Repair Responsibilities

In our CA Condo complex we have a new owner who bought their unit in auction site unseen. The property has significant damage the previous owner did not disclose. The roof is leaking which the HOA is in the process of getting money to replace. The new owner is requesting the HOA to make all the repairs which include remediation, wood rot replacement, and fumigation. Was looking to see if anyone knows laws or guidelines that stipulate who is responsible for these repairs that have become tens of thousands of dollars due to neglect and not notifying the HOA?

Thanks for the assistance in advance.

I forgot to note: it's possible/probable that your governing docs have a statement saying that owners are responsible for notifying the association if there are issues that the association is responsible for repairing. The trouble is that this can be difficult to enforce even if the owner is still there. If the person is gone... not sure what you do.

I strongly encourage everyone to figure out how to resolve this without resorting to lawsuits. It's easy to spend far more on lawyers than you'll spend on just fixing whatever needs fixing. Unfortunately, people can get so angry about this stuff that they become more interested in burning the other guy than they are in coming up with an acceptable solution for all parties. This is how dumb financial decisions are made.

Why isn't this owner going after the previous owner since it wasn't disclosed? This is the danger of buying a house at auction - it may be dirt cheap, but can also mean tbe last owner no longer cared what happened because he/she/they were going to lose it anyway. Sometimes people can get these homes inspected before the sale, but most times nit, so you pays your money and take your chances.

Personally, I'd skip paying for everything else except the roof since that appears to be common area an HOA responsibility. Check 6our documents to see whose responsible for what and check 5hat against tge master insurance policy. It may be this owner will have to duke it out with the former owner (good luck with finding him/her/them) or bite tge bullet and foot the bill.

Are you on the Board, Vincent? What size is your HOA? Multi-story? Do you have a property manager?

First are you certain this is a Condominium Common Interest Development (CID) and not a PUD or PD CID?

If a condo CID, the HOA is almost always obligated to repair & replace roofs. Are you saying there no funds in reserves to repair the roof(s?)

Are you saying that termite damage is only to his unit and not to others?

In Calif., HOAs are obligated to treat termites and repair damage to the condo common areas unless the CC&Rs say otherwise. I'd say the HOA would be responsible for the "exclusive use common areas," too, which are basically balconies & decks. If in the Unit, the owner is responsible unless the source of the infestation is from the common area. You can learn this at Davis-stirling.com, a site by CA HOA lawyers that has a great Index. In this case, go to Termite and see the lawyers' advice plus the Civil Code from which they draw In this case, it's CA Civ. Code 4780. Do not that the HOA does not pay for lodging, etc. while termite work is being done.

As Cathy notes, other kinds of damage that need maintenance & repair to his exclusive common area decks & balconies might be his obligation to repair. You must read the section of your CC&Rs about this. Look under a heading called "Maintenance" or Maintenance Obligations." It's here that sometimes who has the obligation to repair is unclear (unless termite damage).

Perhaps no other woes are all to see his balcony/deck form their units? Here in my Muti- story condo bldg., I can see many balconies and would report unsightly damage in balconies and the the HOA Board would take action to have the owners remediate it IF owners' responsibility

If you're on the Board and you and other directors really don't know where to look for at least some answers to your questions, I strongly urge your Board to approve consulting with your HOA attorney who should be easily able to answer your questions after a quick look at your CC&Rs. I would NOT wait till this owner start making noises that he's going to sue and starts bullying tactics.

An attorney who specializes in HOAs is best . I don't think your "broker" is qualified to read & correctly interpret CA CC&Rs. Or know about mold.

I wouldn't expect your Mgmt. co to be able to give much advice, because they are not attorneys.

Do check to see if mold in the Unit, NO MATTER HOW caused is the HOA's obligation to remediate. Our amended CC&Rs make it entirely the owners' responsibility even if caused by a common area problem.

Take a look at "mold" in the Davis-stirling.com Index--I haven't read what they say about this topic.

No, disclosures are required always.

About the part in bold above:

Take this with a grain of salt because this is from Ohio and may only be specific to my condo community, but our insurance agent said that they don't look at "who is to blame", it's strictly who pays for what according to the CC&Rs and insurance policies. He said it's a common mistake that associations/boards can make - they assume that because the source of the damage originated in the common elements that the association is responsible for all resulting damage. I actually had experience (twice) with mold that originated outside of my unit - once in a leaky pipe in the unit above my nest door neighbor and once from rain water seeping into an exterior wall due to improper grading. Both times the association fixed the issues in the common areas (the leaky pipe and the grading), but I was responsible for all repairs inside my unit.

The only time I'm aware of where "who's to blame" is considered is if there is a lawsuit where the affected parties come to some sort of settlement. But as I said earlier, that's the expensive ways to handle things.

I second LetA's comment about buying "as is". The buyer understands that they don't get to argue about the condition of the home afterwards because they agreed to it when they signed the purchase agreement. The buyer is betting that the low purchase price will compensate for the money that have to put into the property after the sale. And sometimes it doesn't work out, because auctions often state that prospective buyers can't inspect the property ahead of time (or at best they get a one time walk through, which won't reveal hidden damage).

I also second the comments about the board consulting an HOA attorney who represents your association. The manager's attorney represents the manager, not the HOA, and has a conflict of interest in this case.

Do your homework, make sure you're on solid ground regarding your responsibilities, and hang tough. The other owners in your community aren't responsible helping a real estate investor (the new condo owner) earn his money.

"As is" IS the disclosure.

California Assoc. of Realtors purchase agreement form definition of "As-is." "Means that Seller shall make full disclosure of known material facts and defects as of the date of Acceptance and perform only those repairs specified in this Agreement, and Buyer shall have the right to inspect the property and exercise any contingency cancellation specified in this Agreement."

To add to Cathy’s observations about “HOA company said due to the roof leaking and causing mold they say we have to cover the repair.” I agree with her that this might NOT be true. Review your HOA insurance policy to see what it covers. Even if from the common area, damage to my condo unit that insurance covers only is the walls, ceilings, and subfloor if damaged. Insurance doesn’t cover cabinets, baseboards, i.e “improvements” as defined in your CC&Rs.

I think it’s likely the HOA insurance does not cover mold, which should have been noticed by the previous owners. Remediation of that very well may be the buyer’s responsibility. Even if caused by a common area problem. Has your insurance agent seen the damage? S/he will be able to tell you WHAT the HOA will cover. By the way, have you been in the unit to inspect the damage?

I’m a long-time Owner in a multi story condo building and was on the Board for a number of years. I know CA HOA statutes pretty well and my own governing documents very well. But, in your case, Vincent, with the buyer already being aggressive, your Board needs the opinion of a qualified HOA attorney to protect your HOA/community.

I am sorry your Board is stuck with the consequences of previous Boards who failed to fund reserves properly and apparently failed to have regular termite inspections. Say, is your community manger certified or credentialed in any way?

(You do NOT want a real estate attorney. It is not the Board’s concern whether the buyer got proper disclosure, etc. That’s on him. As an long-ago, long-time poster used to shout: Caveat emptor!)

So I am an owner in your HOA and winter 4 months at another location. The roof leaks and you tell me the damage is my fault for not having someone check the unit and report issues?

In my view the previous owner paid the HOA for the proper maintenance of the roof and is under no obligation to report anything . All the damage is on the HOA.