Doing Time on The Board (HOA)

I bought a condo a couple years ago. It was my first purchase, my first home. I love it! I feel so grown up by having it and I take great pride in keeping it neat and nice. Now I am not a negative person, but I do like to think about worst case scenarios, just so I can prepare for the worst. Being prepared takes some of the sting out of unexpected events. I was aware of the downsides of home ownership because I had heard all the stories from friends. So I knew that repairs and emergency issues could come up and could cost a lot of money. I felt like I was going to be able to handle it. I had a stable job, a few bucks in the bank and my inspector had told me that my condo was in good shape and probably wouldn't need any major repairs for a while. Whew, looking good. What I was not prepared for was THE HOA BOARD. I knew these things existed and I knew the premise of why they were needed. I also knew from friends that I should avoid being on the HOA Board at all costs. They say "It's an unpaid time suck and no one is ever satisfied." So, you can imagine my apprehension when I was approached by the HOA President and asked to consider joining the HOA Board. He said there was a position to fill and it would only be until the next election which was coming up soon. I was intrigued because I have a strange desire to organize things, educate myself, be in the know, have a say in how things work, voice my opinions, lead. Being a new home owner meant I had a lot to learn. So I thought maybe a short stint on the Board would help me understand the condo association, info about my building, and be a good way to meet my neighbors? Maybe I felt honored because he said I was smart, organized and responsible and I would be a good addition to the Board?? Maybe I am just a sucker? Whatever happened, I accepted the position. I took the position of Treasurer and got to see the budgets, the income/expenses, the past assessments, who owes what and more. I worked with the President on such issues relating to repair, landscaping, old legal issues, parking and the like. Interesting stuff. Nothing too major. I learned a lot. Mission accomplished. Fast forward two years and a half years and I am now in my second term as President. How did that happen?? I must be a glutton for punishment because no one in their right mind does this. Let's remember that the real estate market has taken a dive. So while my short term as Treasurer was all about general maintenance issues around the building, I am now having to deal with the all the repercussions of a bad market. Major issues like late dues, collections, foreclosures, bank repos, utility shut offs, lawsuits. I am still learning a lot, but now I am learning all the bad, negative stuff. It's kind of like dating someone who is getting divorced. You go into the relationship thinking everything is new and exciting. You are hopeful and positive and wanting everything to work out. You dream about being together forever. Then you find out that the other person in the relationship is negative, bitter and jaded, and thinks the relationship will fail like their last one did. It's hard to have a forward moving relationship with someone who is moving backwards out of theirs. You realize it's best to just end the relationship before the blaming, name calling, and regrettable outbursts happen. Unfortunately for me, I can't break up with my Association. And I don't want too. I still want to feel like I am helping to make our living experience better. Don't get me wrong, most of my neighbors are great and there are no problems. But there are a few out there who have become bad seeds. Owners who get behind on dues and blame the HOA for being to expensive. Or they treat the HOA like we are some sort of free service, no-interest bank service and they can pay here and there, whenever they feel like it. Some owners simply don't want to pay their dues or assessments - and think they don't have to. It's not optional you know, it's not like deciding you don't want to pay for cable anymore. You knew the deal when you bought the condo! Lately there are some owners who walk away from their units and trash the place causing the HOA to have to spend more money in repairs. It's getting bad! Yes, I do understand that the economy is in a downturn and property values have dropped. I understand if someone can't afford their mortgage anymore and needs to walk away. That is between you and your bank. What I don't understand is people who start punishing the HOA too. By making accusations or judgements against the HOA for their personal financial misery. Or skipping out on their HOA dues along with their mortgage. HOA dues are not part of the mortgage, and they aren't paid to some nameless, faceless corporate entity. They are the fees that pay for the common ground (landscaping, utilities, cable, repairs). Our HOA charges the very least that they can to pay the expenses that everyone wants and votes on. Trust me there is no stock pile of cash sitting in an account somewhere. I think sometimes owners don't get that. Don't they realize that skipping out on dues means you are skipping out on your neighbors. The expenses still need to get paid. The neighbors end up having to make up for it by paying more? It's unfair to expect your neighbors to make up the differences when they are themselves feeling the budget crunch that everyone is. Here is the thing. If you have to walk away from your mortgage, you have to. But please have some respect for your neighbors and Board members and don't make it harder on them. We are all hard working people who are trying to be responsible and give our time to this Association. We "work" for free on HOA issues, in addition to our already busy work & personal schedules. We are just home owners like you, we are not lawyers, real estate agents, accountants or bankers. We are your neighbors and we are just trying to do the best we can for all of you. Please don't blame us for your financial troubles, threaten to sue us, vandalize our property, or verbally slander us. Please know that we never wanted to be on the Board either, we just did it because someone had to. The ultimate goal would be that everyone take their turn willingly. A stint on the Board would give everyone the understanding of the responsibility at hand - and maybe association members would start to appreciate the Board. Whew, glad to get that off my chest, sorry for the vent!

Keeta's Baby!

As per my last post, I have a Bengal kitty named Keeta. Keeta had a baby (yes, just one) on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving at her breeder's house. So cute!! I got to bring Keeta and her 4 day old baby boy home yesterday (Saturday) where she will nurse him for about 8 weeks. I have to say I was a little worried about the drive home because Keeta is notoriously a maniac in the car. She rolls around in her cat carrier meowing and clawing at it. She flips her cushion around and makes a mess of the carrier. So naturally I was worried if I put both Keeta and her baby in it, she might trample him in her crazed state. I spoke to her breeder, Teresa, on the phone and we devised a plan. We knew that putting them in separate carriers would mean a loud and frantic drive home for me. You DO NOT want to separate a mama from her newborn baby! So we thought that we could put them both her ottoman/cat bed. This is a heavy piece of furniture that looks like a rattan ottoman, but it is completely lined inside in brown padded fur. The lid fits snug on top, or you can flip it over and it rests on the ottoman showing another padded fur lined sitting area with feather toys. There is a hole for the cat to get in and out.

I arrived in Issaquah and was headed up Tiger Mountain toward Teresa's when I saw her white Samoyed dog (Vladimir) running along the road... with a family of four and another big dog! I stopped my car and rolled down the window to yell Vlad's name. Of course he stopped and looked at me so I knew it was him. The family said "do you know this dog"? Yep. I tried to get Vlad to follow my car by repeatedly calling his name while I drove. But no, he didn't stay with me too long, clearly having too much fun with his new friends. He was wet and muddy so I really didn't want to put him in my car, but I didn't want to leave him with the walking family... especially since they had just told me that Vlad comes over EVERY DAY and even knows how to unlatch the screen door on their porch and LET HIMSELF IN?! So I finally had to pull over and get my emergency blanket out of the trunk to spread on the back car seat. Vlad jumped in and sat nicely in the backseat the rest of the way to his house. However, as soon as he jumped out, I folded up the blanket and no sooner could I get the door closed, he jumped back in! Oh Vlad! Now my backseat is full of muddy paw prints and white hair.

OK, on to getting the cats! Teresa cut some cardboard to put over the hole in the ottoman so Keeta wouldn't be tempted to get out. We hoped that her motherly instincts would kick in and she would sit in her dark box and nurture her baby instead of freaking out on the drive. We put the lid on and carried it to the car's front passenger seat. So far no crying or commotion... good! I made my way down Tiger Mountain and wasn't even off Teresa's road when she started crying and thumping around in the box. Then she got out. She basically chewed or clawed at the cardboard until she could slide through it. I know this because she had brown tufts of fur on her head and mouth. She was all over the car meowing at the top of her lungs so I pulled into a grocery parking lot in Issaquah. I lifted the lid to show her that her baby was in there and tried to coax her back into the box. When she hopped back in, I closed the lid. Within seconds she had head butted the heavy lid open enough to slither out again. I didn't think she had the strength to do that?! Again, I lifted the lid to put her back in. She jumped in, picked up the baby in her mouth and carried him out! She put the kitten on the floor mat by my feet, wrapped herself around him and immediately comforted her baby, licked him and let him nurse. They seemed comfortable so I decided to try and drive like that. (Yes, I know, not safe!) We made it to the freeway like that, but then she started trying to get under my seat (which pushed on the seat adjuster lever and I flew backwards. (Yes, while driving... again not safe!) She had managed to get her kitten all the way under my seat by the time I frantically pulled over on the side of I-90. Without getting out of the car (for fear Keeta would leap out) I managed to move the HEAVY ottoman into the back seat, and put her regular pet carrier in the front seat. I grabbed Keeta and shoved her into the pet carrier and locked her in. Then I had to open the car door to retrieve the kitten from under the seat. I put him back in the cat bed that was now in the back seat. Keeta freaked out the whole rest of the way home. She meowed, cried, screamed, scratched, clawed, rolled over and over. But hey, I had to get them home safely so it had to happen that way. It was the longest, most stressful drive in my life! And now my back seat is even more of a mess with cat hair, faux fur, and rattan fibers. Oy!

Once home, I picked up the baby boy in my hand and carried Keeta's cat carrier from the car to house. Once inside, I immediately let Keeta out of the carrier and then let her follow me downstairs to the spare bedroom where I had a nice cat bed waiting for her. It's a large moving box, with a large pet bed on top of a folded towel with a heating pad inside. I cut a nice sized hole in it so Keeta can get in and out, but baby can't. I put baby in the bed. Keeta immediately jumped in, grabbed baby by the neck and hopped back out again. She took baby into hallway, stopped, looked around, and must have realized it was an okay spot after all! She returned to the cat bed, put baby in, got in herself and settled down. Whew!

In the next hour Keeta was in and out of the box. She sat at her water dish and drank non stop for about 5 minutes! She ate some food, used her litter box, and nursed her baby a couple of times. In between all that she has been re-exploring her house and getting re-acquainted with me. She even let me hold her in my arms for about 5 minutes. That is a record breaking hold time! She didn't even leave skid (scratch) marks on my chest when she finally wanted down. Maybe motherhood has mellowed her....

It's been a whole day and I can happily report that Keeta is mellow and calm, and taking good care of her baby. She spends most of the day and night in the box with her kitten. But she does find some time to come upstairs and hang with me on the couch. She nestles up to me and is more cuddly and affectionate than ever. I am enjoying her very much!

You can see Keeta and her baby on Teresa's website: http://www.seattlebengals.com/. Check it out!

My cat Keeta

Yes, I have a cat. And yes, I am writing about her. I am "that" person! ;-) If anyone knows me, they know I have a pure bred Bengal kitty that I got from my friend Teresa's cattery (http://www.seattlebengals.com/). I got my cat as part of a "partnership" program that she started when deciding to become a Bengal cat breeder. My kitty, Keeta, was the first cat partner in her breeding program. The partnership is basically this: I give the cat a good home, feed her, love her, and make her mine. Then when she goes into heat, I send her back to the breeder and she gets to hang with her kitty boyfriend for a few days, get knocked up, and then come home to me. When she is ready to pop two months later, she goes back to the breeder for delivery, and Teresa has 3-6 new babies to raise in her cattery. Sounds easy, right?

Well, my particular baby doesn't like to make things easy! She has hard heat cycles (9) where she coos her little mating call like a bird, meows loudly and constantly... and she sprays. Ugh. Most female cats don't spray but mine does. She is trying to attract a male. It's a mess. So I had to put up with it 4 times before she was a year old. Finally after she turned one, we bred her. Now she has been bred multiple times (5) over the last year. The little stinker just did not want to get pregnant! The interesting thing is that her body would think she was pregnant, and so she wouldn't go back into heat until almost her due date. So we were never sure if she was pregnant or not... until she started cooing again. She finally got pregnant for the first time in September and this time I saw the tell tale signs of pregnancy: the red swollen nipples. She gradually started looking bigger in the abdomen area too. However, not as big as some of Teresa's other pregnant cats. So we were not sure how many babies she would have. Keeta delivered on a snowy Tuesday night (11/23/2010) just before midnight. How many cute little babies did she have? (1) baby! Oh Keeta, you are not making this easy...

Regardless, he's a keeper! Mama Keeta and baby kitten are both doing well. Today, I got to bring them both back home to my house. In the next post, I will tell you about that drive! CRAZY!

Northgate: Condo for Sale

Hey all,
If you or someone you know is looking to buy a GREAT place in a GREAT area for a GREAT price, have them check this link! This is a newly foreclosed condo in my building. (If the link doesn't seem to work, just look for the address on that website: 1942 N. Northgate Way, Seattle.)

This building was completely remodeled in 2008 so it's like new! There is a shared pool and plenty of parking. Lot's of quick access to I-5, bus routes, shopping, etc. Every unit is 2-story, 2-bedroom, 2 1/2 baths, and 1000+ square feet. Sell price is $149,900! At todays low mortgage rates, you'll be spending less than your rent now! Did I mention that you'd have GREAT neighbors??

Please pass this on to anyone you think would be interested.

http://www.estately.com/listings/info/1904-n-northgate-way--1#listings/info/1942-northgate-wy

Homeownership: bathroom dry rot

Well, I have been a home owner for a year and a half now. Some of the things I've been dealing with as a new home owner have been fairly reasonable. Joining the HOA Board was definitely a good way to learn about my building, meet the neighbors and have a direct impact into what goes on with our dues, expenses, etc. Getting elected President of the HOA was a surprise! I am not sure how qualified I am for this role being a new home owner... but the rest of the group thought I would be good because (get this) I am organized, I respond to emails, and I have opinions. Good lord, that's all it takes?! I should learn to keep my big mouth shut!

Like I said I am learning a lot. I have been learning a lot about the operations, landscaping, and HOA insurance. Unfortunately I am also learning a lot about dues, collections, liens and foreclosures. This economy has taken a toll on some of our owners and I am dealing with the monetary and legal ramifications of that. Ugh!

On top of that, I realized I had some water damage in my main bathroom. Over the last couple months I have been noticing water on the floor in the hallway, on the outside wall of my bathtub. A small amount of water was appearing on the floor, under the molding so I thought that maybe the grout was cracking or leaking. Under some advice from my plumber, I didn't use the shower for several weeks (hoping that would dry out the interior of the wall). Then I purchased some caulk and went to town sealing up whatever grout lines or crevices that I could find. I thought I did a pretty good job! But over the months, the problem got worse. I started to see mold on the wall, and discoloration of the molding and wall. The wall felt wet to the touch. Worst of all, I started to see tiny bugs coming out of the wall! Gross!

I decided to call a plumbing company that I have worked with before. I described the issues and they sent out their plumber/contractor to check it out. He arrived on site and based on the visible damage, he also thought it was a bad tile job which was causing the water damage. This assessment was based on the fact that the last owner/remodel had set the tile directly on the sheet rock without any type of waterproof board in between. If water was leaking thru the grout, it would immediately soak the sheet rock and basically melt it. This was evidenced by the slight bowing of the wall near the faucet handle. The contractor thought that possibly all 4 walls were compromised, but without actually opening up the wall, couldn't be sure. Yes, my tub is actually surrounded by 4 walls with one wall being a shorter wall (allows for entry). This was the wall in question. In the end he gave me a quote for "worst-case scenario" which would mean the tear out of all the tile, cut thru the walls to remove any water damaged sheet rock, dry-rot, etc. Then rebuild the walls, re-tile, re-paint.

Worst-case scenario quote = $5800. Yikes! Well, I know I probably should have gotten some bids before starting the project, but I felt comfortable with the plumbing company that I had used in the past, and the contractor seemed very knowledgeable about what needed to happen. So I went ahead and told him to get started with opening up the walls. In doing this, we would be able to see instantly where the leaking was actually coming from. That would determine the extend of damage and we could move on from there.

Opening up the first wall was indeed tell-tale. He opened the wall where most of the visible damage seemed to be coming from (the short wall) that has the plumbing for the faucet. It was definitely a shoddy job, the copper pipes were not soldered together - they were glued together on the outside with some sort of clear epoxy. There pipes were glistening wet and clearly showing leakage. There was even an old rag that had been wrapped around the pipes there, which was rotted from the mold fell apart into pieces. You can see the BLACK sheetrock behind the pipes inside the wall opening. Sheetrock is supposed to be white! The shower tiles are affixed to this sheetrock so naturally it all had to come down and out.

The next hole in that same wall showed that the tiles around the bathtub were not properly sealed. The bathtub was also not level therefore gravity was pulling water drops from the edge of the tub into the grout, instead of into the tub. This was adding to the already moldy wet sheet rock in that wall.

The third cut was into the wall closest to the drain. It was here that my contractor found even more misery. The drain pipe had been cemented into the flooring with some sort of ready mix cement. The trap drain was also in this wall therefore limiting access to cleaning the trap. My contractor thought he would need to bring in a jack hammer to break up the cement, but as the cash register sounds in my brain were ching-chinging, I asked him to hold on. I asked him if that cemented drain was a problem NOW, or could it be a separate project later on. After doing a water pressure test, he agreed that it wasn't leaking so was not a current issue, but definitely would be an issue later on. The fact that the trap was buried in a wall with no access was also not up to code. I convinced him to leave those issues for now, and asked him to put a panel or cabinet door on that wall during re-build. Then I could easily monitor the drain pipe for leakage, have access to it in the future when it needed fixing, and have access to the trap.

The fourth cut into a third wall was to view the shower head and it's plumbing. Knowing that the plumbing around the faucet was so shoddy, he could only imagine that same plumbing led all the way up to the shower head. Sure enough the same plumbing fixes were used here as well. Small, daily leakage led to moldy wet sheet rock. Yikes!

The fix: my contractor removed all the wet sheet rock and dry-rot from the walls. He cut out any wet studs and replaced them with new cedar studs (bugs hate cedar so should double as a insect repellent for years to come). He replaced all the copper with a new fangled Swedish pvc tubing and refreshed the plumbing. He replaced the sheet rock and mudded the walls for tile and paint. He matched the paint perfectly (2 different colors)! He replaced the door and the moldings and he re-tiled the shower and grouted it. Now he just needs to come back to put a waterproof seal on the grout and do all the finishing touches. Should be done on Tuesday!! I will post the AFTER pictures when it's all done. Stay tuned!

Week of Sports

Whew, the last week was a whirlwind. Lot's to do and see in Seattle. We have an abundance of fanfare in this town and I guess this was my week to enjoy them all! I started it off with a Mariner's game in Safeco Stadium. My company usually sponsors a suite for our best customers about once a year - always a good time!
http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=sea

Then I grabbed a friend and headed across the Cascade Mountains to see some of the Ellensburg Rodeo in my home town!
http://www.ellensburgrodeo.com/

Next I participated in a charity Golf Tournament at Newcastle Golf Course, benefiting Muscular Dystrophy. Again, ACS was a sponsor.
http://www.newcastlegolf.com/

Then hit the Seattle Sounders FC match - courtesy of my friends sweet (suite) tickets!
http://www.soundersfc.com/Tickets/Single-Game-Tickets.aspx

Finally I watched the Husky game from the seats I won in a charity auction benefiting cancer research.
http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/wash-m-footbl-sched.html

Melanoma... it's not really a beauty mark...

In the last couple of months I have noticed a crazy freckle on my lip that seems to have grown to enormous size! Of course, when things like that happen gradually over time, you tend to overlook the obvious. I mean, I was seeing it in pictures and wondering how/when it got big like that - but I wasn't paying that much attention to it. Friends who hadn't seen me in a while would comment on it. So I finally took a look back at some pictures from the last year and made some notes on the changes. The first photo to the left is from last September 2009. This is me on the plane to Greece! You can see one brown freckle on the right side. However, it's the faint brown spot on the LEFT that has grown!

Last summer, no freckle. By late September I could see the start of a brown dot on my lower lip. Over the months, the dot grew bigger and darker. The photo to the right shows the freckle in January 2010.

Here is the freckle in May 2010.
I had a suspicion that this was cause for concern, but I put it off because I felt like I had been dealing with too many other medical issues at the time. When my good friend Sheila told me to "go get that thing checked out" I had to comply. If you know Sheila, and what she's had to deal with (breast cancer) you don't say NO to her! ;-)

Finally in Aug 2010, I made an appointment with my dermatologist (Kelly Stevens at Pacific Dermatology & Cosmetic Center http://www.pacificdermcenter.com/ ). I went in to see her last Friday, armed with some digital proof of the growth. She took one look at me and my photos and said that it looked like melanoma. She also brought in another surgeon for a second opinion. Yes, they both agreed that a biopsy was needed that day.

The biopsy was easy. They simply stuck a needle in my lip and gave me some numbing meds. Once I couldn't feel anything, they did a 2mm punch biopsy on the area. The tool looked like one of the small leather working tools I used to play with in my Dad's old leather shop in Bellingham! After the tissue was removed, Dr. Stevens sewed my lip together with a stitch and gave me some ointment to put on it for the next week.
I went to work with a bloody, fat lip that day. I couldn't eat or drink without drooling on myself! Not pretty! However, I had a weekend full of events with friends so I just had to suck it up and check my vanity at the door.

RESULTS: I received my biopsy results today and it’s good news! The pathology report shows no melanoma or skin cancer cells. Apparently it is just a sun spot or freckle that got huge. Whew! I go back to the dermatologist to get the stitches out on Friday. Then I have to wait for the lip to be completely healed (4-6 weeks) and they will treat it with liquid nitrogen to freeze off the brown mark. The freezing will blister and scab and should take about 7-10 days to heal. Again, not pretty for a while, but worth it in the end.

Hey friends, this is a good reminder for all of us to check our bodies and note any changes. Freckles, sun spots, and moles can be indicators of something more. Be sure to scan your own body frequently after a shower. Notice your own markings and keep mental notes. If you start to see changes in color, shape and texture of these markings, you might want to see a dermatolgist.

From the Mayo Clinic website: Characteristics of unusual moles/spots that may indicate melanomas or other skin cancers follow the A-B-C-D-E guide developed by the American Academy of Dermatology:

■A is for asymmetrical shape. Look for moles with irregular shapes, such as two very different-looking halves.
■B is for irregular border. Look for moles with irregular, notched or scalloped borders — characteristics of melanomas.
■C is for changes in color. Look for growths that have many colors or an uneven distribution of color.
■D is for diameter. Look for new growth in a mole larger than about 1/4 inch (6 millimeters).
■E is for evolving. Look for changes over time, such as a mole that grows in size or that changes color or shape. Moles may also evolve to develop new signs and symptoms, such as new itchiness or bleeding.

For more information, click link below.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/melanoma/DS00439/DSECTION=symptoms