Maintenance Issues - Colorado

We live in a condo in a building that has nine units. Only two of the units, ours and our neighbors, are residential. Four of the units (all owned by one individual) are rented to an engineering firm. The first floor units (3) are businesses (coffee shop, bike shop, cultural association) and all of those units are owned by one individual. We have lived here almost six years and we cannot get the HOA to provide ANY maintenance on the exterior of our building. The HOA consists of three buildings (the other two are owned by one individual and the units are also mixed use,) however, the buildings are treated individually. For example: if our building, Building #1 would need a roof, then only the owners of our building would incur the expense. Our building is in extremely poor condition..siding peeling and warped, window frames' paint peeling and now the wood is rotted, gutters useless causing extremely hazardous icing conditions in the winter...the list goes on. What resources do we, as actual homeowners, have to ensure the building does not deteriorate beyond repair? Any assistance would be appreciated. E-mail correspondence has been ignored. We do not have HOA meetings on a regular basis (almost a year has gone by since the last one.) We have a property manager, however, she insists that she cannot proceed with the maintenance until such time everyone is in agreement. The HOA President is the owner of the other two buildings and, since it does not affect his investements directly, he doesn't seem to get involved. Thanks.

My husband and I purchased the condo and, at purchase, we received the covenants for the condo association. Yes, the documents clearly state that the association is responsible for outside maintenance and grounds maintenance. The building is from the early 80's and it is our understanding that all of the units were residential at one time. Over time it was converted to a mixed-use building. We pay a monthly HOA fee that includes garbage, water, heat, and other costs associated with the building, both for the building and common areas shared by all three buildings. WHEN we have a meeting and that is not always even once per year, we do get an income and expense statement. The HOA documents clearly indicate responsibility of the HOA to maintain the outside, however, the HOA consists of the owners, of course, and the majority of owners (absentee owners renting to individuals) do not want to deal with the issues. How can we, as owners and residents of this building, get the maintenance performed or do we have to live with the fact that, one day, our investment will be worth less and less because the building is deteriorating? Thanks for the response.

Hi Sharon:

If the condos were converted to mixed use over time, was this done by gradual use changes, or were any documents filed to change the CC&R's? If the HOA docs still say that it's residential only, then you may be able to sue to enforce the documents and get rid of the businesses being run out of the condo units. Some documents allow the Board to approve a business if there is no effect on the community, but usually that means that it's residential with a home-based business where there is no discernable activity happening that makes it look more like a business than a residence...

JPM

SharonW:
While you're digging into your covenant directives, note what your monthly maintenance fee is to cover. It could be that the fee does not cover building exteriors. If you find that it does explicitly state that exterior/buildings are to be maintained this is the basis for your argument.
Good Luck! Let us know what you find.