Walnut Hill. A lot of Broadway performers come out of there

This is bad advice. Are you my mother, lol? The majority of non-single-family homes have HOAs in Boston and the greater Boston area.

I was part of two HOAs where the residents met together and decided how to use funds or adjust the HOA fees and so forth. It was chill. We'd all gather outside and bring a few beers and talk through what we all that was needed and prioritize it. We divvied up work for those that wanted to do something and had them expense items against the HOA if they wanted. It just works as a shared savings account. It also helps to dilute the total cost of major repairs which is also nice. The enforcement of it was also up to the owners...

The better advice is to avoid having shitty members part of the HOA.

The state government has a horrible record of transparency, too. Healey has essentially said she'll only release documents when she feels like it. The Legislature has decided that it's largely exempt. Most votes are closed door. The Senate recently repealed the term limit on its President, allowing her to serve indefinitely, a limit that was put in place after a fantastically corrupt Senate President.

For all of MA's progressive rep, its governmental transparency is very poor.

https://actonmass.org/the-campaign

Yes, I completely agree with a larger building you need a property manager. Considering we have no amenities, it seems like it's easiest to come together and assign the few tasks to each unit (water/sewer, Insurance).

To our HOA $500 is a lot and $1,500 is outrageous, but to the property manager $500 is nothing for the headaches that could come from it.

Not a high school, but these folks put on kid-friendly shows throughout the year, almost by definition. https://www.kidstocktheater.com/

Yes, he told us he has no interest managing this property, so it might just be a cash grab. I don't think there was a contract as he hired himself and chose his own rate. He had to keep it low enough to sell the units, but now that they are sold he could care less.

He is the sole trustee and the earliest that his term can end is 4 months after the last unit is sold (just the other day). In the condo docs it says that (A) the unit owners shall have no power or right to remove the Initial Board nor to appoint an additional or successor Trustees until the expiration of the Initial Board has expired and (B) during the term of the Initial Board, any vacancy in the office of a Trustee, however caused, shall be filled only by the designation of the Declarant of the Master Deed. Maybe (B) gives us an out if he wants to quit being trustee than newly elected board can fire him.

Meh. I have an HOA on my house. Fees are only $50/month, the only rule for the entire development (of 100 units) is "do not park commercial vehicles weighing over 6 tons", and that's mostly because the roads weren't built to handle vehicles like that (meaning, they'd cause damage we have to pay to repair - private roads).

Honestly, at our next annual meeting - my first, since I only just inherited the house - I'm possibly going to suggest raising those dues slightly, to start putting money aside towards repaving those roads ... :)

My 24 Unit building pays $50 per month, Per Unit...

So yeah you're getting hosed.

Most small buildings are self-managed. The condo fee covers Master Insurance, Water, Snow Plowing, etc. and then they do an assessment for any project that is needed. My friend 3 unit building condo fee is $220, and they alternate who is in charge of the bills.

It makes me so angry how many people are looking at phone screens while driving. If it’s that urgent, pull over and park. Otherwise, wait till you aren’t driving.

So I asked before buying what the $500/month included and was given this response:
Complete coordination for all services related to ( securing insurance on the building, hiring contractors for any maintenance issues, hiring contractors for cleaning sidewalk snow plowing, manage billing for water and sewer and bill each unit owners depending on their use, maintaining the book keeping of all cost

We each pay our own water and sewer which is an additional expense. I was the only one to shovel this winter (we barely got any snow and only have to worry about the sidewalk). There have been a few maintenance issues--mostly due to the crappy work done by the builders, plumbers etc..

Who is the trustee? Is the position selected? You need to review your HOA bylaws to understand what your options are.

when is his contract to property manage up? I'd be surprised if he could raise his rates in the middle of a contract term? He may be doing it as cash grab OR, he may be raising his rates to get out of managing a property he has no ties to anymore. Either way elect someone else as trustee and hire a new property manager or if someone volunteers just self manage.

So, several hours added to the trip at a minimum. In winter. Doesn't seem very realistic.

Condos always have an HOA. Some entity needs to be responsible for repairing the roof.

I am completely unsure of what these types of posts do except serve as an ego boost for OP while simultaneously allowing them to talk down to random people who weren't present for this interaction. If you're very high and mighty, you should've yelled all this out at Caffe Nero.

I was in the Somerville High School theatre troupe and while they're not often, we had some really great musicals!

It sounds to me like there was/is a huge conflict of interest here - the owner, who redeveloped the property, appointed themselves head of the HOA (which should be an elected position), then gave themselves the job of Property Manager ...?

...

Also, if I were the person who had bought that last unit? Suddenly tripling his fee for managing the property would be a gigantic red flag, and I would be very inclined to cancel the sale on the spot.

Certainly by what you describe, managing that property is NOT a $1500/month job. $500/month was probably being overly generous, in fact. I mean, what exactly are the fees covering? Lights in common spaces, maybe heat in those spaces, water and sewer bills if not somehow separately metered, snow removal from the front steps/walk, basic liability insurance, and money put into savings against future repair or renovation needs (e.g. repairing a roof leak, etc).

Don't buy property that has a HOA

>This seems like a troll comment,

In what possible way?

> There is a lot of middle ground between the status quo and a full car ban.

Odd, what I replied to didn't seem to have any middle ground -- they took a car smashing into a building and instead tried to make it about bicycles lol

Depends on the incident. A lady who knowingly goes into a crowded coffee shop without any kind of idea doesn't warrant help. There's no law saying she couldnt have put her shit down and then gotten in line with two free hands. I do that all the time when I'm carrying stuff. I've caught with shit trying to help people who didn't want, or dealing with my own problems, or actually stepping into slightly more serious situations. No reason to waste my time and energy on somebody going out of their way to give themselves a hard time. Most of the time somebody else's problem is actually somebody else's problem

It seems everyone in town agrees the Karla’s Shoes building needs to go — except the people who actually own the building.

The decrepit, run-down red building sits on the southbound of Route 1 just ahead of the Main Street Wakefield exit, overgrown with weeds and covered in graffiti. It’s already been marked as a do not enter by the fire department, and local officials have repeatedly said they believe the building is a safety risk. Yet, despite its condition, the building’s owners are committed to trying to sell it, according to Director of Public Health John Fralick.

According to assessing records, Isabelle Smith has owned the building since January 1985. The building is now valued at $518,400 — with most of the value, $391,600, attributed to the land it sits on.

At the urging of Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Debra Panetta, Fralick provided an update on the status of the property at a Board of Health meeting Monday night. Essentially, he said, the town’s hands are tied.

“What we’re dealing with right now is just kind of a delusions of grandeur type situation where they think they’re going to be able to get so much money by selling the property,” Fralick said.

Panetta stressed that she believes the building is a safety hazard, noting the possibility of a piece of the building breaking off and falling onto the bustling highway below. The building is also an eyesore and does not have a place in Saugus, she said.

“It’s hugely problematic,” Panetta said.

Fralick said the town is considering options like commercial receivership, and has tried to convince the building’s owners that the property would likely be worth more as a patch of land on the side of the highway than as a decrepit building. But, he said, that suggestion has fallen on deaf ears.

He agreed with Panetta’s concerns, adding that the building is “definitely an imminent hazard” to pedestrians and to potential squatters who might try to enter it.

With the town having a bylaw outlawing graffiti, Fralick said Saugus is likely to use the building’s graffiti as a way to force some action on the property.

“At the very least they’re going to have to get down there and do some sort of work,” he said. “It’s kind of like a well, once you’re already down there why don’t you tear this down?”

“We are taking as much action as we can in the short term,” Fralick added.

3 of 4 of House Speakers prior to Mariano only resigned (note: resigned, not removed) after being tried and convicted of multiple felonies - so I think some oversight wouldn't be a bad idea.

And especially so for these politicians who have been in office longer than some of us have been alive.

I just hate litter. Clean up ya shit!

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