Success in the Long Run

A good friend and I spent hours talking about condominium communities and what it takes for them to be successful.

Of course, successful is a variable -- with every person involved having their own definition.

Here's my definition of a successful condominium community:

A financially viable community of like-minded owners and tenants who live together in proximity, that exists and operates under a set of governing documents, where every occupant behaves in ways that respects the community. The community is served by a board of volunteer resident owners who run the affairs of the association in a fair, accessible and consistent way.

Sure, this is ideal. And you'll never find such a community. Why? Because of life. Unit owners/ tenants/ board members/ property managers/ local governments: all are variable, all change, all adjust, all work to tug the condominium community and the association in one direction or another.

Apathy is our worst enemy: owners, tenants and board members who are not really involved in the business workings of the association. People who expect that 'everything will be taken care of' without really understand how 'anything' works in this regard; people who buy or occupy condominium units who don't either understand or appreciate the condominium situation in which they find themselves.

Our only option -- as committed condominium owners/ dwellers -- is to keep volunteering, keep working and keep doing our best.

Okay, I'm over it.