Author: Berkley Court

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BC BoD Property MISmanagement

126% increase for 2023

 In section 5.4 of the Declaration for our community, it states: 

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Based on this, a number of concerns emerge with the recent communication regarding the 2023 maintenance increase announced by the board in September 2022: 

1. Elementary school math teaches us 110% of X = 10% more than the whole. Not 2X. So, for example, 110% of 200 = 220, not 420.  X, in our case, is the current monthly assessment.   For convenience, here is a Google search result of the same so you can check multiple sources. 

The answer is the same, no matter what browser or search engine you use!

2. Any assessment that covers any special project like reconstruction is not a usual maintenance fee. For capital projects, there is a separate assessment involved, and usually includes the specific scope, cost, timeline, etc. in order for it to be passed. None of this has been put forward and voted by the home owners, as per Section 5.6 of the Declaration. 

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Instead, as usual, the current self-appointed directors are breaching the contractual obligations of the association at home owner expense. 

3. The majority of the self-appointed home owners have been on the board for at least 3-5 years.  The first requirement of a board member is to understand the governance structure and the legal requirements of an association. It is VERY concerning, disturbing that after all these years, the self-appointed directors still do not have a grasp of what is allowed or not allowed in the Declaration.  What else are they mismanaging due to a lack of understanding or willful misunderstanding?

Can the board members forgotten all their elementary school math?

4. The property management company, Houston HOA Management, is perpetuating this breach of the declaration. A property management company’s basic requirement is to understand the governance structure and the legal requirements of an association so that it can enforce it as needed – it is EXTREMELY alarming that Houston HOA is enabling violations of governing documents, rather than advising the board to abide by it and distancing themselves with any association’s directors that is determined to break the law.

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Uncategorized

An Update

Hi everyone,

It’s been a while, hope everyone is enjoying some peaceful time with their loved ones as we remember those who have given everything so that we can do so.

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Fraser—U.S. Army photo/Arlington National Cemetery

Many of you have asked what happened in court in March. Essentially, we heard the other side’s argument against the resolution was that they felt the resolution was invalid, as most people signed a signature sheet and not a piece of paper with the resolution and their signature on the same sheet of paper. The defendants’ lawyer accepted that the 27 people who signed via e-signature, but contested the signatures of the 80+ owners who signed on a physical piece of paper.

Rather than waiting five or more years for a jury trial to have folks testify to how they signed, and pay unnecessary legal fees in the duration, it seems simpler to have everyone sign a new resolution. It also has provided time for the defendants to show if they have changed their behavior from what we have seen in the past. What are your thoughts on this?

We look forward to hearing your thoughts and engaging with you to advance our community to a better place.

Categories
BC BoD Property MISmanagement

On the Fences

Have you wondered why some of the fences in our community look very different from the others seen in the community? Unit A’s fence is painted and standing up straight, Unit B is not.  Is it because the owner of Unit A is paying more? Could it be that the owner of Unit B does not want his or her fence in good condition to withstand the elements?

What the average fence looks like at Berkley Court, from a distance

Or, may I suggest, it might be because Unit A’s owner is on or has a friend on the Board, who has steered that benefit to him or herself?   

The fence of Lisa Hernandez, an individual who has engaged in questionable behavior with home owners funds.

You may wonder why the owner of Unit B doesn’t speak up about this disparity. In fact, many residents have brought this up and unless they are on personal good terms with a board member, the repair request is ignored or worse.

Here is one home owner’s troublesome experience in trying to get his fence fixed.

If you think owners of Unit A and B both should be treated alike, and that the unequal treatment of community members should stop, please join us in our movement to improve our community. After all:

Categories
BC BoD

Former Directors Play Hide-and-Seek

Thank you to everyone who came to the meeting yesterday, or who provided a proxy for the meeting yesterday. We appreciate the engagement and involvement in caring for the Berkley Court community. 

For those of who you weren’t able to attend, the former directors (i.e., Urban Grass, Rita Flores, Ceceilia Carrizales, and Lisa Hernandez) who called for the special election last night, did not come to the meeting.

No quorum was reached and nothing was gained, except for another example of more wasteful expenses that these individuals have incurred for the association. 

One would think that if they were confident in their legal position and of their leadership in the community, these individuals would appear to state their case in court, but it seems that being leaders who demonstrate responsibility and accountability for their actions is not in their DNA.  As they have skipped court appearances previously, and they have not shown up for a meeting that they called for their own benefit, we have no confidence that they will show up for court tomorrow, and will keep wasting all of our time with their games of hide-and-seek.

Thus, the hearing that was to be held tomorrow, December 16, 2021, will be rescheduled until we can proceed without the defendants’ presence being required. 

We will inform you of the new date, in hopes that all home owners and residents who can attend will do so. We will continue to provide home owners with fact checks and the truth about what is going on at Berkley Court via this web site, berkleycourt.com. Feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns via email at berkleycourtneighbor@gmail.com.   

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BC BoD

Fact Vs. Fiction

Fellow Berkley Court home owners, 

Please don’t get confused on the issues at Berkley Court. The previous directors have sent out defamatory messages to home owners, trying to scare them with vague doubts of things that were never in question.

Let’s fact-check a recent communication sent from the previous directors on 12/12/2021: 

The email spreading false and defamatory statements sent out by the FORMER board directors of Lisa Hernandez, Urban Grass, Ceceilia Carrizales and Rita Flores.

1. “The current board does NOT have access to the assessments of the association as previously stated… There are internal controls with checks and balances at the moment.“

  • Incorrect. The management company cannot spend money without the board directing its use.  Thus, it is the directors who control the funds.
As you can see in these minutes recorded last year, no money is disbursed without the board’s express approval.
  • One of the primary checks and balances in place for condo owners enshrined TX state law is the ability to get an audit of its financial statements every year, and access to the association’s books and records upon request. The former directors have NOT performed this audit in prior years and REFUSED home owner requests on multiple occasions to view the books and records, or to answer questions by home owners to see where the money is going. 
  • Do you want to continue to support people who won’t follow Texas law, and puts Berkley Court at further risk for more and more lawsuits because of their behavior? 

2. “Betsy Cherian, who sued the association has expressed that she plans to self-manage and have full access to our funds directly. ” 

  • This is a lie. Please ask yourself if you ever personally had a conversation with Betsy that was about self-management. 
  • Do you want to vote for people who have no problem creating and spreading lies about people that they were supposed to be serving, for their own selfish reasons? What lies will they spread about you, when you ask for a repair request or some other home owner matter?
  • As you can tell from the below screenshot of the case – Betsy did not sue the association. The association is suing the former directors, because those individuals have improperly kept association assets (e.g., keys to the clubhouse, passwords to computers, access to direct funds, etc.).
Note the plaintiff is the Association, the next hearing is set for 12/16/2021, and the former directors (Urban Grass, Ceceilia Carrizales, Rita Flores, and Lisa Hernandez are trying to fool you into thinking the case has been decided when it has not – mainly because they refuse to show up to court.

3. Please see the attached letter from the courts regarding the first hearing “Denying the Temporary Restraining Order” filed by Betsy Cherian against the current board of directors. The court agreed that we did not have to resign nor accept the candidates making invalid claims.

  • Incorrect, the judge on 11/3/2021 declared that he did not have time to decide the facts of the case, and moved it to the next hearing for another judge to determine whether the defendants should continue to have access to association assets until the case is heard. 
  • The hearing in front of the next judge was to be held on 12/2. The old directors did not show up. The judge then ordered them to be served for them to appear in court on 12/16/2021. Please find above the notice for their appearance. If the case was dismissed as they claim, then there would be no further appearances with the same case #.
  • Do you want to vote for people who can’t show up to court? Do you want people who can’t seem to understand basic legal processes to represent Berkley Court on official matters? Is this the reason why there were so many ongoing lawsuits at Berkley Court under the former directors (e.g., 2 dog bite law suits, window vendor work, etc.).

4. “Here is a preview of a letter from a concerned homeowner. WHAT COULD HAPPEN, If all new board members take over, the new board could opt for SELF MANAGEMENT. “

  • The former directors are the ones who have actively brought up self-management to home owners – is this why these folks want to stay in power? So they can then continue to pay themselves and their relatives for services that are questionable?
  • The vast majority of the home owners are more concerned with why the property is not being properly maintained, why the former directors refuse to let go of association assets despite over 75% of the owners asking them to step aside, why repairs are not completed, why money is being wasted on elections and law suits 

5. Please know that with the current board, your condo is safe and your dues are safe.

Please don’t add to the noise at Berkley Court by believing the claims of a unethical set of former directors. Let’s focus on the goal of getting these individuals out of the association’s affairs so that we can then move on and make Berkley Court a better place for all of us.

Categories
BC BoD

Identity Theft

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the new directors of Berkley Court should be very flattered, as it looks like the former (unelected) directors have tried to copy the new directors playbook with some key differences:

New Directors in July 2021Former Directors in December 2021
Established an email, berkleycourtneighbor@gmail.com in July 2021 Established an email, berkleycourt7313@gmail.com in December 2021
Began publishing this Web site in July 2021, to keep home owners aware of key events and concerns in the Berkley Court communityCirculated a DRAFT first page of a theoretical newsletter, full of news that everyone had already gotten to know
Sent home owner communications via email about urgent action needed to improve Berkley Court communitySent home owners defamatory and inaccurate communications via email

It seems to this author that the former directors have tried to usurp the identity and methods of those that have replaced them. It is sad to see that there is no creativity in that group.

Let us be grateful that the new group of leaders have brought more vision, change, and transparency in the last six months than has been displayed by the last 5 years by the previous board.

Categories
BC BoD

What’s Going on at Berkley Court?

An election has been announced at Berkley Court. Many owners have asked, what is going on?

Bottom line: we want you to come to the election and vote for us as directors. All owners will be allowed to vote. All positions of director are up for election.

If you cannot attend the election, please give us your proxy. You can bring or email the proxy to us, or we will come to pick it up. If you’ve already sent in the form, we can provide you a new one to update your instructions.

Background: we submitted our Resolution, but the former directors are refusing to turn over the association’s assets.

Most of you know that we have submitted signatures from more than 3/4ths of owners, voting to remove and replace the former directors (i.e., Rita Flores, Ceceilia Carrizales, Lisa Hernandez, and Urban Grass) . The way we did it is through a clause in our Declaration that states that is 2/3 of the members agree on any action in writing, that action can be done without a meeting having to be held.  Nearly two months ago, on October 18, 2021, the old directors were told of our action, and given copies of our resolution.  As of that date, they became former directors. 

Thank you to those who signed. Thank you to those who gathered signatures.

The former directors are refusing to leave. When asked why they have not left, they gave no meaningful response. Basically, they don’t want to.

In a condo association, its Declaration is the document that outlines all the authority and obligations that the association and its members have. The association’s leadership has a duty to act in good faith on behalf of all home owners, and to uphold the Declaration. 

The directors have ignored the provision of our declaration that gives us power as owners.

This continues a pattern where Rita Flores, Ceceilia Carrizales, Lisa Hernandez, and (new addition) Urban Grass have ignored what owners want.  We had poor leadership in the last 5+ years at Berkley Court with those directors –  neglecting the core duties for which they were responsible, and refusing any accountability for the same.

What is happening now?

As most of you know, the former directors were sued to enforce our Resolution. What we wanted was for them to do what the Declaration requires, to turn over the assets of the association to the new set of directors who have been appointed by the majority of the home owner community. To respect the owners’ choice of new directors to run the association.

In our last hearing in Court, the former directors REFUSED to appear.  

Instead of coming to Court, the former directors are now calling an election unilaterally, less than 3 months after they already held a bad election on September 28, at the association’s expense. At that election, many of us were not allowed to vote and the outcome was decided before the election was held. That was wrong.

We still expect to win in Court, but that could take more time while the old directors fight, and drag this on and waste our money through more shenanigans.

What the former directors are doing is not fair, but it does give us a chance to end this fast. By winning the election, we can have the former directors indisputably gone before Christmas.


Fellow neighbors, it is your decision as to how you would like your association run. If you don’t want the former directors and their bad behavior to continue, and you can’t make it in person to lodge your concerns, we encourage you to name Betsy Cherian as your proxy for the December 14, 2021 meeting. 

Additionally, if you haven’t signed the resolution to bar our home owner funds from being used for the personal defense of the home owners who used to be directors, please do so. Please reply to this email or call us if you have any questions, or need any help.

With your help, we are committed to improving our lives at Berkley Court.


Thanks for your time and consideration. 

Betsy Cherian, 

On behalf of the Association’s current Directors

Categories
BC BoD

The Board and Property Management’s Bald-Faced Lies

We recently had a sham of an annual home owner’s meeting.

The key takeaway for this author is that the Board, and its managing agent, has no problem lying to home owners, and to shut down anyone (by muting them, kicking them out of the meeting and slandering them) who points out the clear misstatements.

Let’s fact-check a few statements:

“The Berkley Court board of directors is required to facilitate an annual home owners meeting, at any time during the year, not necessarily in January.”

-Berkley Court Board of (Unelected) Directors
Section 4.4 of the original bylaws, in place since October 1981, state when the annual home owner meeting is to be held.

“We never have had proxies before at Berkley Court.”

-Berkley Court Board of (Unelected) Directors
Both the Declaration and the original bylaws (snippet seen above) state that votes can be delivered via proxy. Once again, this is IN PLACE SINCE 1981! One home owner also testified that she has received proxies in earlier meetings.

“What is a proxy? How would you define a proxy vs. an absentee ballot?”

Efer Gavidia, Property Manager
When the property management company does not know what a proxy is, although it is referenced multiple times in TX Property Code statutes, and it has been explained to him by a home owner 2 months prior, would you consider him competent in his field?

“No home owner has asked for a proxy in this election.”

-Berkley Court Board of (Unelected) Directors
Request made by one home owner in July 2021 – after educating the property manager on what a proxy is (vs. an absentee ballot) – and told that the proxy would be issued if there were multiple candidates for an election.
A separate home owner requested a proxy 2 DAYS BEFORE THE MEETING and was denied. Selective amnesia? Willful obstruction? Incompetence? Whatever the reason – the ultimate question is why this person is still in this role when he is clearly unfit or unethical.

“If any home owner is not getting what they need, please let us know. We are here for you.”

-Berkley Court Board of (Unelected) Directors
All sorts of things were escalated to the (unelected) Board officially. The initial response from the Secretary was to divert from the topic and introduce all sorts of arbitrary rules selectively, that she could not evidence as not being discriminatory.
The ultimate response is laughable – a redirection back to the property management company that was the cause of the escalation, so that it is a circular loop of no one doing anything. This is the current (unelected) board’s idea of oversight, governance, and stewardship – we can do better!

“We have had annual home owner meetings… we have minutes…”

-Berkley Court Board of (Unelected) Directors
Home owners pointed out critical gaps in fulfilling the required director and officer responsibilities, whether in holding meetings or maintaining minutes, in July 2021 – two months BEFORE this claim was made without anything being done in between. And yet another example of an escalation, this time to ALL the (unelected) directors…

“We welcome to have a conversation with any home owner to discuss their concerns.”

-Berkley Court Board of (Unelected) Directors
A mass email to all home owners stating that board members do not want to be spoken to while in Berkley Court was sent in June 2021. Emails to the (unelected) directors result in harassment or no response as they witness the property manager abusing residents in replies. Telephone numbers are unlisted or not working. Home owners who approach the clubhouse to speak with the unelected directors are turned away for arbitrary reasons or locked out. Home owner meetings have not been held in years, and the one that has been held kicks home owners out and mutes participants. Hmmm, how exactly are these board members accessible or approachable?

At the end of the meeting, the property manager shared a speech of how he thought the unelected directors were doing a fine job. What do you think – is this the first time he is telling the truth, or is this just another convenient lie to help cover up the complicity and the mismanagement to date?

Categories
BC BoD Property MISmanagement

The Secretary’s (Newly-Renovated) Apt.

In February 2021, Texas suffered from “Snovid” – i.e., a temperatures suddenly dipping below freezing, leading to lack of power and utilities such as water and electricity. Harris County, where Berkley Court is located, was most affected, and Berkley Court residents were not spared.

Photo Source: https://www.teeshirtpalace.com/products/snovid-2021-texas-strong-tough-poster?color=black&size=11×17

During this difficult time, many residents of Berkley Court were without power and asked the association for help, as folks were without water for days, which turned into weeks. Some home owners begged for assistance, as the solution to restore services required fixing pipes in the common element areas of the property.

While this state of emergency was going on, multiple home owners independently reported that they saw the supplier utilized by Rise AMG to fix plumbing issues ignore their requests for days, and instead work during that period in the current Board Secretary’s unit on non-emergency repairs (e.g., replacing sheetrock, painting walls, etc.).

So while many home owners had to fend for themselves in getting water restored, and other owners are still living with damage caused by the unlicensed personnel and waiting for critical services to be restored over 6 months later, the Board Secretary apparently used her position to get an updated apartment at a discounted price.

Don’t know about you but this sounds like one of the classic condo association corruption schemes to me…

And frankly, condos are very vulnerable to corruption… There are three main schemes: using HOA funds to repair an owner’s unit, having the vendor pad an invoice and give a kickback to the board/manager or just plain creating fake companies that do imaginary work on the property.

Source.

We have also heard rumors of kickbacks to board members for work steered toward certain vendors – please send any evidence that can substantiate this information to berkleycourtneighbor@gmail.com or let us know anything else we may have missed in the comments below.

Categories
BC BoD Property MISmanagement

The VP’s Child

Berkley Court’s current porter is the current, unelected board member and HOA Vice President’s, Ceceilia Carrizales (nee Thompson), adult child, Valencia Thompson.

There is no contract posted to cover what is in the details of this engagement, because, despite repeated request – the managing agent, Rise AMG, has only made its own, expired agreement available to home owners.

Rise AMG does not comply with TX condominium laws which provides members access to association records, including contracts with a term of one year or more that must be retained for four years after the expiration of the contract term

Based on a former occupant of the job, the primary responsibilities for the role are to:

  • Pick up the trash
  • Change out lightbulbs around the property that are burnt out
  • Dismantle heavy trash to put it in dumpster for removal

Essentially, the current, unelected board Vice President’s child is being paid $725+ a month to pick up trash.

If this looks familiar, it is because this is very similar to the invoice the current VP (i.e., this vendor’s mother) submitted for an additional waste removal service during the same period.

Some observations related to this “service” that is being provided to the Berkley Court community with this vendor:

  • Most residents and visitors remark on how dirty this community is, and how things never used to be this when the prior porter, Mr. Lee, was employed.
Google provides a snapshot of what people are saying about Berkley Court, and its trash issues.
  • This porter is hardly ever seen on the grounds of Berkley Court Condominiums. How a person can do this role without being on the ground on a regular basis is beyond us. Especially as all evidence points to the job not being done.
Trash on the ground at Berkley Court on any given day, and a representation of how the Board is throwing home owner money away, to line each member’s pockets in various ways.

As a home owner, some immediate question and concerns come to mind:

  1. Why wasn’t this vendor selected as part of an open bid? How come the board has never held discussions to evaluate whether to renew this service, what other choices are available, etc.?
  2. How competent is a property management company or board if these entities don’t specify a schedule, required amount of hours, or a definition of done for this job? Do we trust these folks to negotiate any contract if they do not require these basics in a service provider?
  3. Can the Board provide adequate oversight of this vendor? Even if the one board member recuses herself from decisions, there are only 2 other directors and any divisions in decision-making cannot be made without third member weighing in. And what other horse trades have occurred for each director to turn a blind eye to clear misconduct, so that they can each personally profit from their time on the board?
  4. Shouldn’t a managing agent, such as Rise AMG, advise against hiring a board member’s relative as a vendor, due to the conflicts of interest? Can it oversee the vendor/relative without bias, knowing that it can put its own contract and paychecks in jeopardy, if it doesn’t go along with the scheme put forward by the members of the board?
  5. Could Berkley Court have a better porter (or retained the previous one) at lower cost and superior service, saving home owners money and providing residents a safer environment?

What do you think? Is this is a clear case of:

a) Nepotism

b) Conflict of interest

c) Willful misconduct

d) All of the above

e) None of the above

Let us know your response in the comments!