Utility Door

MarilynR1 (California)
Posts: 1

Posted:

Our HOA President started to replace the Utility Doors outside facing the common areas for some of the units(his was replaced first and a few)in our gated community. I live in a PUD in a gated and these utility doors are HOA responsibility & expense. I accepted a purchase offer for my unit recently and the buyer have their inspector complete the required inspection. My unit's utility door had not been replaced and termited droppings were noted. The frame of the utility door of my unit is slowly being consumed by termites and i may have to make some repairs before treatment. As we all know, termite inspection and report is mandatory to close escrow. Our maintenance person is one of the homeowners and is out of the country often than being here. I approaced the President about the possible repair or replacement of the utility door for termite treatment. He told me that the maintenance guy is absent and does not know when his return date is and that there is nothing he can do to fix my problem right now. He also told me that all the utility doors should look uniform therefore i should wait for the return of the maintenance guy. This is not going to be possible, since i have an escrow that should close in 30 days or less. Can someone give me an opinion on how to approach this problem?

Neng

WilliamT (Arizona)
Posts: 489

Posted:

Talk to your realtor and your title company. Tell then what your President has told you.

If you have a management company you should talk to them.

They will tell you what will be required if the work is being delayed.

There must have been board minutes that approved all of the utility doors replacement. Ask for and get a copy of those minutes.

You can also get the president and vice president to sign a paper that says the HOA is responsible for taking care of the terminte condition and replacing the utility door.

You will need to work fast. If the buyer, through your realtor, won't accept anything mentioned above, then you may want to talk to an HOA attorney.

If you haven't already done so, get the termite inspection immediately so you have time to work on this.

The termite company can usually also perform the work for you. Get them to give you a bid for the work. However, get the specifications for the door from the president. Send the president a letter by regular mail and one by certified mail. You need everything documented at this point.

Present him with copies of termite report and the cost of repairing the damage using the specs that will make your utility door the same as the rest.

Advise him that time is of the essence and that you must be given written permission to have this work perform yourself, or the board must cause the work to be performed and completed prior to closing. If you lose your buyer because the Association refuses to perform the work in a timely matter that you will sue the association for the damage caused by their negligence.

I would advise against performing the work yourself without written approval from the board because that could cause the buyer to sue you if the board refuses to accept the repair.

You have to work fast and keep a paper trail, and communicate with your realtor and your title company and the board president or the management company. If there is a management company, put a lot of pressure on them to get to the president. They should pass on all of your communication and help to solve this problem.