Another unsafe condo evacuated.

Started by JohnT38 • 8 replies • 293 views

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JohnT38 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,631

Posted:

Sounds like Florida all over again. An unsafe condo with known structural damage. What will it take to prevent another tragedy?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/imminent-threat-collapse-forces-officials-evacuate-wisconsin-condo-bui-rcna7527

Below is a clip from a review site I found written 8 months ago indicating they didn't have the money to fix and were planning a special assessment:

"In response to Dale* - If you lived in this building you would know the full story and that the owners are VERY aware of the damage to the building from the wind storm. The cost to repaire is expensive and there is a special assesment to have them replaced. Due to Covid, the city of Waukesha is behind on approving the plans but it will be completed."

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

I looked at a few stories on this. The residents had 15 minutes to pack up what they could and get out. One lady said she'd just spent $13k to remove the balcony (its problems ultimately lead to other structural issues). Most of the residents are empty nesters and disabled, so I'm sure a special assessment would have been REALLY expensive.

The residents had reported problems from as far back as last June, but COVID slowed down the city's efforts in approving needed repairs. On top of all that, this is the same town which had the man driving through the Thanksgiving day parade where did people were killed.

I'd really like to know who built this place - I smell cost cutting and shortcuts all in the name of making money.....

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

PatJ1 (North Carolina)
Posts: 568

Posted:

There seems to be more to this. This unit is currently listed for sale:

https://www.shorewest.com/WI/Waukesha/Waukesha/315-N-West-Ave-305-Waukesha-WI-53186/1752692-METRO#.YauA97pOlPY

Listing includes this statement: Balcony being redone in the next year. $18,600 will be gifted to the next owner. Schedule your showing and start picturing this condo as your home!

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

It sounds like the issues are well beyond the wind damage mentioned by the one person on the review site. I also suspect poor construction along with years of inadequate maintenance.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Anecdote: A number of years ago I was condo hunting and made an offer on a unit in a newer community (around 10 years old). It was a higher end rental community which the owners were converting to condominiums, great location, decently priced for the area. The inspectors I hired found a few issues, one of which was a sagging roof due to the fact that part of a truss was too short and didn't run the full length of the roof line. I said "nope" and canceled my purchase contract. I figured the owners of the community knew about the shoddy construction and held onto the property long enough to make a reasonable profit, after which they were unloading their problem onto unwary buyers before their chickens came home to roost.

Several years later I heard from a realtor acquaintance that some of the buildings in that community were starting to slide down the slopes they were sitting on and she refused to even show the units to prospective buyers. Also around the same time residents at a nearby "luxury" apartment complex had to evacuate in the middle of the night because their building was starting to break apart and part of it was sliding into the ravine next to it.

I suspect we'll be seeing a lot more of this, and buyers really need to beware. Also, skilled home inspectors are worth every penny you pay them. (The guys I used actually found significant issues in two condos in two different communities, after which I limited myself to new construction built by reputable builders.)

PatJ1 (North Carolina)
Posts: 568

Posted:

Buying, renting, or just staying in while on vacation, the Florida building collapse and being on an HOA board opened my eyes. I don't do stairs. Elevators and a large dog don't work.

Even hotels can collapse. I'll take my chances in a 2 story structure even if I'm on on the first floor. Chances are better that I'd get injured rather than killed.

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

Best advice I ever received while house hunting was "get a home inspector to look at the house before you sign any papers.". One of my co-workers referred me to his home inspector and suggested I tag along, as I didn't know much about the mechanics of a home vs. an apartment.

I thought it would take 90 minutes or so because it was a townhouse. it took three hours with me following the guy like a puppy taking notes. He pointed out the potential issue with the roof not having the number of vents the manufacturer recommended (the city code called for a smaller number so the cheap ass developer went with that). That was the start of what would lead to me volunteering for the board.

I'm beginning to think people are going to have to hire an engineer to go through some of these high rise condos or at least look at the repair and inspection records to see if something wicked is on the horizon. Of course, there's no way to predict anything, but it may be harder questions will have to be asked by potential buyers.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

LoriM15 (Florida)
Posts: 1,009

Posted:

We own a condo (do not live there) in an upscale resort-style condo community near us. Most of the condos are like two-story townhouses. The whole community of over 1000 condos was built in phases by the same builder who has (had) a great reputation and is still building very high-end homes.

A couple of years after the final phase was built and the community was turned over by the developer, it was discovered that the workmanship was so shoddy most of the buildings had water intrusion through roofs and windows. Balconies were in danger of falling off. If you drive through the community now you will see tarps on roofs and most of the buildings have repair patches on the outside.

The condo community tried to get the builder to make the repairs. He started and then realized the extent of the issues. He filed a lawsuit against the architects, engineers and sub-contractors, saying that they designed it all wrong and the sub-contractors used bad materials and didn't follow the specs.

The COA filed suit against the builder and now has spent millions on engineering studies and attorneys fees. The budget for 2020 includes $500,000 for legal fees. They think the lawsuit will either go to court or get settled this year. The calculation is that if they don't win the lawsuit and get the builder to pay, each unit is looking at a special assessment of over $80,000.

The moral of this story is that even the "best" builder can build bad communities. Condo ownership is a crap shoot. We bought in this community knowing the history and we did get an inspection of the inside and what the inspector could see from the outside. The reason we bought was because we rent it to a relative who really want to live there but couldn't afford to buy and also because we believe in the long run it's an excellent investment (prices have gone up dramatically since we bought).

JohnT38 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,631

Posted:

I really wish there was some oversight that monitored the HOA Reserve Funds for every community. I know it's probably wishful thinking and I don't pretend to be smart enough to know how to do it.

As a homeowner I'd gladly pay a reasonable additional fee that could be used to create some type of national organization that evaluated every communities Reserve Fund and posted a summary of it, including what % percent funded it is, on a pubic web sight that potential buyers could access and read before they purchased a home in any community. I'd like to see what the balance of the fund is, when the last Reserve Study was done and what % it is funded. I'd like to even see a list of special assessments, and the dollar amount, that have occurred in the last 10 years. Based on this info this organization could rate the community with a grade of A-F.

In the greater scheme of time, HOA communities and the buildings they consist of are relatively new. Because of this I really think that the problems we see with underfunded HOA's is going to escalate rapidly and create unsafe environments and financial nightmares for owners.

I know what I said is wishful thinking but I hope someone figures out how to improve this situation. Until they do, I personally will not buy another condo again. It's just too risky. Even if an HOA is in good shape when you buy, all it takes is a couple of bad boards to run it in the ground.

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