Be Careful when Buying in Condo HOA

[PCinSD]

I have a friend with an HOA problem, with a twist. She purchased an over-priced one bedroom condo in Mission Hills at the peak. It was a new condo conversion, of an old crappy apartment complex. The final units sold last year. Unfortunately, there have been many problems with the buildings. Many plumbing issues have caused many floods resulting in substantial damages to several owners. Who knows if the prior apartment complex owner disclosed any issues to the condo conversion developers. If they did, it doesn’t appear those disclosures made it to the end purchasers of the condos. Now you have a brand new HOA struggling to stay afloat amid all these damage claims. There should have been a way to obtain a history of damage claims submitted to the apartment complex’s carrier – before it ever became a condo conversion. She couldn’t be more miserable as a first time home owner.

[urbanrealtor]

This happens a lot. There is a disclosure called a CLUE report (comprehensive loss underwriting exchange) which looks for insurance damage.
The problem is that in older buildings, often this is just unfortunate timing on the part of the buyers (both the developers and the owners). I had a sewer inspection done on a 20’s era property recently. This was a camera inspection where they actually send the cam with a light down the sewer main. This is the most exhaustive inspection you can get short of actually digging up the lines (which is prohibitively damaging and costly). It passed with flying colors but the entire line (with its 83 years of wear collapsed a month later. While inspection and information are good things to have, in the end, some amount of purchasing is a crapshoot. While we try to minimize this, it is a necessary evil.

Out of curiosity, is this the place on west Penn?

[urbanrealtor]

This happens a lot. There is a disclosure called a CLUE report (comprehensive loss underwriting exchange) which looks for insurance damage.
The problem is that in older buildings, often this is just unfortunate timing on the part of the buyers (both the developers and the owners). I had a sewer inspection done on a 20’s era property recently. This was a camera inspection where they actually send the cam with a light down the sewer main. This is the most exhaustive inspection you can get short of actually digging up the lines (which is prohibitively damaging and costly). It passed with flying colors but the entire line (with its 83 years of wear collapsed a month later. While inspection and information are good things to have, in the end, some amount of purchasing is a crapshoot. While we try to minimize this, it is a necessary evil.

Out of curiosity, is this the place on west Penn?

[urbanrealtor]

This happens a lot. There is a disclosure called a CLUE report (comprehensive loss underwriting exchange) which looks for insurance damage.
The problem is that in older buildings, often this is just unfortunate timing on the part of the buyers (both the developers and the owners). I had a sewer inspection done on a 20’s era property recently. This was a camera inspection where they actually send the cam with a light down the sewer main. This is the most exhaustive inspection you can get short of actually digging up the lines (which is prohibitively damaging and costly). It passed with flying colors but the entire line (with its 83 years of wear collapsed a month later. While inspection and information are good things to have, in the end, some amount of purchasing is a crapshoot. While we try to minimize this, it is a necessary evil.

Out of curiosity, is this the place on west Penn?

[urbanrealtor]

This happens a lot. There is a disclosure called a CLUE report (comprehensive loss underwriting exchange) which looks for insurance damage.
The problem is that in older buildings, often this is just unfortunate timing on the part of the buyers (both the developers and the owners). I had a sewer inspection done on a 20’s era property recently. This was a camera inspection where they actually send the cam with a light down the sewer main. This is the most exhaustive inspection you can get short of actually digging up the lines (which is prohibitively damaging and costly). It passed with flying colors but the entire line (with its 83 years of wear collapsed a month later. While inspection and information are good things to have, in the end, some amount of purchasing is a crapshoot. While we try to minimize this, it is a necessary evil.

Out of curiosity, is this the place on west Penn?

[urbanrealtor]

This happens a lot. There is a disclosure called a CLUE report (comprehensive loss underwriting exchange) which looks for insurance damage.
The problem is that in older buildings, often this is just unfortunate timing on the part of the buyers (both the developers and the owners). I had a sewer inspection done on a 20’s era property recently. This was a camera inspection where they actually send the cam with a light down the sewer main. This is the most exhaustive inspection you can get short of actually digging up the lines (which is prohibitively damaging and costly). It passed with flying colors but the entire line (with its 83 years of wear collapsed a month later. While inspection and information are good things to have, in the end, some amount of purchasing is a crapshoot. While we try to minimize this, it is a necessary evil.

Out of curiosity, is this the place on west Penn?

[CricketOnTheHearth]

Is it even possible to get a condo without an HOA??
I thought they all had them.

As far as % ownership… I think there is a shortage of rental properties in the county, so condos are often recruited to take up the slack. A lot of these apartment complexes that were condo-converted, never should have been (= GREED) and now they are half-unowned, and the would-be sellers are renting out the rest in a desperate attempt to maintain cash flow. If they had just left them as apartments they would have full cash flow already.

Also the problem is that in this county, there is a super scarcity of mid-size, mid-price housing. Your choices are either a
$1/2-million oversized house or an apartment with a mortgage.

[CricketOnTheHearth]

Is it even possible to get a condo without an HOA??
I thought they all had them.

As far as % ownership… I think there is a shortage of rental properties in the county, so condos are often recruited to take up the slack. A lot of these apartment complexes that were condo-converted, never should have been (= GREED) and now they are half-unowned, and the would-be sellers are renting out the rest in a desperate attempt to maintain cash flow. If they had just left them as apartments they would have full cash flow already.

Also the problem is that in this county, there is a super scarcity of mid-size, mid-price housing. Your choices are either a
$1/2-million oversized house or an apartment with a mortgage.

[CricketOnTheHearth]

Is it even possible to get a condo without an HOA??
I thought they all had them.

As far as % ownership… I think there is a shortage of rental properties in the county, so condos are often recruited to take up the slack. A lot of these apartment complexes that were condo-converted, never should have been (= GREED) and now they are half-unowned, and the would-be sellers are renting out the rest in a desperate attempt to maintain cash flow. If they had just left them as apartments they would have full cash flow already.

Also the problem is that in this county, there is a super scarcity of mid-size, mid-price housing. Your choices are either a
$1/2-million oversized house or an apartment with a mortgage.

[CricketOnTheHearth]

Is it even possible to get a condo without an HOA??
I thought they all had them.

As far as % ownership… I think there is a shortage of rental properties in the county, so condos are often recruited to take up the slack. A lot of these apartment complexes that were condo-converted, never should have been (= GREED) and now they are half-unowned, and the would-be sellers are renting out the rest in a desperate attempt to maintain cash flow. If they had just left them as apartments they would have full cash flow already.

Also the problem is that in this county, there is a super scarcity of mid-size, mid-price housing. Your choices are either a
$1/2-million oversized house or an apartment with a mortgage.

[CricketOnTheHearth]

Is it even possible to get a condo without an HOA??
I thought they all had them.

As far as % ownership… I think there is a shortage of rental properties in the county, so condos are often recruited to take up the slack. A lot of these apartment complexes that were condo-converted, never should have been (= GREED) and now they are half-unowned, and the would-be sellers are renting out the rest in a desperate attempt to maintain cash flow. If they had just left them as apartments they would have full cash flow already.

Also the problem is that in this county, there is a super scarcity of mid-size, mid-price housing. Your choices are either a
$1/2-million oversized house or an apartment with a mortgage.

[CA renter]

My very conservative father (Great Depression baby), who never had any debt except small mortgage loans, was foreclosed on during the last downturn in LA precisely because of these special assessments.

He refused to go along with the HOA because he didn’t think the work was needed (new asphalt, new roofs, etc.). They fought so hard he got death threats, and lawyers were fighting back-and-forth. Real ugly.

He gave up and let it foreclose. He had put 30% down when he bought, and lost all of it.

The problem is very few homes are being built without HOAs. This should definitely be changed, IMO, even if buyers had to pay extra up-front to help pay for infrastructure costs. No Mello-Roos! It should be factored into the cost of the house…therefore, the developers should pay LESS for the land.

Then, there’s this story out today:

Jim Greenwood is parking his 2007 Ford F-150 in the garage, but he’s not through battling the Frisco homeowners’ association. He says the association has declared the iconic Texas truck not upscale enough to leave in his driveway.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/081908dnmetfriscotrucks.ecbc1d7.html

[CA renter]

My very conservative father (Great Depression baby), who never had any debt except small mortgage loans, was foreclosed on during the last downturn in LA precisely because of these special assessments.

He refused to go along with the HOA because he didn’t think the work was needed (new asphalt, new roofs, etc.). They fought so hard he got death threats, and lawyers were fighting back-and-forth. Real ugly.

He gave up and let it foreclose. He had put 30% down when he bought, and lost all of it.

The problem is very few homes are being built without HOAs. This should definitely be changed, IMO, even if buyers had to pay extra up-front to help pay for infrastructure costs. No Mello-Roos! It should be factored into the cost of the house…therefore, the developers should pay LESS for the land.

Then, there’s this story out today:

Jim Greenwood is parking his 2007 Ford F-150 in the garage, but he’s not through battling the Frisco homeowners’ association. He says the association has declared the iconic Texas truck not upscale enough to leave in his driveway.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/081908dnmetfriscotrucks.ecbc1d7.html

[CA renter]

My very conservative father (Great Depression baby), who never had any debt except small mortgage loans, was foreclosed on during the last downturn in LA precisely because of these special assessments.

He refused to go along with the HOA because he didn’t think the work was needed (new asphalt, new roofs, etc.). They fought so hard he got death threats, and lawyers were fighting back-and-forth. Real ugly.

He gave up and let it foreclose. He had put 30% down when he bought, and lost all of it.

The problem is very few homes are being built without HOAs. This should definitely be changed, IMO, even if buyers had to pay extra up-front to help pay for infrastructure costs. No Mello-Roos! It should be factored into the cost of the house…therefore, the developers should pay LESS for the land.

Then, there’s this story out today:

Jim Greenwood is parking his 2007 Ford F-150 in the garage, but he’s not through battling the Frisco homeowners’ association. He says the association has declared the iconic Texas truck not upscale enough to leave in his driveway.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/081908dnmetfriscotrucks.ecbc1d7.html

[CA renter]

My very conservative father (Great Depression baby), who never had any debt except small mortgage loans, was foreclosed on during the last downturn in LA precisely because of these special assessments.

He refused to go along with the HOA because he didn’t think the work was needed (new asphalt, new roofs, etc.). They fought so hard he got death threats, and lawyers were fighting back-and-forth. Real ugly.

He gave up and let it foreclose. He had put 30% down when he bought, and lost all of it.

The problem is very few homes are being built without HOAs. This should definitely be changed, IMO, even if buyers had to pay extra up-front to help pay for infrastructure costs. No Mello-Roos! It should be factored into the cost of the house…therefore, the developers should pay LESS for the land.

Then, there’s this story out today:

Jim Greenwood is parking his 2007 Ford F-150 in the garage, but he’s not through battling the Frisco homeowners’ association. He says the association has declared the iconic Texas truck not upscale enough to leave in his driveway.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/081908dnmetfriscotrucks.ecbc1d7.html

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