writes her column exclusively for The Citizen. It appears every other Sunday.