B.P. from Litchfield County writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
I live in a 55 and over condo community and they charge by square footage. The townhouses pay more than the ranches which I don’t think is fair because all of us receive equal services such as plowing, mowing trash pickup, clubhouse use etc. I don’t believe assessing by size of the units is proper. Any comments on this and what we can do to change it?
Mister Condo replies:
B.P., there is very little you can do to change the schedule of common fee assessments and for good reason. The schedule of fees was part and parcel of every unit that was sold in your association. It is a legally binding agreement that both buyer and seller agreed to at the time of purchase. Further, it is an intrinsic part of the condo documents that binds the unit owner to the association. I answered a similar question from a condo owner in Illinois not too long ago. You can find my full answer here: https://askmistercondo.com/validity-of-condo-percentage-of-unit-ownership-questioned/. All the best!
Unfortunately, too few people do their “due dilligence” by reading their association documents before purchasing. It’s important to know what you’re buying into if your potential new home is in an association.