Seeing Injustice Is Easy – Solving Problems Is HARD – Real Estate and Construction

Beth McCandry

United States:

Seeing injustice is easy – solving problems is DIFFICULT

June 16, 2021

Husch Blackwell LLP

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Many of you may have seen the Milwaukee Sentinel story dated June 7, 2021 about a house in the Milwaukee area that hoisted two flags: one the US flag and the second a Pride flag. According to the story, owners were asked to remove the Pride flag as the association only allowed the US flag. The residents, one of whom was a board member, “decided to obey the rules and take the flag down,” but then “installed a bright display of rainbow-colored Pride lights to highlight the house.” The story tells us that the residents had no intention of becoming hostile, that they “did not feel attacked or attacked”
[their] Community “, but to use humor to illustrate ways of circumventing rules.

The problem for the board

  1. History doesn’t tell if the club was a condo or a HOA, but either way, the board may well be tasked with overseeing the external appearance of the houses. This certainly applies to condominiums (see 703.13 Wis. Stat.) And is often included in HOA agreements;
  2. The association documents may have banned all flags at once, but as of 2003, if the association was a condominium, they must allow the flag of the United States to be displayed. (See 703.105 (1) Wis. Stat.). This law could explain the only exception to the no-flag rule, which is the US flag.
  3. Although it doesn’t appear to be the case in this case, many rules arise after a person abuses a situation. For example, if there wasn’t a rule and someone was putting up 1,000 flags, should everyone be okay with that? If you were the neighbor and wanted to sell your home, don’t you think that could affect the value of your home? Don’t you think you would ask the board of directors to do something so that your neighbour’s actions do not affect the value of your property?

solutions

  1. Let the people who are dissatisfied with the rule run for the board and change the rule. Associated with this is of course the obligation to do 99% of all board work free of charge.
  2. Ask the board of directors and your neighbors to change the rule.
  3. Sell ​​your house and move to another club or a house that is not part of any club.
  4. Follow the rules in terms of both the letter of the rule and its spirit. Or,
  5. Use your energies to improve the association, which may well mean changing the rule into what you are willing to enforce.

LESSONS:

  1. Finding injustices or perceived injustices is easy.
  2. It is difficult to find solutions that a majority can agree on.
  3. Find common ground that everyone support is even more difficult, but to get there you have to be part of the solution and seek input and real understanding of all the different sides.

I hope we can all work harder to be part of the solutions to the problems we see.

The content of this article is intended to provide general guidance on the subject. You should seek expert advice regarding your specific circumstances.

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