L.N. from outside of Connecticut writes: Dear Mister Condo, Our condo has put in reserves $25,000 for staining our condos next year. We were to be assessed for $35,000. The board is now pushing for vinyl siding instead of staining. This would cost $364,000. They are asking owners to vote if they want this instead. Some of us do not have the funds for this. Could a Board be held responsible for not setting up reserves…
V.S. from Pennsylvania writes: Dear Mister Condo, Can a condo association insist on its association owners to use the Association chosen Dryer Vent Cleaning Company while the owners pay for it? Mister Condo replies: V.S., generally speaking, yes, that is correct. The Board can negotiate with outside contractors to conduct services within the association and some of these expenses can be assigned to the individual unit owners. Dryer vent cleaning is a classic example because…
D.A. from New York writes: Dear Mister Condo, We own in a 200-unit condo complex in New York.The complex is 35 years old and in a state of disrepair. The previous board president was a non-resident owner and real estate salesman who was more concerned with commissions on unit sales and rentals than the infrastructure of the condominium. When president, this individual imposed 4 years of assessments on the owners. As I learned, as a…
K.L. from Outside of Connecticut writes: Dear Mister Condo, Should repairs be paid for from reserves or special assessment? Our 30-unit condo is looking at a $200,000 bill to replace and reroute utility lines that apparently weren’t properly installed when the complex was built in the early 2000’s. We have a little over $400,000 in reserves. We have a board member who is pretty adamant that we do a special assessment to fund the repairs, while…