HOW ONE ASSOCIATION’S $30,000 MOLD WATER DAMAGE CLAIM TURNED INTO A $169,000 ARBITRATION AWARD (and why condominium associations should be responsible for waterproofing on balcony decks)

It all started with that association amending and restating its Governing Documents. As a part of that process, their former attorney suggested that they make the homeowners responsible for the maintenance, repair and replacement of the waterproofing on each homeowner’s exclusive use balcony decks. Many associations tell me they would like to see the homeowners responsible for the waterproofing, as they claim that the association does not want to have to save or expend the money for that work. However, in practice this is not a good idea.

The fact is that homeowners are not really that good at maintenance. Many owners move into condominiums so that they can avoid having to do that kind of work. Most waterproofing systems require some form of recoating every three (3) to five (5) years. Homeowners do not understand waterproofing systems, and neither do most boards at condo associations. At the association that was involved in the lawsuit that is the subject of this article, a prior owner of a unit had ongoing leaking issues with his large balcony deck. To resolve the leaks, he made substantial modifications to the waterproofing system. He then sold the unit. His modifications had not resolved the leak issues.

READ THE REST HERE and find out what happened… http://www.hoalawblog.com/2013/03/how_one_associations_30000_mol_1.html#more