19-Apr-15 – “Bully boards” are so prevalent in the world of condominiums that the term is commonplace among community association property managers and real estate attorneys.

It’s a moniker used to describe condo and homeowner association boards that are so drunk with power, they resort to abusing their subjects – the owners.

Unlike typical renters, most homeowners simply cannot pick up and move when a problem exists. They are tethered to their real estate – and often tied to a 30-year mortgage as well.

Escaping Condo Jail, a newly published 600-page book about community association living, co-authored by Chicago Realtor Sara Benson and this writer, examines a nationwide random sampling of owner complaints that include, but are not limited to, the following issues…

In some associations, owners face the emotionally painful loss of their rights to enjoy their properties and face the fear of fines administered by “kangaroo courts” where board directors play both judge and jury.

There are many more stories of condo and homeowner associations gone wrong from coast-to-coast in such states as Illinois, Florida, Hawaii, South Carolina, and Texas. Here are signs that your condo association might have a bully board…

Some boards treat their associations like their own personal fiefdoms. There is often selective enforcement of rules and a secret, unspoken pact among tight-knit board members known as The Buddy Rule – much like the motto of the Three Musketeers, “One for all, all for one!”

These out-of-control, power-abusing bully boards may issue sword-sharp edicts against property owners but they are far from being swashbuckling defenders of justice.

Bully boards can severely restrict an owner’s quality of life and even cause a newly-documented illness called “HOA syndrome.” Bullied and harassed condo owners can emotionally snap under pressure – and violence involving the police and the courts can erupt. Bullying has even led to deaths.

In some cases, condo boards have been infiltrated by organized crime, perhaps the ultimate bully of all. However, there’s a risk to being a bully. It’s called payback.

According to a 2012 survey of more than 1,300 managers, staffers, and homeowners conducted by the Community Associations Institute, 13 percent of respondents reported that an angry resident had physically assaulted them one or more times. 52 percent reported they had been threatened with physical violence one or more times by such a resident.

Critics do not condemn all condominium, cooperative apartment, and homeowner associations. Ownership in a multifamily housing development began as an extremely noble and creative idea, and many associations are well run.

Today, their neighbors govern more than 65 million American homeowners. The condominium lifestyle introduced home ownership to millions who would ordinarily never be able to afford it. Developers have long argued that condos help stabilize inner-city neighborhoods while giving owners a permanent stake in their community.

However, experts say this utopian view failed to take long-term management into consideration – and today’s inexperienced unit owners are now bearing the consequences.