B.S. from outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
How do I sell my condo when it hasn’t been kept up by the people who take our condo fees every month? We have a condo repossessed by the bank, people who don’t pay their condo fees for who knows what reason, and in one unit it’s now a rental. Any advice would be helpful.
Mister Condo replies:
B.S., I feel your pain and I am sorry that you have purchased a condo unit in an association that isn’t fulfilling its obligation to upkeep the association. I am guessing that the association upkeep is the tip of the iceberg. As a seller, you will have an additional challenge during the selling process from astute buyers who are likely to notice the lack of proper upkeep. The good news for you is that it may not have too much of an effect on your ability to sell depending on who the buyers are. You may have to lower your price a bit but you may be doing yourself a favor by getting out before the special assessments hit when the avoided upkeep is no longer optional. A roof will fail, siding will fail, parking lots will fail, the list goes on and on. By selling your unit at a discount, you may just be saving yourself from many thousands of dollars in these upcoming expenses. Get out while you can and be open to offers that might not be at the top of the market for similar units in better kept associations. Good luck!