Thank you! I especially appreciate the practical advice on how to handle things.

As an update - she just called me back as I was typing this, and was relatively polite. She said she talked to her husband, and I shouldn't be smelling anything (well, duh). She asked me a few more questions about how often it was happening, and said that if I smell it again - I should turn the AC off completely and leave it off, so I don't risk damaging anything. Ummm... that's fine... but... so far, it's been fine if I turn it off (for about an hour) and then turn it back on. The smell goes away. And, I really can't deal with the heat here - we're setting records for heat and I work from home.

It wasn't clear to me when this guy is supposed to come. She mentioned rain the next few days, so I don't know if that means not to expect him? I should have asked what day to watch for him, but omg... I can't do another round of yelling! Of course, she also gets angry when I'm not here to answer her calls... but... it's a landline phone, and I don't know when she's going to call! I can't stay home, hoping she might decide to call me back!

Divine1966 - I'm so sorry that you deal with similar circumstances. It's really just... crazy and unbelievable to me. I guess when you have someone providing a service, and you're not paying them directly (i.e. the HOA pays them, so you don't control whether they get hired) - they have less incentive to actually do a good job? It's so incredibly frustrating, the whole point of being in a community is supposed to be to make this stuff easier.

Rainyday107 - THANK YOU! Seriously, many many thanks for all the details on how to handle this! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience...

I don't know if this makes a difference... but the person who yelled is actually from the AC company, not the board! Isn't that even more insane? The "company" is really just one elderly gentleman and his wife, who handles all the logistics and scheduling. The guy is great... when he comes. Very respectful and knows what he's doing, I have zero complaints about him.

But his wife is so incredibly awful. Part of why she was yelling at me was because I emailed a woman from the board to express my frustration and ask for help. She (the AC lady) didn't like that, and I couldn't get her to understand that I only got in touch with the board member b/c she (the AC woman) was completely unresponsive.

The board seems to like me, so far. This board member (who I contacted) in particular has been very helpful to me and kind (though I hope this incident didn't end up upsetting her too). She's the person who has been on the board literally forever... and knows everyone and everything that's going on (which is why I contact her!). And, at the meetings, I have a reputation for being "nice" b/c when I have questions I try to be respectful and not assume that the board members are purposefully being evil . That goes a long way, it seems.

We DO have a professional management company, but they tend to be not helpful. In the past, I've contacted our community manager for help with this problem (AC people were not returning calls) and his response was, "I have the same phone number you do, I can't do anything more than what you're doing, just keep calling." I wish I were joking.... ugh.

And, we only have 1 public meeting a year. (Yup, I go.) The board meets regularly, but they are closed meetings... however, at our last meeting they mentioned that if you have an issue to present to the board, you can request time and they'd allow you to speak at the closed meeting. That's what I'm considering doing.

I've thought about running for the board. Since the woman with the power (the one that I had emailed about the AC people) likes me and has encouraged me to run, I think I could get voted in. But, I'm scared that I won't be able to handle it... I hate conflict, and am already overwhelmed with life (family, job, mental health). I don't know, maybe I should try anyway.

So, that's how all that shakes out.

Thanks for the advice! I really do appreciate it. It sounds like one way or another I'm going to have to find a way to get more involved... which sound so not fun right now. I actually wish I could just move (!!!) but everything around me has gotten so expensive, I don't know where I'd go!

Oh... and we apparently haven't had any kind of financial audit in a very long time! We have one guy (who the board hates, because he's very outspoken and tends to be a bit brash) that tried to raise the issue during a meeting. He was shut down (told it wasn't the appropriate time in the meeting to raise issues) - then after the voting, everybody left, and his concern was never raised. It's frustrating to watch in action.

Thanks Eskielover! I really do appreciate the advice from those of you who have been there, done that... especially with board experience! The woman who yelled was NOT my board member (thank goodness), it was the woman from the AC company. My board member has been helpful and lovely, and is the one who calls the AC company for me when they don't respond.

The problem is that the AC lady is yelling at me FOR CALLING MY BOARD MEMBER, which seems so completely inappropriate. Ugh!

I'm pretty sure that I can't get reimbursed from the board if I hire someone else. Maybe if it were a true, clear emergency (ie the AC wasn't working at all and I couldn't reach anyone at the company).

I can imagine what a stressful position being the treasurer must have been, and how much time it must have taken to clear up all the billing issues that come up. What a pain... I wish all this stuff could be easier!

Thanks. I very much want to bring this to the board, but I'm a little worried now that I may get even worse service in the future if I do that. Maybe my best bet is to just hope and pray that they decide to retire after this... the guy is 70 years old!!!

Thanks... this is really helpful. It's so hard to know how to deal with things when people act really crazy and unreasonable!