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DON’T GET INTO SCREAMING MATCHES!
By
Jan Bergemann
Published March 3, 2023
If your
association elected a president, who is a dictator and a bully,
don’t get into screaming matches with him/her. Some people just
can’t help themselves. Just let them scream and make idiots out
of themselves – just smile back! That normally annoys them even
more than sinking down to their level.
Get your
questions or suggestions out in writing – create a paper trail.
And if they violated the statutes or the governing documents of
the community, put it on paper, send it out by e-mail or social
media. But if you create a website or something like a Facebook
page, make sure you add a disclaimer very visible on the site:
“This is not the official site of the what-ever-the name-is HOA”
– otherwise you will get a so-called cease-and-desist letter
from an overeager attorney telling you about “trademark
infringement” worded in legalese.
Always
remember:
"The written word is
mightier than the sword."
So, let words speak for you instead of getting into screaming
matches or even physical fights.
I will never forget the story of the owner in Ocala who spent
the night in jail after attacking the board president with his
walker, after the president insulted him and screamed at him.
Don’t follow that example!
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Jan Bergemann is president of Cyber Citizens For Justice,
Florida
's largest state-wide property owners' advocacy group.
CCFJ works on legislation to help owners living in
community
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associations. He moved to
Florida
in 1995 - hoping to retire. He moved into a HOA, where the
developer cheated the homeowners and used the association dues
for his own purposes. End of retirement!
CCFJ was born in the year 2000, when some owners met in
Tallahassee
- finding out that power is only in numbers. Bergemann was a
member of Governor Jeb Bush's HOA Task force in 2003/2004.
The organization has two websites to inform interested
Florida
homeowners and condo owners:
News Website: http://www.ccfj.net/.
Educational Website: http://www.ccfjfoundation.net/.
We think that only owners can really represent owners, since all
service providers surely have a different interest! We are
trying to create owner-friendly laws, but the best laws are
useless without enforcement. And enforcement is totally lacking
in
Florida
!
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