PH Real Estate - What a Buyer Did to Get a Condo Owner to Improve the Amenities

Claire had bought a condo unit in that community because an acquaintance was going abroad and she needed the money fast. Claire didn’t hesitate because she had always wanted to live in a condo.  It seemed classy and lavish. So, when it was offered to her, she grabbed it without questions. She was single and only 28 years old. Thus, it was not surprising that she wanted to live alone and enjoy life as she wanted to.

Claire was an introvert, though. She preferred to stay home rather than socialize with the other condo residents. Whenever she came home from work, (she was the head of the finance department of a big pharmaceutical company), she curled up in bed and read a book or watched TV.

Her problems began to rear their ugly heads a month later when she had barely settled in. The hot water didn’t work. She called in the maintenance man of the condo, and he appeared after 2 hours. 

She was not able to rinse the soap all over her body before donning her robe, and the soap had hardened on her skin. She was irritated but didn’t show it. The poor guy must have been very busy, she thought. To his credit, the man repaired the heating system within minutes. 

However, the next day, it was the drainage that didn’t work. Claire called up maintenance again to attend to the problem. It took them longer to arrive. 

They took care of it for an hour, and it was working smoothly once more. After a few days, however, it was clogged anew. It was now getting into Claire’s nerve. 

She had purchased the condo unit because she wanted to live comfortably without hassles, but it wasn’t happening that way.

“May I know why the problem doesn’t go away?” she asked the repair man; a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

“It’s because the septic tank is full,” the man answered honestly.

“Can’t the condo owner do something about it?” Claire countered.

“We have informed him a couple of times, but he said, we only have to resolve any reported problems.”

Claire was indignant. There were glowing reviews about the condo online, but it seems the reviews were not truthful enough. She decided to ignore the problem again, since her drainage was working anew.

The following week, when she came home from work, she was tempted to use the lap pool because she wanted to rejuvenate her body. She loved swimming and that was one of the reasons why she wanted to buy the condo unit.

She was striding towards the pool, her petite body, beautifully outlined by her swim suit, when she saw some pieces of candy wrappers on the pool. There was also an empty can of soda floating towards her. 

With disgust, she marched to the condo’s office and asked:

“Good evening, may I know when will the pool be cleaned?”

The people inside the room were speechless. 

“Err, I beg your pardon ma’am?”

“I would like to use the pool, but it’s dirty. When will it be cleaned?”

“We do it when someone requests to swim. You will have to inform us beforehand, so we can schedule your swim,” the unsmiling woman on the desk informed Claire.

What the … 

Claire was speechless. Her anger was simmering and she wanted to give it to them- full blast. She took a couple of deep breaths and silently told herself to relax. 

“Oh, I see,” Claire nodded. “So, swimming has to be scheduled,” she continued nodding her head. “But you see, that’s not how it should be. I have clearly read in your ads that residents of the condominium can swim any time they want to,” she gritted her teeth.

“We don’t know about that, but those were the instructions given to us,” the woman pouted.

The woman’s pouting mouth made Claire’s anger explode. “Enough said. I want to talk the owner of this property, right now,” she demanded, her voice was blood curdling. 

There was eerie silence in the room; one can almost hear a pin drop.

“Get me the owner, now,” Claire demanded.

“He might be sleeping now, Ma’am,” the woman at the desk was trembling with fright.

“I don’t think he would be sleeping. It’s only 7 p.m. I want to talk to him now,” Claire was unyielding in her stance.

The woman dialed a number and informed the person on the other end of the line what the problem was. There was a short pause, then the woman handed Claire the phone.

“Hello, good evening Ma’am, may I help you?” The voice at the other end was sonorous.

“Yes, sir, you can definitely help me. I would like to use the pool, but they told me I have first to schedule it. Isn’t it an amenity that residents can use it any time they want to?” Claire queried; her anger still evident in her voice.

There was hesitation on the other side of the line.

“I have read your ads and that was one of your ‘come on’ lines.  Don’t tell me your ads are lies,” Claire continued.

“No, no, Ma’am. Of course not, you can use the pool anytime you want. I’ll let the boys clean it up immediately. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“And by the way, the drainage system doesn’t work well, too. Please do something about it,” Claire added.

“Well …,” 

“You promised your residents to provide quality and comfortable homes, but I don’t feel comfortable living here,” Claire’s anger was slowly subsiding, but she wanted to inform the owner all of her issues. “I’m willing to report to someone higher up, if these problems are not addressed ASAP,” she declared firmly.

“Okay, don’t worry. I’ll resolve the problem tomorrow,” the owner said grudgingly.

“Thanks a lot. I will count on you,” Claire slowly put the phone down.

When she went out, some men were already cleaning the pool. The pieces of litter were skimmed off, and the water was being emptied. After an hour, the pool was ready to use. When some residents noticed that the pool was cleaned, they joined Claire in her dip.

At first, Claire ignored them, but one approached her and said “Thanks to you, we can now use the pool. They always made excuses when we wanted to use it.”

Claire smiled and felt glad that she was able to help.

The next day, the septic tank was emptied by a team of experts. The drainage system of the entire condominium was running smoothly afterwards. 

All of these happened because one brave unit owner went out of her way to demand that services as advertised must be delivered.

If you’re experiencing the same difficulties as a home owner, know your rights and be courageous enough to stand up for them, or else, you will be suffering unfairly.

Tags:    Good amenities in rented accommodation