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What are the pros and cons of management companies?

Our association is thinking of implementing a pet policy. Any suggestions?

When is the most affordable time to have work done on the premises?

Should our condo association have rules?

What can a condo association do to make sure it does not overpay for a service call?

What can we do about a board president who doesn't call meetings and a management company that's nonresponsive?

What is the responsibility of the association regarding noise control in units? What if the noise involves children running overhead?

A few residents think the condo board is unfair, or even dishonest. What can we do to save our reputation?

What kinds of services should a condo association expect from a management company?

We're in the process of impeaching our association president (2/3 of residents have signed a petition). If not all 2/3 can attend a meeting, is the petition enough? What else should we consider?

What's the best criteria for evaluating property management services?

I own 1 unit and the administrator owns the other 2. He doesn't hold meetings or provide financial info. What can I do?

What should we include in our meeting minutes?

How can a condo committee resolve disagreements?

We (the other board members) want to remove the President from the board. Our by-laws call for a 2/3 Vote -- how do we begin ithe process?

How do I run a condo meeting?

What are typical titles and responsibilities for board members? Also, what are common types of committees?

We're in the process of formalizing an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for maintenance. What should it consist of?

Are rules and regulations ever made into bylaws? Can you define bylaws vs. rules and regulations?

What are the responsibilities of a trustee?

Our association is setting up our first reserves fund. Some owners who may be selling in the spring want to be able to take 'their' portion with them? Can they? How is that done?

We're currently splitting expenses evenly across four units, but they vary slightly -- one has no parking, another has no outdoor space. How should we handle this?

There are many reasons why some condo associations use management companies:

• There are not enough people in the building who have the time or interest to effectively deal with condo issues.
• The trustees lack some basic skills, such as general knowledge of bookkeeping or a understanding of maintenance issues.
• None of the trustees are willing to confront problem neighbors, such as the one with a smelly dog or the one who is three months late with condo fees.
• The unit owners are losing trust in the condo board and want some outside oversight.
• The building is too large and the issues too complex to be managed by anyone other than professionals.

A good management company will be able to recommend qualified contractors, help you collect bids for major projects, arrange for the cleaning and maintenance of your premises, take care of bookkeeping (including collection and tax issues), offer you advice and insights based on their experience with multiple buildings, and help you deal with many other issues.

On the other hand, there's no guarantee that you will get good service from a management company or that the money spent could not be spent more wisely. Issues of trust and quality can arise, and there will be problems that the management company sometimes cannot deal with, such as disputes between neighbors and the interpretation of building rules. Furthermore, the condo committee will still need to be involved in reviewing budget reports, making decisions on renovations, negotiating with the building insurance company, and so on.

Management companies are very useful in large buildings and in condo associations that have a lot of rental units. In smaller buildings, the residents may expect more personalized and immediate service than a management company typically provides. A self-managed association generally has greater flexibility and informality than a professionally managed one. This simplifies decision making and often allows for greater creativity when solving problems.

Even pet-friendly buildings often have policies regarding pets. This can help protect the building from owners who are irresponsible. A thorough pet policy may consist of the following:

• The Board must meet with and approve each pet, and the Board will issue a written decision.
• Dogs must be leashed at all times when in the common areas or on the sidewalk immediately outside the premises.
• The pet may not use the property as a bathroom. In the event of an accident, the owner must clean up immediately.
• The owner is responsible for any damage to the common space and grounds caused by the pet.
• The owner is responsible for preventing barking that violates the noise rules of the building.
• The owner is responsible for keeping the pet clean to ensure that it leaves no odors or dirt in the common space.
• Pet blankets and clothes may not be washed in the building's laundry room.
• If the owner and pet violate the rules, the Board reserves the right to have the offending pet removed from the building.

Some buildings require pet owners to fill out and sign a form that includes the following information: Owner's name, address, and phone number and Pet's breed, weight, age, and description. In addition, the form might ask for names and phone numbers of references, such as former neighbors, and whether the pet has any problems or has caused any problems in the past.

In many areas, the late fall and winter months are slow for many types of contractors. In cold climates, for instance, painters see their workload drop dramatically because the weather prevents them from painting exteriors. Plumbers and electricians are often dependent on spring and summer construction for their jobs, so their workload drops off as well. If you have a costly project in mind -- such as painting the interior common space, installing a new laundry room, or putting up emergency lighting throughout your building -- consider getting bids in the fall and having the work done in the winter. You might save a significant amount of money.

When you ask for the bid, be upfront. Tell the contractor, you're collecting bids from several others. Also, explain that you're thinking of having the project done during the late autumn or early winter because you want a good price. Also, make it clear that you not only want a good price, you want a quality job. Make sure you understand what they will do for the price, and look through our FAQs to get ideas for what constitutes a good job.

Large condo associations often have handbooks of rules, but small ones rely on common courtesy. Establishing rules is not only useful for current residents, it's a good way for members of a condominium association to politely share their concerns. When creating rules, the condo association should encourage all its members to sit down and talk about the things that are important to their quality of life. Here are a few examples of rules:

• Clotheslines: Use of clotheslines is prohibited.
• Common space: You may use the common room and the garden for a private party, but must post a notice one week prior. Do not leave personal belongings in common space.
• Garbage room. All trash should be in sealed plastic bags before placing in trash container.
• Laundry room. Keep the laundry room clean. Remove laundry from the washer or dryer as soon the cycle is complete.
• Noise: Be respectful of neighbors. Keep noise down especially between the hours of 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. Construction is only permitted between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• Odors: Objectionable odors are not permitted.
• Pets. Pets are allowed, but must be kept on a leash when in any common space (yard, hallways, garbage room, and so on). Owners are responsible for any damage caused by their pets to the common area.
• Safety: Do not use barbecue equipment on balconies. Do not store flammable liquids in your storage space. Test your smoke detector every year.
• Satellite dishes: If you want to install a satellite dish, you must first get permission of the condo association.
• Security: Make sure exterior doors are fully closed. Do not let strangers into the building. Notify the building if you lose an exterior door key. Don't let your mail and newspapers pile up.
• Stairways and hallways. Do not leave garbage or other articles on stairways, in stairwells, or in hallways

Other subjects for which you could have rules include: signs in windows, solicitation, use of units, yard sales, and so on. There may be state or local laws that you have to mindful of. For example, it may be illegal to use grills on balconies or to prevent residents from displaying political signs in their windows. Some states, such as Virginia, allow condo associations to assess penalties if someone violates the condo rules.

It may take time, but finding and establishing a relationship with someone you trust is the easiest way to reduce the risk of being overcharged for service calls, such as fixing a leak, installing a lightswitch, or raking a lawn.

On service calls, as opposed to large projects that involve estimates and contracts, there are several steps a condo trustee can take to avoid being overcharged:

• Ask the serviceperson for an estimate. An experienced serviceperson can provide an idea of the cost, assuming there are no unexpected complications.
• Find out the hourly rate and the minimum charge. Most servicepeople have a minimum charge to compensate them for travel time.
• Monitor how much time the serviceperson is actually spending on the job. Expect to pay for the time the person spends working on the job site or leaving the job site to buy parts. Unless otherwise agreed, you should not expect pay for the person's lunch hour, time spent on the cell phone, and so on.
• Review the bill and have the trustee who hired the serviceperson review the bill. The total should reflect the hours worked, plus any parts. If you think the parts costs are exorbitant, search for the parts on the web or visit a store like Home Depot to get an estimate.

If you believe that the serviceperson has overcharged you, call him or her up and explain the situation. In most cases, you will be able to negotiate a fairer price, because the serviceperson will want to maintain a relationship.

One way to save money is to group service calls together. For instance, if there is a leak that needs repair, look around for other plumbing needs (such as insulating pipe to prevent condensation, cleaning out the sump pump, checking the backflow of a basement toilet, and so on.)

At the very least, read your by-laws and related documents carefully to see what it says about meetings and any other issues you're concerned about. You could also visit this site, and read up on the condo law in your state.

If I was faced with the situation you described and had majority support on the board, I would get a majority of board members to call a meeting. I would post it so that unit owners and the president knew about it. At the meeting, I would consider the following:

• Introducing a motion to put another board member in charge of calling meetings.
• Introducing a motion to get your concerns into the minutes, and then motion to make sure the minutes are printed and distributed to all unit owners (if they currently are not).
• Introducing a motion to request the management company send a representative to your next meeting to answer questions.
• Introducing a motion to explore becoming self-managed or working with a different company. There's a good chance that a different management company, to get your business, would advise and help you handle the process.

If the majority doesn't support you, then your situation is obviously more difficult. In that case, I would work to build a majority of support and to get your main concerns into the minutes.

Of course, there's always the risk of legal complications (if you think people would go that far), so it never hurts to discuss your concerns with an attorney who can review and give insight into your condo docs.

If a condo association wants to address a noise problem, it can take several steps. It can impose rules and, in many cases, try to enforce these rules with fines. However, before imposing rules affecting a child's right to make noise in his or her home, you should discuss the matter with the condo association's lawyer. Instead of a rule, a condo association could certainly post a notice urging people to be considerate of their neighbors.

In my building, on occasion, we've designated a trustee to talk to the problem tenant. This has often helped resolve a situation. Perhaps the neighbor with kids would be willing to switch around the bedrooms, put down some carpet, or ask their kids not to wear shoes in the apartment. Steps like that might help reduce the noise. As always in communal living situations, if you can resolve a conflict amicably you avoid the risks of escalating and making the problem more intractable.

This is not an uncommon problem, even in professionally managed buildings. In self-managed buildings, it's a fact of life that condo boards will sometimes make mistakes or take the path of least resistance. In addition, unit owners will sometimes be distrustful or jealous when a rule appears to benefit one party, but not another.

The best way to combat distrust is with information. Make sure you announce board meetings beforehand. If you're going to make a decision that will directly affect the unit owners, give them advance warning so they can offer feedback. Allow unit owners who are not board members to attend meetings -- they rarely will. Distribute minutes, or post them in a prominent place. Periodically distribute an accounting of income and expenditures.

Whatever the issue is, the first step in resolving it is to ask the person with the issue to communicate it in writing or in person to the board. After that, you have a number of options:

• If unit owners feel the board is irresponsible with money, ask the building accountant to provide a report on how the money has been spent. In addition, your association could consider having an audit conducted to assure the unit owners that the board is on the up and up. You could propose the idea of an audit at your association's annual meeting.
• If someone believes the board has made a bad decision, try to look at it objectively. If you have made a bad decision, own up to it, and use it as a way to encourage other people to be more involved. If your decision wasn't bad, explain your reasoning, but also find a way for that unit owner to be involved. For instance, if the person objects to the paint colors the board chose for the hallways, ask that person if they would like to head up a decorating committee for future projects.
• If someone thinks a rule is unfair, present the board's reasoning, but also tell them how to go about changing the rule. In most cases, your bylaws should allow for changing a rule through a simple majority vote at the annual or a specially called meeting.
• If someone says the board isn't adequately addressing a problem, such as a roof leak, maybe you can get that individual to investigate the problem themselves and propose a solution to the board. (If you do that, be sure to thank them in the minutes.)

Condo boards that fail often fail in the area of communication. If you have closed door meetings, fail to distribute minutes, and don't provide information on expenditures, is it any wonder that some people will complain?

Typically, a management company provides a menu of services. They may offer accounting services, collection of late payments, cleaning services, security services, and much more. A good management company will help you budget for capital improvements, make recommendations on improving the premises, and even help you conduct your annual meeting. They may take care of general mailings, posting announcements, and subcontracting work on the building. They generally do not assist renters. (Renters are told to contact the unit owner.)

While management companies can simplify things for a condo board, they do not replace the condo board. The board still must meet to set priorities, review the budget, vote on major expenditures, evaluate the management company, and help address problems between neighbors. In addition, the board will probably take the lead in selecting new paint colors for the common area, new plants for the garden, new rules for the laundry room, and other similar matters.

I would have someone who's friendly with the President tell him/her where things stand, and ask him to step down for the good of the condo association. If you can think of a role for the president, e.g., chairing the landscaping committee, it might make things easier. If he steps down, let bygones be bygones and thank him for his/her years of service.

If I did call a meeting to impeach the president, I would ask everyone who can't attend the meeting to submit a proxy form for someone else to act on their behalf at the meeting.

I would also make sure that I had 2/3rds as a percent of ownership. In many associations, percent of ownership is determined by such things as square footage. For instance, someone who owns a studio unit would own a smaller percentage of the association than someone who owned a three bedroom unit. (Chances are, the percent of ownership for all units appears on the deed.)

Lastly, what we've presented is common sense advice. It's always best to discuss a matter like this with an attorney. If you feel the president will fight you tooth and nail, then you should consider that.

At any rate, follow this link to a good article that talks about unit owners calling meetings in New York State:

http://www.stroock.com/SiteFiles/Pub295.pdf

Here’s a link to an article in Realty Times that may address your needs:

In general, your best bet at finding a good property management company is to talk with members of other local condo boards. A property management company that already has clients in your neighborhood should be able to provide you with better support than one that does not. In addition to the specific items you want the property manager to take care of, we suggest that you also investigate

• whether they have enough staff to manage all their properties
• what in-house staff they employ
• their complaint process
• emergency services
• what licenses they have
• what type of insurance they have
• their references
• what kind of information they will provide you with (and in what kind of time frame)
• what criteria they use to select service people not employed by them
• what they expect from you

Judging from the kinds of property management company issues we typically hear about, it's important to remember that even if you employ such a company, it's important that your board and officers work closely with the company to make sure that the services they deliver meet your needs and expectations.

Your condo by-laws should specify how often meetings are required and indicate what kind of information you are entitled to. Chances are your state laws entitle you to the kind of information you want, such as how fees are being spent.

Read the bylaws and speak with the current administrator. Ask for an official meeting and volunteer to take the minutes and request copies of recent budgets and expenditures. You certainly have a right to know how your money is being spent and your administrator will surely recognize this. If not, you will have to talk with a lawyer.

According to Robert's Rules of Order, minutes are a record of what was done at the meeting, not what was said. At a minimum, minutes should include:

• Name and kind of meeting, e.g., Annual Meeting, Meeting of the Trustees, Special Meeting of Unit Owners.
• Names of the chair and secretary.
• Names of voting members attending, and whether a quorum was present.
• Names of guests and their subject matter. For example, if the roofer attends a meeting, you could simply say, "Bill the roofer told us about different types of shingle."
• Whether minutes from the previous meeting were approved, or corrected.
• Motions made. You must record the exact wording of the motion; who made the motion; and the result of the vote.
• Reports. Summarize in a sentence or two any reports or major topics of discussion.
• Secretary's signature, once the minutes have been approved.

Many condo boards are made up of individuals with different value systems. Some people enjoy a good fight, while others shy away. Some people want everyone to stick to the letter of every rule, while others think rules are made to be broken. On some issues, the only way to avoid a fight is to bring the issue to a vote. You can minimize the ill-will caused by defeat by compromising, postponing, or voting on the issue to get it out of the way once and for all.

Scenario 1

Pat, who chairs of the condo association, does not care if someone occasionally borrows the building vacuum, but Fred isn’t so sure:

Pat: I think we need a new vacuum for the hallway carpets. The old one isn’t working very well.

Fred: If we want the vacuum to last, we shouldn’t allow unit owners to borrow it.

Alice: I pay one-sixth of the condo fees. I should be allowed to use the vacuum one-sixth of the time.

This scenario can collapse into an argument about the rights that come with paying condo fees. To prevent that from happening, Pat has several options:

Find a compromise. For example, Pat could say, “Alice, you can borrow my vacuum, if you’d like.” Reinforce the compromise by repeating it and putting it in the minutes.

Set up a working group. Take the issue out of the hands of the trustee committee by setting up a group that consists of trustees or other trusted individuals. The trustees would promise to abide by the decisions of the working group.

Vote. “All in favor of the condo vacuum being available for private use, raise your hands.” This can lead to ill-will, but sometimes it’s the only choice. If you do outvote someone, do not belabor the issue. Move on to something else.

Table. “Well, we're not going to resolve this issue today, so let's talk about it next time. All in favor of tabling this issue until the next meeting, raise your hands.” With luck the issue will disappear all by itself or time will buy the opportunity to find a solution that everyone is okay with.

Scenario 2

Martin is treasurer of a small condo board. He’s a real stickler for the rules, and many times contractors get paid late because he’s not satisfied with the format or content of their invoices. This creates embarrassment and frustration for the trustee who negotiates with the contractors.

Martin: We won't pay the bill until the painter submits a proper invoice with the details of his work.

Maria: We know what he did. We can go out and look at it right now.

Martin: We have a fiduciary responsibility to all the unit owners to keep accurate records.

Maria: Well, I'm not going to call the painter. He's already mad at us.

This issue may not lend itself to tabling because the association has an outstanding bill. Consider one of the following approaches.

Compromise. For example, Maria could say, “Give me the invoice, and I’ll write down exactly what the contractor did.” Another compromise might be for Maria to concede, but request that Martin provide her with an example of an invoice that is to his satisfaction, which could be used a template for future invoices.

Vote. “All those in favor of instructing the treasurer to pay the existing invoice as is, raise your hands.”

When you can’t find a compromise, it may be because everyone is too angry to look for one. It’s often best to table the issue if you can or to vote, accept the bad feelings, and move on to other, hopefully, more agreeable issues.

It's always advisable to talk with your association's lawyer on questions of this type. The answer to some degree will vary depending on the state you live in and your bylaws. That said, here's a practical answer to your question:

There are actually two parts to your question.

The first is, How do you get rid of a lousy board member? Consider the possibility she will remain difficult once she is removed. She might do this by participating in every meeting, demanding to see documents, lodging complaints, or poisoning the atmosphere. For that reason, consider all your options before organizing a vote. These options include:

1. If the owners elected board members and did not elect them to specific positions, then the board itself can vote to reassign the positions. For instance, the President could be become Special Projects trustee while someone else becomes President.
2. Reassign those responsibilities not spelled out by the bylaws (or state laws) so that the President is less involved. For instance, vote to make the Maintenance Trustee the spokesperson for the association or vote that someone else should put together the agenda and run the meetings.
3. Ask someone who is friendly with the President to talk with her. Perhaps if she is convinced that it would be for the good of the association, she will step down. You could sweeten the offer by also asking her to head some committee, e.g., the Landscaping Committee..
4. Have the board formally vote to ask the President to step down for the good of the condo association.

If all else fails, how do you hold a Emergency meeting? Call a meeting, get a quorum, and vote on the matter. Most importantly, give reasonable notice to people, be fair, and follow your bylaws. If the President calls a lawyer who says, e.g., that the bylaws state, "Only the President can call meetings," then you'd have to call a lawyer, too.

Every meeting should have an agenda. The agenda will be different for the Annual Meeting than for Trustee Meetings.

Sample Annual Meeting Agenda

• Approval of the minutes to the previous year’s Annual Meeting
• Review of the previous year's activities and actions
• Approval of Annual Budget
• Election of Directors
• Plans and objectives for the new year

Sample Trustee Meeting Agenda

• Approval of the minutes for the previous Trustee Meeting
• Status reports on ongoing projects
• Budget report
• New business

The chairperson should allocate time to each agenda item, and then do his/her best to keep to that time frame. This takes a lot of judgment. If a good dialog is taking place, it makes sense to let it continue. However, if a discussion turns contentious or has gone on much too long, the chairperson should take steps to get the meeting back on track. There are several courteous ways to end discussion:

• Point out that item under discussion is taking too much time, and propose ending discussion in 10 minutes.
• Introduce a motion to table the issue until the next meeting of trustees.
• Propose that a working group be formed to resolve the issue, and promise that the trustees will abide by the recommendation of the working group.

Make sure someone at the meeting takes minutes and that these minutes are distributed soon after the meeting. Also, be sure to keep a copy of the minutes on behalf of the condo association. Minutes not only serve as an official record of condo business, they help resolve disputes.

Typically, a condo association has a President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, though in small associations the President (or Secretary) might also serve as Treasurer. The exact roles, beyond what’s stated in the bylaws, are spelled out by the condo committee itself, and depend on the skills and interests of the committee members.

The minimum responsibility of the President is usually to call and run meetings, while the secretary is in charge of taking minutes and handling other administrative duties. Beyond that, the President is often the one contacted by realtors or lawyers for information about the building, might cosign (with the Treasurer) checks for the association, and may take the lead in ensuring that the condo association comply with any legal requirements.

Beyond that, associations often designate condo board members as being in charge of special projects, gardening, maintenance, etc. A maintenance trustee might work with the building manager to prioritize problems such as pest control, window cleaning, and minor repairs, while a special projects trustee would be involved (with the manager) in scoping and reviewing bids for major projects.

A three-person committee for a 250-unit associations sounds small. Even if you have a management company, the committee will still be involved with establishing standards for cleaning, reviewing budgets and invoices, resolving neighbor disputes, and so on.

As far as committees, it very much depends on the needs of your condo association. Some common committees are charged with decorating, gardening, the gym and pool, events and programs, and so on.

In general, try to identify your associations needs and match them to the skills and interests of the condo board members and other volunteers.

As we deal with mostly small to midsized condo associations, we do not have a sample building maintenance SOP. There are websites like:

http://www.leasemaint.com

that help in gathering and tracking maintenance requests. But, in most associations, the process is not always as straightforward as one would like. For instance, some maintenance requests (such as a leak behind the wall) might have to go before the board to determine responsibility. Other requests might be important to the tenant, such as a water stain in the ceiling outside their unit, but might be postponed by the association.

Do you have thoughts on the use of SOP's in a condo association? Let us know and see what others are saying.

"The rules set up by the condominium managers that govern how the condominium operates." (http://www.adjustor.com/glossary_c.cfm)

Some of these rules are defined by your state's condo laws. But, in many cases, other rules were written by lawyers and condo owners like yourself. By adding rules to your bylaws, it gives them greater force and makes it more difficult for future board members to change them. If you are going to add rules and regulations to your bylaws, you will need to consult your association’s lawyer.

A condominium is a business and trustees are responsible for running the business. Typically, this includes but is not limited to setting and collecting fees and assessments, keeping financial records and paying bills, arranging for audits (if necessary), preparing and distributing minutes, holding meetings (including an annual meeting at which elections for trustees and approval of budgets are held), arranging for proper maintenance of the building, selecting a management company (if it so chooses), establishing committees as needed (such as a gardening committee), and resolving disputes between neighbors when possible. Many of these specific responsibilities are assigned, through association bylaws or tradition, to specific trustees or officers (such as president, secretary and treasurer).

Sometimes trustees set rules for the building (such as fines for late payment, restrictions on pets, and so on), but these rules are more easily enforced if they are incorporated into your bylaws. Your bylaws will spell out the most fundamental responsibilities.

What are the qualifications to become a trustee?

Generally, the only requirement to be a trustee is to be a unit owner. To our knowledge, renters and other nonowners cannot be trustees in most states.

Does a trustee need to be available year round, i.e. for monthly meetings?

Certainly it's preferable if a trustee is available year round, but in many smaller associations that is not possible. As long as the meeting has a quorum, typically more than 50% of trustees, a meeting can be held and business can be conducted.

Can trustee terms be changed from 1 year to 3 years?

Your bylaws should spell out the term. You can amend the bylaws to change the term, but in most states the amendments need to be filed with the county or state. If you amend the bylaws, you should contact your building lawyer to ensure you do it properly.

Is it wise to keep the same trustees for more than 5 years?

Many buildings keep the same trustees for year after year for the simple reason that most people don't want the responsibility. There is nothing wrong with keeping the same trustees, but in our opinion it's healthy to get some new blood in every now and then just to get new ideas and constructive criticism.

When voting, should a committee be formed to count the votes outside of the trustees?

Unless your bylaws state otherwise, typically the vote is held (sometimes by secret ballot), and the ballot is counted by the trustee designated as secretary. A paper ballot forms a record in the unlikely circumstance someone challenges the results. Your bylaws probably allow proxies for elections, which means that people who cannot attend the meeting can sign a form authorizing another unit owner to vote in their behalf.

We strongly recommend you read your condo bylaws as that will contain a lot of useful information particular to your own condo association.

Regarding the reserves account: No, they can't take it with them.

It would be unwise to modify the condo docs to allow owners to take "their" portion of the reserves with them because it would mean that the condo association could not fully count on those funds. That would discourage investing in repairs and improvements. Also, the money belongs to the association, not the individuals within it.

Additionally, keep in mind that there are at least two reasons why a reserves is a good investment for a seller: (1) to maintain the building and property to keep the value up and (2) to demonstrate to buyers that yours is a well-run, financially sound condo association that can meet its typical costs without imposing assessments.

Regarding the parking area and outdoor space, your deeds and bylaws should spell out the situation. If the parking and yard are part of the common area, the board has some responsibility, but that can be worked out between the condo owners. For instance, in my building, all the storage rooms are common area. The association is thus responsible if a window breaks, a pipe leaks, the chicken wire gets torn, etc. If someone wanted to paint their storage area blue, they should request permission from the board, but as a practical matter the board doesn't care what a person does with their storage area. That said, because it's common area, the board could in theory reclaim all the space and put in, for instance, an exercise room. Given that, it makes sense that the board has some responsibility for that space. Common area is a community asset and should be treated as such.

If the parking spaces and outdoor property (e.g., decks) are deeded to the individual units, then the board would typically be responsible for common elements, such as the roof, walls, and exterior paint. That said, if there are serious disputes and your condo docs, like most condo docs, don't clearly spell out every situation, you may have to consult a lawyer. One advantage of self-managed associations is that they can address disputes on a case by case situation, and try to find a compromise that works for everyone. If you have a reserve, it will be a lot easier to create policies that work for everyone.