CONDOS & TOWNHOME WARNING: SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS!

Posted by Tom Martino at 11:53 am 47 Comments Print

When people buy homes they routinely get inspections on every aspect of the home – inside and out.  But when it comes to condos and townhomes people do very limited inspections.

They seldom look at anything outside the unit itself.  That can mean trouble.

Here’s why:  If the building needs a boiler or furnace or air conditioning system, you could be hit with a “Special Assessment”.  If your community needs to resurface the parking lot, you could be hit with a “Special Assessment”.  If the building needs a new roof, you could be hit with a “Special Assessment”.

Get the picture?  If the condo or townhome development needs major improvements, you could be hit with a special assessment.  And that assessment can be hefty.  For example, one woman who called my show (weekdays, 10am to 1pm on 630-KHOW) was hit for a $15,000 assessment when her HOA decided to replace the boiler.

So when getting your condo or townhome inspected, you need to also have the community inspected for major items like roofing, parking lots, swimming pools, boilers, etc. – basically any “common area” itmes that may require major repairs or replacement.

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