Management Co. to new owners, ? about change over..

Started by RickR1 • 3 replies • 1601 views

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RickR1 (California)
Posts: 37

Posted:

First thing first. This is the greatest board in the world! I have learned more from this site than in all of my searches on the net. Thanks for always having an answer.

My name is rick. Tomorrow is our first election/meeting and what I call the changing of the guard from the management co to the owners (us). I live in CA with 61 condo units to our place. Hopefully I will win a seat on the board. I'll just list a few questions that I have so it's easier to reply.

1.The builder has done things that I'm sure will cost the board money in the future. Issues like cracking concrete (2 months after the pour), grass areas that have never been sodded & left to weed, garbage problems and building of container areas left to be built.
Question: How do we make sure that these items are taken care of NOW so that we don't have to do it in the future from out of HOA monies?

2. What is the acceptable level of repair to the new condos? We had walk throughs and maybe half of the problems, lets say, out of ten, were addressed. Their excuse was that it was up to the builder to decide if something was worth fixing or not. example- repaint, yes fixing crack in porch, no replacing tub because its crack, no and so on!

Thanks for all help.

rick

KathyS (California)
Posts: 145

Posted:

If you have a brand new association, there is an amount of time you have a right to sue the developer. It is the individual owner that has a truely limited time to report construction defects.

Look at your contract. In our association it was only 30 days for the owner of the home to contact the builder about any defects.

Our association did file a class action suit against the developer but it was dismissed. We filed it too late.

Go to www.davis-stirling.com Click on INDEX and then "C" It will take you to a list with Construction Defects listed. You should be able to find out what you need there.

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Another good place to look for information is at:
http://www.communityassociations.net/
Click on Developer/Transition in the red box

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

GeraldT1 (<Not Specified>)
Posts: 519

Posted:

RickR1

I live in a northern new jersey community consisting of 200 plus units (single-family and townhouse).

1. A. The owner controlled Board should confirm proper construction of elements by hiring a professional Transition Engineering Firm to perform a detailed study/evaluation of construction of all common and limited elements, a capital reserve/replacement analysis, an owner questionnaire of deficiencies on the exterior, and interior of units. The builder must construct the community according to a set of approved plans, and according to building code at the local, state, and federal level. The plans must be on file with the town/borough engineer, and the board should have a copy for their records. Changes to the original plans are normal. Technically their should be plans called "as builts" which reflect true construction. However, changes should also be notified to the town/borough engineer.

1. B. The owner controlled Board should start a Transition Committee to document all known deficiencies for development of a questionnaire.

1. C. Your biggest expenses to fund for replacement and repair will be roadways, roofs, sidewalks, and detention/retention basins.

2. A. The Transition Analysis should evidence the life-span of all common and limited elements. The questionnaire should evidence trends in construction deficiencies.

3. A. To successfully win a settlement from the builder, your Board and Association must be methodical, united in purpose, patient, have an attorney, and a transition engineering report. Document and demand everything be repaired with emphasis on the big ticket items (roadways, sidewalks, roofs, etc). Superficial cracks in concrete sidewalks of 1/8" - 1/4" may be acceptable depending on code. Get all warranties now from the builder.

Best of success!!
GeraldT1
NNJ

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