Are your neighbors creating a vintage car collection?

This is the title of my next article in “Common Interest” magazine.  A couple of recent incidents that happened in my complex helped me share this information with our members.  There is a delicate balance that has to be maintained when you are a member of the board of directors.  A balance between being a good neighbor and protecting everyone’s investment and quality of living.  In our complex parking is a place that really has an effect on everyone’s quality of living.  We have had residents fight harder for their parking spot than increases in monthly fees.  While other residents just thought it would be ok to take up parking spaces with an old vehicle they just could not part with.  Left unchecked the parking lot can quickly fill up with junk yard gems. 

Here are a couple of parking lot problems we face when trying to clear our lot of stored vehicles:

• The delay tactic – They have no intention of using the vehicle but have this need to hang on to the past.  They ask for time to keep the vehicle, delaying the inevitable.  Unfortunately in this instance it is at everyone else’s expense.  This the squirrel crowd, they keep gathering old things just in case.
• The two door shuffle – Once caught with a stored vehicle they keep it on the move for a while thinking you will just give up and go away.  That is until you let them know what the new storage fee is going to cost them every day.
• The Assist – When you get the person who completely ignores you, like the rules don’t apply to them.  They get a little help deciding the best course of action for their vintage vehicle from the local salvage yard.

Check out the February/March issue of Common Interest magazine for the complete story and visit our website at www.caict.org for more information about this publication.

Michael Zimmer is the President of The Meadows of Southington Condominium Association, Inc. Michael has served on the board of directors for this 166 unit complex in Southington for over 15 years and has held the position of President for the last 12 years.  He can be contacted via email at mjzimmer@bigplanet.com.