Condo manager doesn’t respond to my emails

Q: Several months ago, I discovered a large hole in the building’s exterior that exposed the inside of the wall in behind my apartment. I emailed our condominium’s manager a few times and have not gotten a response. What should I do? — Steven

A: It is good that you are taking damage to your condominium building’s condition seriously. It is important that every resident report damage so that it can be repaired.

Besides the obvious safety implications, damage tends to get worse and more expensive to repair if ignored.

Emailing your association’s management is a good start. However, despite their convenience, email sometimes goes awry, gets sent to the wrong address or ends up in the recipient’s spam folder for no apparent reason.

Because you have not gotten a response, you should assume that your emails are not getting where you sent them.

Your next step is to pick up the phone. In my work as an attorney, I see the over-reliance on email daily. The power of speaking with someone on the phone should not be overlooked.

This is not to say that written messages do not have their place. Email is a great way to communicate and create a record of the conversation. But when email fails, it is time to speak with the recipient directly.

If your community manager is still unresponsive, your next step would be to reach out to the board of directors for your condominium association.

If you know a board member, point out the problem to them. If not, attend the next board meeting and let them know.

You may find that your association already knows about the problem and is working to fix it.

If the hole is causing damage to your apartment, you should make simple, temporary repairs to protect it, such as sealing the hole with a plastic sheet until your community makes permanent repairs.