Developer closeout sale

Elizabeth, if the private individual is a Board member it is a conflict of interest. Are these parking spots owned separately by the Developer or part of the common area?

1) If private property of the Developer ask for the opportunity for the association to bid.
2) If limited common areas they are owned by the association they should not be sold; rather the Board needs to set up a fair method of assigning the parking spaces.

If the parkings spaces are separately deeded, and within the Property boundaries, make sure your Declaration covers who may own and the assessment. Some metro areas are having problems with individuals buying parking spaces within associations to use for commuter's parking. I would try to guard against (prevent) this.

We were told, when we bought our unit that all parking spaces were preassigned and could not be changed unless you traded with another owner after you bought. We had the option to buy some really bad spots on the garage slant for an outrageous price, when they didn't sell, developer pawned them off on later buyers. Now all of a sudden it seems there are some great spots were not assigned to units and a "private individual"(?) has been given the opportunity to purchase them at terms unknown to the other members. Yes, I know of people who wanted extra spots but did want to buy what they told us was available. We have the parking garage plans with the numbered spots in our declaration but have never been able to see the master assignment sheet in the office. It is a limited common area, you must live here to own a spot. Now I am discovering (I think I am interpreting it correctly) that, according to our State statutes concerning condominiums that all the spaces should have been assigned to a unit when the regime was created and recorded and the assignments should be a part of our declaration. My deed states a description of my unit as shown on page__, Instrument no___, together with an undivided interest in and to the Common Areas pursuant to the Declaration, and together with the exclusive use of parking space 527 as reflected on Exhibit "C" of the Declaration. Well, Exhibit "C" just shows a garage plan and numbered spots, it shows nothing about it being assigned to my unit # 527. Is the Declaration correctly constructed and should it show what unit number has been assigned to that spot? Could the association take our spots back if they wanted to since the declaration does not show the unit that "owns" it? Indiana Statutes.

This is where I need some clarification so as not to stir up the nest, so to speak. The Developer established the Association in the year 2000 when he converted the apartment building to condos. There is an Amendment in our Declaration that states: "All parking spots, shall be a Limited Area for the exclusive use of the Declarant or the Owner of the Unit to which it is assigned of record or sold by the Declarant." I have to presume that this gives him the the rights to them all until he assigns them one by one as he sells units? My concern (for my association and fellow members) is that the Indiana Statute states that "The Declaration must include the following: A description of the limited common areas and facilities, if any, stating to which condominium units their use is reserved". Should the parking spot assignments already have been established in the year 2000 and a part of our declaration documents or is it just an assignment sheet that is held in the office?
Confused? So am I, I'm just trying to interpret what I am reading.

I think you have answered my question and removed the mystery behind the interpretation of our Declaration. We just have to live with the fact that the President of the Association managed to take advantage of being able to strike a deal with the developer for the remaining parking spots at a bargain basement price. We were all hoping that the developer would finally establish some visitor parking and turn them over to the association in his exit plan. Didn't happen, I guess we can expect the Board to now purchase them in the near future from the "individual" who purchased them. I think the Board should have struck a deal directly with the developer to avoid the whole situation of dealing with the new owner of the spaces, (The President). I think we owners should band together, protest the association purchasing them and leave him staring at the empty spaces for a long, long time.

Our "President" was elected (selected) and by the developer's and other's proxy votes when owners demanded more say after four years of developer control and no financial accountability . Too many proxy votes are still submitted by absentee owners, they are oblivious to our problems. The "President" has been able to set up a block between the developer and disgruntled owners. We came out big losers on this conversion project with a lot our our "Association" funds being used to fix this place up. "Pres" has been rewarded well. Too bad, owners wonder if we will ever become a community instead of a building where you just close your door and Board members can't look you in the eye or greet you in the hall. Our reputation is so bad, sales are impossible without a big loss. Oh, by the way, guess who's buying up the depressed sales? Our good ole' Pres. I think his goal in life is to own the whole building. I've had my unit on the market for two years with three different realtors, I've had an offer from "Pres" that was below what I paid, I'll rot in the ground before I will sell to him. We've got to just let it go and quit beating the dead horse. We will never get elected to the Board or chosen for committees, no matter how many times we run or try to get involved, we get shot down. Community living is the pits when you have a vulture hovering overhead.