Learning Life the Hard Way
Every now and then we find ourselves in situations we didn’t really plan for. Two years ago I became a trustee of our Body Corporate and then suddenly before I knew it a year later we were down from 4 trustees to 2 and I was the default Chairman. It has been an interesting 2 years and I have learnt more than I ever wanted to about Body Corporates, building, landscaping and everything in between.
I joined with good intentions but things have spiraled very quickly. Right now there is a TLB in our driveway trying to remove the roots of a tree that has pushed the wall over. The wall on the other side fell down during December. A large branch fell onto my neighbours carport and took 3 days to remove. Every day we are discovering issues due to lack of maintenance or short cuts.
It has definitely been an eye-opening experience.
A year ago I knew very little about sectional title properties, security cameras, boreholes and wall construction – now I could probably stand up and talk for 10 minutes on any one of those topics!
But it has been a case of learning the lessons the hard way which is incredibly frustrating. We have spent a lot of time reacting to problems rather than proactively moving forward.
These are just a few of the lessons I learnt, maybe these will help you if you find yourself in a similar situation one day.
- REMOVE the large trees if they are near a wall. I know no one wants to take trees out but the damage they will cause will be costly.
- Find out what the law says and then use it.
- Get a list of good contractors, even if they aren’t the cheapest, they will save you money in the long run. I guarantee it.
- Sometimes you have to ask for forgiveness and not permission.
- Ask as many questions as you need to to make sure you understand.
- Communicate. People sometimes just want to be involved and updated.
Did I want to find myself dealing with burst water pipes and crumbling walls? Nope, not at all but here we are and I have learnt so much in the last 2 years. It has also been so rewarding watching the complex transform. It is possibly the only thing keeping me motivated at the moment.
