EW1 (Florida)
Posts: 10
Posts: 10
Posted:
A continuing disagreement between Board members in my south Florida HOA revolves around the necessity for roof maintenance.
Our townhome/villa community is responsible for the regular maintenance and replacement of roofs under normal circumstances, while the owners are responsible for their roofs in the event of a catastrophe. This became a complete nightmare after Hurricane Wilma in 2005.
Historically speaking, this 23 year old, 64 building community comprised largely of buildings with flat roofs has had an unwritten policy of only addressing roofs when a unit owner complains of a leak. After three leaks, arrangements would be considered to replace the roof.
The original roofs were BUR, that were recovered as modified bitumen or DuroLast. The lifespan on the original and modified bitumen is approximately 8 years with no maintenance. We now have 20+ roofs that have not been touched since 1997-1998 and are beginning to experience problems.
After Wilma, many owners were faced with roof replacements or repairs and there are a number of new roofs in the neighborhood. There is no one standard roof type, which compounds things. Without yearly inspections, these new roofs will certainly deteriorate faster than their life expectancies, possibly voiding their warranties. The Board has no money to budget for roof maintenance and feels that the address-the-leaks-as-they-occur is still a sound policy. It seems irresponsible on one hand, but there doesn't seem to be a viable solution at present. The past is catching up...
There is an outstanding loan for new mansard shingles that takes up about 1/5 of the gross annual income so the money really isn't there. Reserves for roof replacement are grossly underfunded, maintenence fees can only be raised 3% per year and the board is opposed to any special assessments. A reserve study is desperately needed to put things in perspective, but there is some resistance to it.
In the mean time, does anyone have any input as to what reasonable preventative roof maintenance should consist of? Is a fix-as-problems-arise policy a good one? I could use some input here... Thanks in advance.
Our townhome/villa community is responsible for the regular maintenance and replacement of roofs under normal circumstances, while the owners are responsible for their roofs in the event of a catastrophe. This became a complete nightmare after Hurricane Wilma in 2005.
Historically speaking, this 23 year old, 64 building community comprised largely of buildings with flat roofs has had an unwritten policy of only addressing roofs when a unit owner complains of a leak. After three leaks, arrangements would be considered to replace the roof.
The original roofs were BUR, that were recovered as modified bitumen or DuroLast. The lifespan on the original and modified bitumen is approximately 8 years with no maintenance. We now have 20+ roofs that have not been touched since 1997-1998 and are beginning to experience problems.
After Wilma, many owners were faced with roof replacements or repairs and there are a number of new roofs in the neighborhood. There is no one standard roof type, which compounds things. Without yearly inspections, these new roofs will certainly deteriorate faster than their life expectancies, possibly voiding their warranties. The Board has no money to budget for roof maintenance and feels that the address-the-leaks-as-they-occur is still a sound policy. It seems irresponsible on one hand, but there doesn't seem to be a viable solution at present. The past is catching up...
There is an outstanding loan for new mansard shingles that takes up about 1/5 of the gross annual income so the money really isn't there. Reserves for roof replacement are grossly underfunded, maintenence fees can only be raised 3% per year and the board is opposed to any special assessments. A reserve study is desperately needed to put things in perspective, but there is some resistance to it.
In the mean time, does anyone have any input as to what reasonable preventative roof maintenance should consist of? Is a fix-as-problems-arise policy a good one? I could use some input here... Thanks in advance.