R.B. from Fairfield County, Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
If a Special Assessment is already voted on by the Board (i.e. all units will be assessed $X in 6 months), isn’t it the responsibility of the Property Manager to reveal this in the Resale Certificate? My understanding is that until the assessment is made ‘official’, the Property Manager cannot reveal the ‘possibility of an assessment’, but after it is official, they must reveal that it is confirmed.
Mister Condo replies:
R.B., the responsibility for the notification of an approved Special Assessment is with the association. The job usually falls to the association manager as they are handling the business dealing of the association and would need to report the Special Assessment to a potential new owner or be in violation of the provisions of the law that require such notification. The possibility of an assessment is not required to be revealed but, honestly, should be on every new owner’s mind when purchasing into a condominium association. Most association do not have enough money in their Reserve Funds and many will face the need for Special Assessment. However, it is “buyer beware” with regards to a possible Special Assessment versus a requirement for a known and approved Special Assessment. All the best!
C.G.S. 47-270(a)(4) would require it to be listed on the resale cert once it has been approved for current fiscal or within the next fiscal year. It is something to check with the association attorney, or perhaps the property management company’s in-house counsel.
This article has good information about the period of time where a possible/probable capital project is being discussed, but not approved. And it agrees, that when it is under consideration, it would not be on the resale cert, but does offer guidance of what are acceptable strategies to avoid problems in this area.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/resale-certificates-buyer-beware-board-william-ward?trk=pulse-article_more-articles_related-content-card