Managing your contractors, property managers included
Why being an authorized user has such a major responsibility
A couple of weeks ago, I was interviewing an attorney for an upcoming writing project when he stopped me mid-interview.
“Shamontiel, you’d make a great lawyer,” he said. “No matter what my question for you is, your answer is always ‘It depends.’”
I laughed. I didn’t realize I was doing it, but I kept giving him “both sides” of each answer. He’s not the first person who has asked me about that career field though. I heard a similar response when I hired an attorney for guidance regarding a condo association dispute.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, I enjoy promoting intriguing products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. All four of my Substack publications include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a VERIFIED Black-owned business. If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect your decision.
“You’re a smart cookie,” he said. “My hourly rate is way higher than the amount you’re asking for. But listening to you argue with me, I feel like once you get in front of a judge, you could definitely win this pro se. The judge just needs to hear you start talking.”
Recommended Read: “14 valuable lessons I learned representing myself in Small Claims Court ~ Yes, you can win your case pro se, but listen to your legal coach”
I smiled. Although it was odd to hear an attorney turn down money, I respected that he didn’t want to take advantage of me. It also made me miss my old Girl Scout leader, who passed away two years ago. She would offer me $1,000 every single time she saw me to pay initial costs for law school.
“It’s not that I don’t think you’re a great writer,” she said. “But you would be a really good attorney. I’d keep you on retainer.”
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage for each sale made with my referral links on this page.
I responded, “I don’t really think I’d be any better an attorney than I am a journalist. The two professions just have one thing in common. We both think everybody is lying.”
She cracked up. The next time I saw her, she was still offering me $1,000.
Not everybody is a liar, but there are enough liars to be wary
Along with working with countless contractors and reviewing writing contracts, three of the most significant lessons I’ve learned as a full-time writer, condo association member and past condo board member are:
Always triple check your finances.
Always keep tabs on contractors.
Don’t be afraid to ask hard questions and investigate info that seems sketchy.
That includes condo associations managing a property manager. While there are successful, smart, kind and honest contractors who I have gone to bat for (I spent four months battling for a maintenance engineer to get paid even after he’d given up), I’ve also dealt with enough scammers to start recognizing the signs early. Any time someone pushes back on those three tips mentioned above, that just makes me watch them closer.
And the latest tale involved a condo board being cheated out of $16,018.47. It took everything in me not to say, “I told you all, but you wouldn’t listen to me.”