Condo Buyers Beware: Purchase Entails Risks

The June 6 Condo Q&A; column headlined “Monthly Assessment Hike Was Not Disclosed by the Seller” by Jan Hickenbottom deserves close reading by every potential purchaser of an existing condominium in California.

This column illustrates that with the relative affordability condos offer compared to detached single-family homes, there comes a major trade-off. That trade-off is the risk of substantial future costs that could easily wipe out any savings the price of a condo offers compared to that of a single-family home.

It is borne out of the hard financial fact that many condo developments in California are under-constructed and chronically undercapitalized. As these developments age, the financial demands on the homeowners association to repair past construction problems not properly remediated and to set aside adequate reserves for future maintenance of common building components can mean large assessments for the owners.

Sooner or later, the piper has to be paid. And existing owners who are on the hook understandably would prefer a new owner to pay the bill.

FREDERICK L. PILOT

President

Common Interest Consumer Project

Sacramento

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I live in a condo in Rancho Palos Verdes. Condos are run by directors who are often ill-equipped to manage properly. In a survey I made, most condos are run like corrupt fascist communities. Community Assns. Institute, the organization that claims to represent us, is self-serving and made up of attorneys and management companies that need not account to any civil organization for their actions.

MARTIN BURTON

Rancho Palos Verdes