Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Exterior Maintenance in Condo Coho

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Feb 5, 2015, at 8:47 AM, Diana Carroll <dianaecarroll [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
> 
> Our challenge here at Mosaic Commons is how to handle exterior changes. The
> HOA is responsible for porches and balconies. Some of our members have
> discussed wanting to build large decks and balconies on their homes, at
> their own expense.

Another problem here is being clear when a property is transferred what the 
agreements are. What if the unit is sold and the seller forgets to tell the new 
owner that the deck isn't included in maintenance by the community? It needs to 
be in writing in in such a way that that information is transferred with the 
condo documents when the unit is sold.

We had a unit sold and the owner told the buyer that he owned his parking 
space. Not so. The owner has the use of one parking space. A different animal. 
Not everyone understands legal documents or even reads them but at least if it 
is in writing the Association is protected.

Another community had allowed an owner to fence in part of the common space 
because they had a dog that was driving everyone crazy. When the unit was sold, 
the owners assumed they were also buying this part of the lawn which was 
clearly fenced to their house. Hard to reverse such a large mis-understanding. 
In this case the yard may have been one of the major factors influencing their 
decision to buy that unit and not another.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org