Earlier this month, I represented a Seller in a Boston condominium. Every transaction has its issues, and the issue in this matter was the fact that the Condominium, which had more than sixty (60) units, was undergoing renovation, and there were going to be Special Assessments to pay for same. The Seller and Buyer spent a substantial amount of time and effort trying to figure out an equitable way to split the responsibility for same. I normally take the position that if the subject of the Special Assessment is looking backward [repairing a rotted roof, foundation cracks or brick pointing], it is clearly the Seller’s responsibility. If the subject is a new feature for the Condominium [recreation room, pool] the Buyer should pay. There is never a clear path, but, generally, if both the Seller and Buyer are motivated, we can reach agreement.<\/p>\n
Once I put this matter to bed, it occurred to me that Assessments, which are often viewed with horror by both Buyers and Sellers, are really a positive sign of good Condominium governance, and not something to avoid. As I started to think about Condominiums which I have owned, or assisted people in buying or selling, I realized that not having Assessments, and addressing either deferred maintenance or improving the Condominium complex, is, in fact, a negative factor, because when problems do arise, they are that much more significant since they have been ignored no long. For example, the Condominium where I live has not changed its monthly fee, or had a Special Assessment, for the more than the twelve (12) years I have lived there. I do not view this as a good thing: I view it as sloth and indolence on the part of the people who run the Condominium.<\/p>\n
The bottom line is that there is a lot of deferred maintenance in all homes, but especially in Condominiums. If you live in a Condominium, where management is up-front and pro-active in keeping the systems and components in good shape, chances are that there will never be a major problem, because the smaller problems are being addressed on a continuing basis. I now also believe that “self-management” is really a code word for “cheap”, and that a self-managed condominium is not as valuable as one which has professional management and experienced operatives dealing with normal, and extraordinary, issues which arise. The more I see of self-management, the more I see megalomania. That results because like our political system, competent people are not willing to serve as Trustees and condominium officers, so people without experience or framework assume power, often leading to poor decisions and a Condominium with no prospects of having the value thereof increase. The only thing these individuals possess is plenty of spare time, and the old adage “if you want to get something done, ask a busy person” very often applies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Earlier this month, I represented a Seller in a Boston condominium… there were going to be Special Assessments to pay for same. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[144,3,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-condominium","category-real-estate-law","category-title"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":167,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=167","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":0},"title":"Condominium Due Diligence–Our Professional Responsibilities","date":"June 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The stormy winter we have experienced needs to be factored in when purchasing a condominium unit. Roofs and other systems have been under a considerable amount of strain, and according to casualty insurance statistics, claims are at record levels.\u00a0 Those leaks through ceilings and walls can be plastered and painted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Condominium"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":355,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=355","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":1},"title":"Condominium Trustee Meeting Minutes–Important Information Often Neglected","date":"July 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The problem is this. Many condominiums are frightfully mismanaged. Nobody wants to serve as a Trustee, and so the people who do serve are either megalomaniacs or people who don't have much business savvy, but have a lot of time on their hands. Meetings of Trustees are poorly attended. A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Condominium"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":152,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=152","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":2},"title":"Review of Condominium Financial Statements and Operations–Some Guiding Principles","date":"June 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the functions of an attorney representing a Buyer of a Condominium is to review the financial statements and operations\u00a0of the Condominium, as well as the constituent condominium documents such as the Master Deed and the Condominium Declaration of Trust. In a future post, I will delineate what I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Condominium"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":127,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=127","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":3},"title":"Disposition of Offer Deposit–Ending Buyer and Seller Disputes over Small Amounts of Money","date":"June 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u00a0have been\u00a0pleasantly surprised at the number of comments I received relative to the disposition of Purchase and Sale deposits, and the problems that many of you have experienced because of the uncertainty in what to do about the \"Offer Deposit\" so-called, normally $500 or $1,000, which is delivered to bind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Litigation\/Disputes"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":365,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=365","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":4},"title":"Together We REALLY Can–The Combined Enterprise of the Buyer’s Agent and the Buyer’s Attorney in Condominium Purchases","date":"July 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"While there has been a marked increase in both new and conversion condominiums in Massachusetts, where I practice real estate law,and most other jurisdictions in ActiveRain nation, it is my sense that many people get involved in a condominium purchase without any real understanding of what they are getting into\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Condominium"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":179,"url":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/?p=179","url_meta":{"origin":915,"position":5},"title":"New Condominiums–More TRAPS for the unwary","date":"June 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"It is starting to happen again. Just like it did in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Condominiums are in financial trouble, I have previously written a Featured Post about delinquent condominium Unit Owners and what Trustees MUST do to collect common area fees from them. A similar, but potentially\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Condominium"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=915"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":917,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915\/revisions\/917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.topbev.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}