With MC’s guidance, board is ignoring CCR’s.

I agree that according to your CC&Rs, the association can't use association funds to replace windows. In addition, I'm sure your reserve studies don't include the costs of these windows, so you're talking about a special assessment or loan.

On the other hand, the association has an interest in preventing wood rot underneath the siding, and upstairs owners who fail to maintain their windows are probably responsible for some portion of that rot. It isn't fair to require the entire membership to pay for some owners' negligence. But it's also impossible to figure out how much damage is due to negligence and how much is simple wear and tear or other causes.

If I were on the board, I'd suggest a talk with some vendors about how to prevent such things from happening, followed by regular inspections and repairs to the damaged wood as needed. You don't want to ignore the damage, especially since there is a good possibility of mold. I had mold in an exterior wall, oddly enough due in part because of a window with inadequate flashing, and it was not fun to deal with. Repairs went on for months, and a couple hotel stays happened (ever get a whiff of Kilz?). I'd have happily thrown any amount of money at the problem if I could have prevented it.

There is no solution in condos that is perfectly fair to everyone. The membership is going to end up subsidizing the irresponsible people one way or the other, and boards can drive themselves crazy trying to achieve the unachievable.

In North Carolina condominium associations, assessments for maintenance or repairs can be a complex issue, especially when it involves individual unit components such as windows, which are often classified as limited common elements. According to North Carolina’s Condominium Act, any repairs or replacements associated with these elements are typically the financial responsibility of the specific unit owners who benefit from them, as stated in the declaration or CCRs.

In this case, the association’s decision to assess all owners equally for window replacements—despite the CCRs stating that unit owners are responsible for their windows—appears inconsistent with standard practices outlined in the Act. If a portion of a condominium’s governing documents designates certain expenses as the responsibility of individual unit owners, those costs usually should not be shifted to the community as a whole unless specifically allowed by a vote or amendment to the CCRs

Special assessments are often a way to cover unexpected expenses, like wood rot repairs, but these typically must follow certain procedures, including any voting requirements outlined in the CCRs. Moreover, the Act emphasizes that special assessments should align with the association's governing documents, ensuring that costs associated with limited common elements are allocated to benefiting units rather than spread across all units

In situations like these, affected owners who have already borne the cost of replacing their windows individually might argue that this new assessment effectively requires them to pay twice. If the board’s action is inconsistent with the CCRs, it may face challenges from owners who are unhappy with the additional financial burden

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Sure, 48 year old windows still work, but usually have air infiltration. Can can one remove the frame and reinstall it? Who is responsible if your neighbors windows could be reused and the contractor says your can’t. If the water leaking around the windows is because they were never re-chalked was the issue, who is responsible for that?

If the issue is NC law, a simple regulation stating all windows must be replaced at # years and specifying the window required for replacement solves that issue.

It's probably in the owners' best interests to have the association do this work even if the cost is passed on to the owners. Associations can often get better pricing on bulk purchases than owners can get buying on their own. If I had crummy old windows, I'd say "yes, please".

Off the top of my head:

* Are the original windows not having the same problems as the new ones? In other words, why do they want to treat them differently? (In my community, you can tell which buildings were built during and right after the Great Recession - because they're lower in quality than the buildings that were constructed prior to that, and they have more maintenance issues.)

* If the newer windows are causing problems, you will have to pay for the resulting repairs to the common elements even if your windows aren't the issue (eg. wood rot).

I don't know the history of your community, and I don't know what information your board was working with to come to the decisions that they did. I'm taking it on faith that the windows are defined as part of the unit and are homeowner responsibility. I'm also taking it on faith that previous boards have all operated consistently (questionable) and that your CC&Rs were not changed at some point. All of this is relevant. So I can't say whether this new decision is reasonable or not.

If the owners are responsible for repairing & replacing the windows per the CC&Rs, why, Dean. should all owners pay for all windows?

It looks to me like the HOA pays for all the wood rot, etc., and owners pays for their windows..

I do agreee that one vendor should be hired by the HOA for cost savings and ability to monitor work as it's done .

Btw, my HOA is finishing a big project where many of of condo balconies needed rep[rir for water intrusion or safety reasons. Balconies are a reserve component in our reserves study. So all owners pay.

Pat ws on the Board for a long time and has. reported things about the new Board she feels are wrong. But, what if I agree with you Pat, what do you propose to do about it?/

Pat

You might consider accessing those that have never replaced their windows for wood rot repair and new windows. A lower assessment for those that replaced their windows meaning they are paying for wood rot repair only.

Who was responsible for maintaining the chalking around the windows? In a 42 yo building with water damage in the walls the issue may very likely be failure to maintain chalking around the window frames. The structure around the windows is rotted and reusing the existing windows in morph a prudent decision.

Kerry,

I am very happy to report that I have followed the "live with it, move, or volunteer" advise from this forum. I am closing on a house on Monday and will sell my condo. Had to move over an hour away to find something affordable, but a small house in the country with no HOA fits my retirement plans nicely. Also provides me with new adventures as I'm moving closer to the mountains.

In the meantime, I am continuing to try and educate the owners. Sadly, for as much talk as there is, no one is stepping forward and banding together to do anything about it.