Has anyone here ever held back on their condo fees and gotten away with it?

[Redlyne_mr2]

I've lived in a townhouse complex for the last 6 years which is managed by montgomery ross. I have my monthly fees that cover snow removal, landscaping, property insurance etc.
This year our condo board decided to pile all of the snow in the visitor parking. In doing this all of the street parking, in front of my townhouse, is gone on a busy weekend. My truck won't fit in my garage so I parked my truck tight up along the back of my complex and woke up the next morning to a cpa ticket.

I called the condo management company with my complaint and arent' willing to do anything to help. I literally have no where to park and I find it unfair that I receive a ticket for parking on private property. I'm going to cancel my direct deposit on my condo fees, send them post dated cheques and pull out $83 from one of the cheques to cover the ticket.

Can anyone tell me what will happen from here?

[mr2mike]

From what I know on condos and CPA handing out tickets is that there needs to be someone on the condo board that approves the ticket and lets cpa issue the ticket.
It works differently, if you're parked in someone's spot which they own. Then they personally can get you towed, etc. But if you're parked in the lane, it's condo property aka private property. CPA has no rights to patrol that area. They usually don't even know that. They just go in there. Not everyone can just call in to have you ticketed. It has to be the person in charge and has rights to do so.
Challenge the ticket and have them show proof that they got in writing a signatory from the condo board to have you ticketed. If they didn't, the ticket isn't valid.

[TomcoPDR]

I think then, your unit will be shorting the complex by $83. And management's accountant will send you a letter eventually.

One of parents townhouse rentals, I didn't read increase notice so I was sending 12 post date from previous year figures. One day letter comes saying I've been shorting the complex by $4.51/ month for the past 4-5 months so I owed management like $20-30 bucks. Wrote them a cheque. Whatever here's ur money you fifthy animals.

[benyl]

That isn't going to end well.

Condo board will get lawyers involved and will cost you more than $83. Eventually, they will send it to collections and even put a lein on your property. They will likely also charge interest. You won't be able to sell it until you clear that up with them.

The snow removal company cannot haul away the snow and it has to go somewhere.

Shitty situation all around.

[Nitron88]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
I've lived in a townhouse complex for the last 6 years which is managed by montgomery ross. I have my monthly fees that cover snow removal, landscaping, property insurance etc.
This year our condo board decided to pile all of the snow in the visitor parking. In doing this all of the street parking, in front of my townhouse, is gone on a busy weekend. My truck won't fit in my garage so I parked my truck tight up along the back of my complex and woke up the next morning to a cpa ticket.

I called the condo management company with my complaint and arent' willing to do anything to help. I literally have no where to park and I find it unfair that I receive a ticket for parking on private property. I'm going to cancel my direct deposit on my condo fees, send them post dated cheques and pull out $83 from one of the cheques to cover the ticket.

Can anyone tell me what will happen from here?

Don't consider holding back, you'll get owned by the board if you try. More cost to you down the road and it puts pressure on the board and other condo dwellers which will come back on you.

[tch7]

Liens and encumbrances are what protect condo associations, community associations, etc. from people like you. Any failure to pay condo fees, community fees, and those sorts of things just means you'll get dinged when you try to sell your property. Arguments that your truck is too big, or that you're not willing to walk a bit further to park somewhere where there is space, are not going to get you anywhere.

At my complex, they've repeatedly said that anybody can call 311 to have a vehicle ticketed/towed that's parked on the interior roads, as they're all considered fire lanes. The board doesn't need to be involved at all.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

I suspect after a few months the condo board/lawyer will put a caveat on your unit?

[ercchry]

Originally posted by benyl
That isn't going to end well.

Condo board will get lawyers involved and will cost you more than $83. Eventually, they will send it to collections and even put a lein on your property. They will likely also charge interest. You won't be able to sell it until you clear that up with them.

The snow removal company cannot haul away the snow and it has to go somewhere.

Shitty situation all around.

cant charge more than the original amount once it goes to collections... BUT if it goes to their lawyers you will have to pay extra for their fees...

had this happen with community fees once since our tenants never checked the mail and the fees were still being sent to that address (it was fees for that property)

[kenny]

I'm guessing that you are not actually permitted to park your truck in the visitor lot anyway according to the condo rules so your argument that it was blocked may be moot.

You don't want to mess with your condo board, they will likely issue a fine/penalty for missing condo fee and then tack on interest and register a caveat on your title. You'll then run into the headache when you're selling the place as somebody will have to take care of the outstanding fees, whether its the seller or you (more likely).

[pheoxs]

While it is unfortunate to hear that they filled the visitor spots with snow, (this is something you should've brought to the condo board as a complaint when it happened) the condo assoc isn't responsible for you parking in a no parking area.

If I have a reserved spot and someone parks in it, I am fully within my right to have them ticketed / towed, however I cannot in the mean time park wherever I please because someone is in my spot. You should have found adequate street parking to use in the mean time.

When I lived in my townhouse people parked exactly as you said, sideways against the back of their townhouse. This also made it a bitch for the residences of the opposite townhouses to get in and out of their stalls...

It sucks but there isn't much you can do besides fight the ticket and see what happens. If you've already paid it you're basically SOL.

[JfuckinC]

Time to upgrade for more parking

[Weapon_R]

I've seen similar situations costing a homeowner several thousand dollars in court costs. Let it go and don't dwell on it.

[nutella]

CPA issuing the ticket - it depends on what the letter of authority says that they can do on private property.

The letter of authority varies from complex to complex.

Mine basically says the following:
Privately owned or assigned stalls - resident/tenant can call in for ticket/tow at any time.
Visitor stalls - only board members, designated people and property management can call in for CPA to ticket/tow for a specific start/end time
Loading zones, fire lanes - anyone can call in for CPA to ticket/tow at any time.

For the one time amount that is withheld, you may be issued an administration fee? For such a small amount, I seriously doubt that a reasonable board will issue a lien/caveat.

[jdmXSI]

I would check the condo bylaw and see what kind of recourse they can persue in the event someone does not pay condo fees. I know with the board I sit on, there were multiple units that were in arrears for 60-120 days and iirc, we were about to go to their mortgage company to collect.

Seems like a lot of hassel for $80 for both parties although I get its probably more principle than anything else.

[Redlyne_mr2]

thanks guys.. I know I'm being stubborn about the $80, it was just really frustrating. I had my dad with me that night and his health isn't well, I also had his handicap tag so we would have parked in the handicap spot had it not been filled in with snow. The entire street was full, I would have had to walk 3 blocks and, not to sound lazy, I didn't buy a townhouse in the middle of suburbia to have parking problems.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
handicap spot... filled in with snow.

Now that you might have a legitimate complaint about. Call the city.

[civic_stylez]

Originally posted by benyl
That isn't going to end well.

Condo board will get lawyers involved and will cost you more than $83. Eventually, they will send it to collections and even put a lein on your property. They will likely also charge interest. You won't be able to sell it until you clear that up with them.

The snow removal company cannot haul away the snow and it has to go somewhere.

Shitty situation all around.

This.

I was a stupid kid when I bought my first condo and I slacked on my condo payments. When i went to sell it I had a nightmare of a time. Dont skip out. The bank and collection agencies wont care what you think you are "owed". They will make life hard on you.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
thanks guys.. I know I'm being stubborn about the $80, it was just really frustrating. I had my dad with me that night and his health isn't well, I also had his handicap tag so we would have parked in the handicap spot had it not been filled in with snow. The entire street was full, I would have had to walk 3 blocks and, not to sound lazy, I didn't buy a townhouse in the middle of suburbia to have parking problems.

Sounds to me that you have 1 too many vehicle for the condo.

IMO, most condo/townhouse don't cater to 2 car households.

One of you should switch to a car that will fit in the garage if this prolongs.

[JordanLotoski]

Condo fees that are not paid will show on on your estoppel certificate. You can sell but anything owing will come off your end no matter what.

Not much you can do.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Not looking to default on months and months worth of fees. My fees are only $150/month, the ticket was $83, for the month of May they're getting a post dated cheque for $67. We'll see what happens from there.