HOA Contractor Unlicensed, Causes Damage

[InterestedInCA]

Our HOA President and another officer hired a contractor for a small painting job they knew beforehand was unlicensed and uninsured, but chose him because of his relatively lower rates.

Working in my unit, the contractor removed a window A/C and later reinstalled it, albeit incorrectly. In the middle of the night I found that the A/C had drained into my unit and flooded a good portion of the laminate flooring. The laminate has become warped. The extent of damage to the hardwood floor underneath has not yet been determined.

I spoke with the President who has agreed (thus far) that the HOA will pay for the replacement of the floor, but doesn't seem to acknowledge that the drying of the floor needs to be done professionally (to eliminate mold growth) nor that if repair of the hardwood is also necessary, the HOA will cover it.

How am positioned here? Should I take whatever little the HOA offers with a smile and absorb the other costs myself? Should this involve attorneys, in the state of CA do I have any reasonable chance to recover costs and fees?

Also, I reported to the Prez that the contractor appeared to be under the influence of drugs the second day he worked (and the painting he did stands in support). Yet, even with the knowledge he has today, the President has agreed to let the contractor continue working on the remaining units. All owners are paying for the damage this guy is causing. Is there any real way we can get the HOA to stop using this contractor?

Would love to be able to quote the HOA by-laws here -- I requested another copy.

Thoughts, advice will be appreciated.

 

[pw47617]

HOAs are corporations! Two-thirds of the membership of a HOA can dissolve the corporation. A corporation is NOT a country club and once I educate all of you homeowners that common areas are nothing more than land use created by a developer who is a corporation who turned over the maintenance of common areas to another corporation called a HOA versus turning it back over to the county who approved the development and zoned it RESIDENTIAL. Amazing how y'all think that a HOA can stop me from painting my house PINK with PINK flamingos in the front yard. By the time a house wife who is a BOARD member could figure out what to do, I will be dead and buried. BOARD members are running a corporation and sueing them for a breach of fudiciary duty is how I will win my Circuit Court case in the Commonwealth of Virginia.