President by ballot

We are are very small community of 16 houses, only 3 owners live here permanently, the other houses are holiday homes or rented out long term.  None of the permanent owners want to be president again, so it will have to have a ballot of the owners to choose a president.  My question is, what happens if the ballot selects an owner who rents his property long term & never comes to Spain & he says he is having nothing to do with it.  Do we have to call an EGM & ballot again or does the outgoing president have to continue until the next AGM.  Could be very interesting next year, just hope I do not get chosen. 

I have no doubt that some people on here will shoot me down in flames, as usual,  but the Law is that if nobody offers to have their name put forward then the Administrator  puts ALL the owners names in 'a hat' and draws one out. This owner is then president for 1 year. If this owner does not want to be president then they, the new president, has to apply to the courts to be 'released' from the position. The reason you have stated is not acceptable to a Judge and that person has to be president. It is not unknown for an owner to find out they are president only by reading the minutes of the meeting!

The outcome of having an absentee president is that the administrator will do all the work. However if anything goes wrong then legally it still falls on the shoulders of the president. All the 'free' work that a president might do will now have to be done by paid workers and your community charges will then go up for everyone. Also your administrator might charge even more for their services if they are doing more work.

The election of a president is one of the items at the AGM as is the election of the administrator.

Another solution would be for there to be a vice president or two so that any 'work' that the president does is shared out between those 'elected'.

Good luck

Thanks for the reply.  We do not have an administrator, no owners want to pay for one.  How do you force an owner in the UK , Holland, Germany or anywhere else to perform the duties? Spanish law on communities are total crap, they encorage owners not to pay community fees because there is little you can do  to punish them. The only community property is the pool & we cannot even stop them using that. Perehaps the answer is to do nothing 6 let the community go bankrupt.

As you do not AT PRESENT have an administrator then at your AGM those present or by proxy have to give the community the options:- 1) have an administrator for about €1500 to €2000 p.a. 2)have a president who will do the work or 3) loose the swimming pool as no-one will pay the water and electricty bills. This will then mean that those owners who rent their properties will be getting a lot less or possibly nothing as renters want a pool.

It is not difficult now to have a president in another country and be able to pay the bills etc

If some owners do not want to do their fair share of the work then the fees will have to increase to pay someone to do it. It will be in the region of €150 per house extra. Ask them to vote on either keeping the fees as they are and someone has to do the work or increase the fees by €150 each and employ an administrator...simples

I am glad I am not on your community at the moment!!!!!

Were are in the same position, though our community is a little larger (43 property’s 10 full time residence ).we have no common elements communal pool, roads, footpaths.

A message was sent out a month before AGM asking for volunteers for president and suggestions on how to proceed if nobody volunteered.

AGM came 3 property’s represented, item for President No volunteers, it was suggested names in hat No, so either next alpbetical name, next property, vote taken next property, minutes go out shortly and the new president resident and did not come to AGM in for a bit of a shock, or at his own expenses go to court let judge decide

knj,

You say "...just hope I do not get chosen..."and "...Spanish law on communities are total crap..." etc., but have you considered the possibility that it's your fault for not learning the basics before you bought?

I've lived on a community where it was all Spanish except us and the system worked very well which seems to be the norm thoughout Spain.  Decisions were made and action taken without wasting money on an Administrator - all made perfect sense.

Is there any logic behind your assertion that...Spanish law on communities are total crap..." or is it just that they don't suit you and you are disinclined to undertake what you signed up for?

Acer

I did do my homework before I came.  I have a degree in management & have been a professional manager for over 40 years.  I stand by my comments.  One owner has let his property out permanently for 5 years at 400€ pm but refuses to pay any community fees.  Fortunately now that he owes in excess of 1000€ the community insurance company has stated legal action to recover the debt.  Yes we have very comprehensive community insurance.  I guess history is going to repeat itself & I will end up volunteering to be president.  I have ended up as president, captain or treasurer of nearly every organisation, club or society I have joined.

75% of our owners are Dutch & there is no way they will pay for an administrator.

knj,

I'm not looking to get into a silly exchange with you, but IMHO your logic is awry, starting with the fact that your qualifications have absolutely no relevance!

When you buy a property in a community in Spain you take on potential responsibilities.  It is insulting to others, particularly the Spanish readers on EOS to say "...Spanish law on communities are total crap..." just because there is a small chance that you might become President and have a few problems to sort.

You now insult the Dutch with your sweeping statement.  I have Dutch neighbours on either side of me and they are charming people, excellent neighbours and have been fully supportive of the community.

If you were living in the UK and you received your jury service notification would you publicise the comment "...English law on jury service is total crap..."?  You have to face your responsibilities in life and not sound off just because the established laws do not happen to suit you.

Acer

Thank for yopur comments.  Subject is now closed.

Before this becomes yet another war on here I would like to remind you that it does not matter what you say anyone wants, it is only down to those at the AGM and are entitled to vote that matters. Again before someone corrects me I know that if you are not able to attend the AGM then you can send in a proxy. Don't forget only those that are fully up to date with all fees are entitled to vote. So if you have a group that do not want an administrator then they have to vote at the AGM not to have one.

Good luck knj

Reading between the lines here I doubt there will be enough people at the meeting (even with proxy votes) who are entitled to vote to force a decision 

Steone,

There was never going to be a "war" as you put it.  I made that clear in my last post and clearly knj has similar thoughts.

My post was really prompted by the increase in negative threads on EOS.  I suppose it's a sign of times but I did feel that knj was missing the obvious and his choice of words "...Spanish law on communities are total crap..." was both inaccurate and disrespectful.

Acer

 I was not meaning you when I said that there was going to be a war. It is just that, on here now, after those with 'something to say' about the subject have said their piece then we get a lot of piffel from people who have not been following the thread and then personal insults start flying in all directions. I am most amazed, so far, that this thread has remained polite.

If you thought I was having a go at you please accept my appologies as I was not.

Nuff said, now lets see what else is being said on here

Steone, apologies, my mistake, I misunderstood your post and was probably feeling a bit more grumpy than normal.