Fined for questioning condo board?

Palm trees were blocking her view of the property She sought the board to trim chosen fronds and then the board fined her It s why she contacted Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser Twenty-two years ago Lillian walked onto the property strolled into a condo and was sold Lillian Ferraro Everybody would love to buy a place with the beautiful view of a pool When Lillian looked out her kitchen window she saw the property and the pool and she is in the kitchen a lot Lillian Ferraro I love to cook Then in the association decided to plant three palm trees below her th-floor condo Lillian Ferraro It s right in front of my kitchen window It s going to grow So he stated No it s not Don t worry about it It ll take years ' Mother Nature declared You wanna bet Lillian Ferraro I can even pull it as you can see It took the palms just six years to grow even with her kitchen window Lillian Ferraro You can t even see out your window You can t even see the view For a while Lillian commented the board would allow the landscapers to trim the palm fronds to give her a partial view Then they got a new board and Lillian had the same request Lillian Ferraro Would they help me cut a sparse fronds from the palm tree And the answer was no again When Lillian saw the landscapers on the property she inquired them to cut a few palm fronds Lillian Ferraro So he revealed No predicament You know I ll come over sometime in the modern day ' But they didn t cut any fronds and instead Lillian got a warning letter from the condo board saying No resident or member may contact a vendor directly to request services So Lillian mentioned she contacted the board president Lillian Ferraro He was like Listen if it s about the tree I don t want to hear it It s closed episode I just have a question No questions ' But Lillian requested answers and commented she contacted the manager s office Lillian Ferraro I went there three times I couldn t get a hold of our manager A inadequate days later the board got in touch with her though fining her for harassing not just one but two board members Lillian Ferraro And I never harassed anybody believe me That is not harassment just to inquire Even more aggravating to Lillian the latest letter commented if she brings up the palm frond issue again she will be hit with another violation and a fine of per day per occurrence Lillian Ferraro And I feel I need that to buy food So it just seems like they re trying to push me out of here We inevitably tell people to be the squeaky wheel So Howard can a condo resident be fined for being that squeaky wheel Howard Finkelstein It s legal to be a squeaky wheel and it can be a violation of the rules to harass a board member If they feel it s harassment they can fine you So what is the line separating a squeaky wheel from harrassment The people on either side can t determine that so it would take a judge to decide I contacted the property manager at Deer Creek Condominium She disclosed it costs to trim all the palms on the property and because of that they can only do it once a year She disclosed they believe nothing short of cutting the trees down will make Lillian happy that the trees are trimmed to code that Lillian badgers them about trimming and we have reported her in a kind but firm way to stop it The property manager then announced the board was going to waive the fine so Lillian doesn t have to pay anything Lillian Ferraro And you all have helped me tremendously The board waived the fine goodbye but I am not sure they can wave goodbye to Lillian s efforts to get specific palm fronds removed Lillian Ferraro I m not going to stop and I can ask questions as long as I want All right Lillian So to avoid the board considering it harassment put your questions or requests about the palms in writing an email or a letter That way it s clear what was stated and it avoids the face-to-face confrontation that might bother a board member or property manager A complication uprooting your life Questioning what you should do Don t put your palms up and give up Let s see if we can find a fix that ll grow on you With this Help Me Howard I m Patrick Fraser News CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD Email helpmehoward wsvn comReporter Patrick Fraser at pfraser wsvn comMiami-Dade - -WSVNBroward - -WSVN