Condominium Conundrum

[TRESinc]

Like the OP, I have gotten really frustrated with lenders' and their agents' employees who don't know the difference between a condo and some other ownership interest.

that used to annoy me but i don't care anymore. the info the lenders supply to me is only as good as what the borrower tells them, and i can't even begin to count how many borrowers have no clue what they own, or what they are buying, when it comes to condos.

we are lucky in ohio. all HOAs must register with the state and the docs are available online. takes all of 3 minutes to review them and see if the association is actually a condo or not as the state requires them to disclose that in the docs they provide.

One significant change that I saw in the past two years was the centralization of project data into reporting services that charge a fee for providing the unit and occupancy mix, fees, etc. These firms simplify the process of getting that information: it's a very simple matter to lay that burden back on the client, or to upcharge the appraisal fee to cover the cost of the third party report. It is a significant pain to try to pry that information out of a leasing agent or a project manager.

happening more and more in my market as well. fees range from $50-$250 from my experiences and the information is spotty at best. i have to clear it with my clients first before buying the info to see if they will cover the cost or provide me with a portion of a recently completed appraisal in the subject's development with the data. either way i discuss how i acquired the info and talk about the validity of the data.

while i have no proof i believe that the HOAs are getting some form of a kickback from them.

I agree it is a roll of the dice as to whether project managers are willing to share the info. Does anyone have experience with the 3rd party info service route? I have not used one, just curious as to how accurate the data would be. I would feel better getting the information directly from the property manager, even if recently I couldn't even get a valid number of parking spaces, not because they didn't want to tell me, but because the manager didn't know! Yikes!

the ones i have dealt with, condocerts and homewisedocs, use an automated process on a web page. i register, fill out the info of my subject and it spits out the info they have. i would say about 60-70% of the time i get all the data needed to complete the report.

 

[Carnivore]

The worst special assessment I had on a condo was $30,000 per unit due to a building defect from when it was built. Problem was all the units had the same problem. Even worse without the issue the units were only worth around $140,000 each at the time. Fortunately I had two sales in the complex. The market hit was approx. $40,000. only because the area is extremely hot market and to this day still is.

 

[TRESinc]

The worst special assessment I had on a condo was $30,000 per unit due to a building defect from when it was built. Problem was all the units had the same problem. Even worse without the issue the units were only worth around $140,000 each at the time. Fortunately I had two sales in the complex. The market hit was approx. $40,000. only because the area is extremely hot market and to this day still is.

seen lots of crazy assessments over the years. did an appraisal on one where they were all ranch condos, 2 story buildings with the upper units having balconies. all of the balconies were literally falling apart so the association made an assessment to have them repaired and ALL units were assessed equally, not just the 2nd floor units. the bottom unit owners were quite unhappy.

did another one where there were 9 three story buildings that needed new siding. the original cedar was 40+ years old and badly in need of repair/replacement. the association tried for months to get the unit owners to approve a $225,000 bid to have the buildings get new vinyl siding but they were never able to get the majority needed, and they had the funds in their reserves so no assessment needed. in the end they had to follow the bylaws which stated that the board could only replace, not change, any items in need of repair which ended up costing them $425,000 to have the old cedar removed and replaced with new cedar, then send out the assessment for the cost difference. human nature is a funny thing sometimes.