Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Bad Condo Board Member, Bad

People, People, People.

There are folks out there with too much time on their hands and not enough sense. Proof?

I recently wrote you to tell you the ups and downs of condo ownership. Some of the downs were that you had to abide by rules (Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions or CC&Rs) and that you didn't know who you would be sharing the condo community with. A good friend of mine just sent me an article of the perfect example.

Apparently, there is a condominium in Baltimore that has a K9 ca-ca problem. It would seem that Maryland dogs can not control themselves and poop all over the place. “We pay all this money, and we’re walking around stepping in dog poop,” complains a cranky old man (Who else?).

So, naturally, they put up signs (I assume) saying "cork your dog". If that didn't work they would put heavy fines on the criminal's masters (I assume) and make them watch the sad part of "Marley & Me". If that didn't work they would do something drastic (This last is not an assumption). DNA testing? Que?

That's right. There is a proposal on the books at the Scarlett Place Condominium that "all dogs in the building would be swabbed for DNA testing to create a database. Dog owners would pay $50 each to cover the costs of tests, and an additional $10 per month for the cost of having building staff pick up wayward piles of poop" says the Baltimore Sun.

Instead of this proposal being thrown out, the board is actually going to vote on it. Double que?

Now, getting this passed is a long shot (I hope). It sure does not feel legal to submit people to this new ruling after they bought their condo. But, that's what amendments are for. I hear someone screaming "Unconstitutional" in a weak, old person's voice.

I just wonder why they went to that instead of some more obvious solutions. Security cameras, catch them in the act of #2. This would also serve to fill the emptiness in the person who gets to watch the monitors and wear the Duky Police badge.

Even simpler, how about a grounds keeper who can clean up the waste. Maybe he can sweep, mop, do windows.... see where I'm going with this?

So, if you are buying a condo you could end up with some crazy ass people (I assume).

Let me know if you need help reading the CC&Rs of you condo. The nutty neighbors are on you.

God Bless.