Any complex trustees on here? Please help.

[chrisc]

I have been a trustee for 3 years and managed to avoid becoming chairman

What I have discovered that renders the job more difficult is that the staff turnover at the Managing Agent is quite high. In the past 3 years there have been 8 different people managing the building account. Their knowledge seems minimal

At a meeting in August I said that since were now seeing the 8th different person at the MA, this person should come along and have a proper guided tour, meet the caretaker and appraised of what is going on

Strangely enough, 2 of the trustees were against the idea, saying they must be kept at arm's length

Seeing the MA's office is about 5 mins walk from the complex, it is hardly an imposition

It was agreed that this lady would come and an email was sent to her. She did not turn up nor offer an excuse. A second email was sent, with no response

The next step, with the chairman's agreement was to write a sharp letter to the CEO of this MA.

This produced an almost instant response. This 8th person was relieved of her position and a new gent appointed. He has been around 4 times in the past 2 months and is quite helpful and asks intelligent questions

 

[maumau]

vote her out... plain and simple

write up and a nice letter listing all her faults and eff ups, also make a point of her trying to hide things from the owners etc etc.. then go around and get every owner to sign it and get her removed with immediate effect

eff with the bull, get the horns

Would be nice

As a trustee, you're well entitled to ask questions about anything pertaining to the complex, up to and including other trustees' responsibilities (else who keeps trustees accountable and operating in the best interests of the complex)? The chairman needs to grow up. If a core service goes down, then yes the chairman should have notified the other trustees - even if SHE is responsible for the security portfolio, it is still in the interests of all the trustees AND the whole complex and should therefore be reported to at least the trustees in the interests of transparency.

Thanks so much Foxy, I know you've been through the mill of being a trustee and appreciate your experience. Exactly my thoughts that trustees should be made aware of any and all security issues. I honestly treated that WA group as a private space between the 5 of us but she's saying word will get out to other residents, in which case I believe she should've made us aware and asked us to be discreet.

1) why the need for secrecy among the trustees? I will answer: there isn't.

2) sounds like she has some Massive™ insecurities

3) You didn't do anything wrong.

Thank you now05ster - my question exactly - why the secrecy? One would've thought we should all work together.

Hugest thank you for 3) I've been upset about that all morning.

LOLLING at Massive™

 

[chrisc]

It took 4 years of manouvering to get rid of a truly useless trustee who was against spending any more than R50 on maintenance matters

She always wanted financial matters deferred. What sealed her fate was a decision in 2023 to have the building painted and windows waterproofed at a cost of R1.1m. She argued for 45 mins that the waterproofing was an unnecessary expense. We had obtained letters from 22 flat owners that the windows and parapets leaked during rain

At a vote, 9 agreed to have the work done and 1 disagreed. She stood up and said this was disgraceful and a waste of money. I suggested that if she did not like it, she could leave. As she picked up her handbag, the chairman said that we could no longer put up with her constant bickering and she was relieved of her trustee position. She walked out and that was that

 

[maumau]

We require all trustees to agree on any expenditure before a project goes ahead. In fact everything is discussed amongst all the trustees - there are no decisions made in secret or between two trustees without the knowledge of the other trustees. Bear in mind that if they make a bad decision it's likely you as trustees that are going to be held responsible.

It's crazy to me that you have a setup where two trustees can can go off and spend money and change service providers without the other trustees knowing about it.

It's a trustee whatsapp group. That's the point of the group. You should all be on the same page.

No - only the trustees know. She's an idiot.

Fuck her. She's the one with the problem and as trustees you should all have been made aware of the CCTV issue. If trustees can go off and spend money without the authorisation of group consensus - what's to stop them giving contracts to their family or spending money on things that aren't important? The whole point of having 5 trustees is that you eliminate the chances of bad actors gobbling up power which she appears to have done.

Hmm, that's an interesting point too about them changing providers between 2 of them. Nobody would've objected but at least we would've known the cameras would not show up on the app for a while. And these 2 do seem to want to run everything between them, she's a control freak.

That woman got me going this morning and I know this is not about fee-fees but I feel better after the reassurance

"Fuck her"

 

[maumau]

snip/ she was relieved of her trustee position.

It's hateful being a trustee but this would be mortifying.

 

[RedViking]

Did I do wrong?

I am one of 5 trustees, including the chairman and we are the only people able to view complex security cameras via the Hikvision app.

This morning cameras showed offline for me and I asked about it on the trustee WA group which is a closed group of us 5 trustees plus the managing agent. When they were confirmed offline I asked the chairman (who is in charge of security) if I could help. She's constantly complaining how busy she is because nobody else does anything.

She said the cameras are all working and are being monitored by our security company but aren't connected to the app. Apparently they've been offline on the app for 3 weeks because she and the financial trustee agreed to change service providers for our CCTV system and are in the process of signing a new contract.

She then grizzled and whinged at me hysterically for 20 minutes for interfering in her job of security saying I shouldn't have "advertised" the issue on our WA group, now the whole complex will know, must she tell everybody everything that she's doing all the time. Flippen woman went on and on accusing me of wasting 30 minutes of her work day because now she has to explain what's happening. Eventually she demoralised me to a point where I virtually (but not quite) hung up on her.

I won't lie, it was upsetting because I thought I was being pro-active

She wants me to TXT her direct if I have a query but from now on she can FSK right off, if I see or hear anything strange my lips are sealed.

What's the procedure at your complexes, and was I wrong?

EDIT: I thought the trustee WA group would be discreet and we should all assist where we can but the was this woman talks we must stay in our lanes.

You did the right thing. Some people are just arrogant and condescending. Bunch of losers.

 

[Lupus]

Did I do wrong?

I am one of 5 trustees, including the chairman and we are the only people able to view complex security cameras via the Hikvision app.

This morning cameras showed offline for me and I asked about it on the trustee WA group which is a closed group of us 5 trustees plus the managing agent. When they were confirmed offline I asked the chairman (who is in charge of security) if I could help. She's constantly complaining how busy she is because nobody else does anything.

She said the cameras are all working and are being monitored by our security company but aren't connected to the app. Apparently they've been offline on the app for 3 weeks because she and the financial trustee agreed to change service providers for our CCTV system and are in the process of signing a new contract.

She then grizzled and whinged at me hysterically for 20 minutes for interfering in her job of security saying I shouldn't have "advertised" the issue on our WA group, now the whole complex will know, must she tell everybody everything that she's doing all the time. Flippen woman went on and on accusing me of wasting 30 minutes of her work day because now she has to explain what's happening. Eventually she demoralised me to a point where I virtually (but not quite) hung up on her.

I won't lie, it was upsetting because I thought I was being pro-active

She wants me to TXT her direct if I have a query but from now on she can FSK right off, if I see or hear anything strange my lips are sealed.

What's the procedure at your complexes, and was I wrong?

EDIT: I thought the trustee WA group would be discreet and we should all assist where we can but the was this woman talks we must stay in our lanes.

Actually yes she's supposed to tell you everything she does in relation to the complex.
Trustees are voted in by the owners the chairperson by the trustees. Therefore she ultimately still answers to the owners.

 

[zerocool2009]

I have been a trustee for 3 years and managed to avoid becoming chairman

What I have discovered that renders the job more difficult is that the staff turnover at the Managing Agent is quite high. In the past 3 years there have been 8 different people managing the building account. Their knowledge seems minimal

At a meeting in August I said that since were now seeing the 8th different person at the MA, this person should come along and have a proper guided tour, meet the caretaker and appraised of what is going on

Strangely enough, 2 of the trustees were against the idea, saying they must be kept at arm's length

Seeing the MA's office is about 5 mins walk from the complex, it is hardly an imposition

It was agreed that this lady would come and an email was sent to her. She did not turn up nor offer an excuse. A second email was sent, with no response

The next step, with the chairman's agreement was to write a sharp letter to the CEO of this MA.

This produced an almost instant response. This 8th person was relieved of her position and a new gent appointed. He has been around 4 times in the past 2 months and is quite helpful and asks intelligent questions

Managing agents dont keep staff! Under paid, and working day and night. I know a few managing agents in this boat. The boss’s rather laugh to the bank, not looking after their staff

 

[maumau]

Actually yes she's supposed to tell you everything she does in relation to the complex.
Trustees are voted in by the owners the chairperson by the trustees. Therefore she ultimately still answers to the owners.

Thanks Lup, it puts my mind at rest knowing I didn't cause the chaos she accused me of.

Jirre, going along happily with my day and then this happens

 

[RedViking]

So this last month I have been sorting the garden services while most where away on holiday. I said sure, how difficult can it be.

Boy oh boy.

Complex Whatsapp Group:

1. Is the garden services coming today ?

(Message posted an hour earlier that garden services are coming)

2. Unit X: Please ask them not to cut my grass, it's still too short and everything is dying.

Unit Y: Yes, don't cut my grass.

Unit Z: they can leave my grass, I'm not home and my dogs are there.

3. (Complex grass is still short as it hasn't rained and garden service came in to just do a trimming and tidy up. Also its Christmas)

Unit X, Y, Z: why did the garden service not cut my grass today, it's getting long.

4. (Trees got trimmed. Garden bag was full. Gardener puts two branches next to bags which are located between two unit)

Unit Y: Who decided they can dump branches in the only bit of shade in my yard?

My response: Gardener will be here in 2 days and will ask him to move branches to my yard.

Unit Y's Landlord: Hi , I have only now been informed that branches are dumped in my tenants yard. This is unfair towards my tenant and I want it resolved asap.

My response to Unit Y Landlord: See above. Gardener will be here in 2 days and will ask him to move branches to my yard. Alternatively, your tenant can move the two branches as well. Or anyone else that is capable is welcome to move the two branches.

5. (It's end of the year, no one is available and garden service is running short on staff. My gardener as well as the complex gardener is on leave as well. Everyone has been updated accordingly. Alternatively we could have cancelled the garden service)

Unit X: Why did garden service only cut the main areas today and not my yard? This is unfair.



Boy what did I get myself into.

 

[Lupus]

So this last month I have been sorting the garden services while most where away on holiday. I said sure, how difficult can it be.

Boy oh boy.

Complex Whatsapp Group:

1. Is the garden services coming today ?

(Message posted an hour earlier that garden services are coming)

2. Unit X: Please ask them not to cut my grass, it's still too short and everything is dying.

Unit Y: Yes, don't cut my grass.

Unit Z: they can leave my grass, I'm not home and my dogs are there.

3. (Complex grass is still short as it hasn't rained and garden service came in to just do a trimming and tidy up. Also its Christmas)

Unit X, Y, Z: why did the garden service not cut my grass today, it's getting long.

4. (Trees got trimmed. Garden bag was full. Gardener puts two branches next to bags which are located between two unit)

Unit Y: Who decided they can dump branches in the only bit of shade in my yard?

My response: Gardener will be here in 2 days and will ask him to move branches to my yard.

Unit Y's Landlord: Hi , I have only now been informed that branches are dumped in my tenants yard. This is unfair towards my tenant and I want it resolved asap.

My response to Unit Y Landlord: See above. Gardener will be here in 2 days and will ask him to move branches to my yard. Alternatively, your tenant can move the two branches as well. Or anyone else that is capable is welcome to move the two branches.

5. (It's end of the year, no one is available and garden service is running short on staff. My gardener as well as the complex gardener is on leave as well. Everyone has been updated accordingly. Alternatively we could have cancelled the garden service)

Unit X: Why did garden service only cut the main areas today and not my yard? This is unfair.



Boy what did I get myself into.

Complex living is the pits...

 

[chrisc]

It's hateful being a trustee but this would be mortifying.

She was quite useful until she found Jesus. Her whole motivation changed and she became a pain in the bum

 

[purple face]

I see the flat on the floor above me has installed a security camera that can see the whole passageway and also watches the lifts. Is this legal? Its not the building camera as we don't have them on any floors

 

[saor]

I see the flat on the floor above me has installed a security camera that can see the whole passageway and also watches the lifts. Is this legal? Its not the building camera as we don't have them on any floors

People can't install stuff in common property unless they've got permission from BC. Which I doubt would be given in most cases.

 

[purple face]

A flat in my building recently moved in and the owner was asking if we are allowed to Braai on the balconys and everyone said no. The only thing you ale allowed to do is gas braai.

The new tenant this afternoon I saw they had Briquettes going. Obviously the owner didn't tell them

 

[now05ster]

A flat in my building recently moved in and the owner was asking if we are allowed to Braai on the balconys and everyone said no. The only thing you ale allowed to do is gas braai.

The new tenant this afternoon I saw they had Briquettes going. Obviously the owner didn't tell them

 

[now05ster]

It's up to the trustees to fine him if it is indeed codified in the sceme rules.

Always been a daft rule to me. Do you even know how to South Africa?

 

[purple face]

It's up to the trustees to fine him if it is indeed codified in the sceme rules.

Always been a daft rule to me. Do you even know how to South Africa?

It's against the rules of the building to have an open flame like that.

 

[now05ster]

It's against the rules of the building to have an open flame like that.

I misread the "balcony" part of your post. Makes sense.