I am a newbie to the Inspection world. I have done several ‘house’ inspections.
I meet with a client/buyers to a condo ,at that time they were unsure of the ‘association’ coverage for the condo. The sellers were unavailable to ask. Do I go ahead and inspect it as a house or do I assume the ‘association’ covers all exterior, IE: roof, grading issues, garage door, etc? Would it be better to document the exterior or " don’t even go there"?
Help, Tom Bloore
Try this:
For Condominiums and Townhomes with Common Areas:
Common Areas ( eg., walls, foundation, roof, garage, laundry, etc ), shared by more than one unit, Common Mechanical Systems ( eg., water heater, plumbing, etc. ), used by more than one unit,and areas typically under the jurisdiction of the Homeowners Association ( eg., exterior grounds, exterior structure, and exterior systems were not inspected.
I still comment on the exterior and such, but not as much as I would in a regular home inspection and usually only if I see a defect. The Realtor usually replys, “Oh, you don’t have to do that. That is an association issues.” I reply, “Yes, and who pays the assesments to the association? My client?”.
Hope this helps;
I always look at exterior, and roof, if I am not allowed on roof I mark report as acceess denied, afterall you client is buying a % of the building.
Generally on a condo the client buys the inside of the building. 
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Always try and find out who is responsible for the roof. With many townhome association, the homewoner is responsible for his own roof, not the association. This can also apply to exterior siding.
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I will inspect the exterior just as if it’s a free standing home, in several condo communities the exterior may or may not be maintained by an association . . . and besides, I want my client to know the condition both outside and in.
My 2 cents worth.
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I recently did an inspection (in Oak Brook) and the townhome owner was responsible for a certain amount of roof repairs according to his association contract!
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But what happens outside doesn’t always stay outside. The roof condition may very well affect the interior condition – and the client just might like to know about any visible problems. The client could then be prepared to discuss any such problems with the Association. Maybe a shingle blew off in last week’s storm and the HOA was not yet aware of it…you look good, the buyer is happy and the Association gets the roof fixed.
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…and a percentage of the liability for the outside items.
Correct. But once you go down the road of inspecting things out side the building envelope for the “protection of the client” where does one draw the line?
Parking lot? Condo roof four buildings over? Communal pool? Lake? Elevator? Rec room? Laundry facilities?
My point being, and I am sure I used the word GENERALLY, that with the traditional use of the term condo means client owns the inside of the building. Check out what condo insurance Generally covers.
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Generally, if the homeowner is responsible for the roof, it’s probably a PUD rather than a condominium. That’s one of the reasons why I always pull the public records and the MLS listing sheet. In my area, they will show the type of development (single family, condominium, PUD, 2-4, multi, office, industrial, etc.), the amount of the homeowner’s fees, and what those fees cover. It’s also not difficult to determine simply by looking at the monthly HOA fees. I’ve generally found that the dividing line (a gray line, but one nonetheless) is right at around $250 per month. Anything less usually means the homeowner gets building maintenance. Anything more means the HOA gets building maintenance.
HOA’s here are very powerful, and I don’t know of a single inspector in my area who inspects anything on the outside unless it’s a PUD. Going up against an HOA is not a pleasant experience here in California. There was some legislation passed last year that attempted to reign in the power of the HOA’s in this state, but it was severely watered down by the HOA lobby during the process. I think all it basically says is that an HOA cannot foreclose on your property if you owe less than $2,500. It resulted from a high-profile attorney in Rancho Santa Fe losing his $6.5 million home to the HOA because he owed $2,000 in fines to the HOA for having a brick mailbox instead of a stucco mailbox, and refusing to change the style of his mailbox.
While I won’t ignore exterior problems, I would never, ever put exterior problems in writing in my report. I will, however, take my Client off to the side and say, “See that huge crack in the wall…”
Back in Spring 2004, I inspected a condo that had a wood shake roof, as did the whole complex. This was after the disastrous fires of October 2003 that burned half the county. Virtually 80% of the structures that burned had wood shake roofs. I have a standard condo section in my [Interactive Report System](http://www.abouthomes.info/files/NACHI/IRS for NACHI members.pdf) that provides several recommendations, e.g., get a copy of the CCRs, a copy of monthly meeting minutes for the last year, a copy of the HOA budget, reserves, etc. In this specific instance, my Client discovered that there was a special assessment on all owners of record of July 1, 2004, for replacing the wood shake roofs. The special assement was $10,000. My Client was scheduled to close escrow on June 30, 2004. She pulled out of the contract because she didn’t want to be hit with that special assessment a day after she moved in.
I also recommend that they have the HOA representatives inspect the roof, chimney, exterior walls, etc., prior to close of escrow. And if the HOA representatives refuse to do that (never had one that did), then they should get HOA approval for my Clients to hire an appropriate person for those inspections and have the HOA pay for it.
That’s exactly how my attorneys and insurance providers explained it to me.
Also make sure that your insurance (E&O, GL, AD&D, life, workers’ comp) will cover you when you intrude into the jurisdiction of the HOA. Mine do not.
Your ideas are all reasonable …
My clients, generally , appreciate knowing as much as I can help them with regarding potential responsibilities.
Here is what I use:
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Not a bad business philosophy Larry, but you have to let the Realtor do some of their job.
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Yes, yes of course. But when I suggest that, for instances like this, my clients eyes get real big, like saucers, they start shaking and latch onto my leg, hoping I’m just kidding…and I can’t, very easily, finish the inspection.
Who’s responsible for the interior ceilings if the roof leaks? Who’s responsible for the interior walls if the windows leak or the siding isn’t flashed or sealed? That’s why I view the exterior the same as a regular house.
The HOA.
Probably the best recommendation I can make concerning common area properties is that my Clients become involved with their HOA. As with any organization, you get out of it what you put into it.
I do have one Client for whom I did an inspection back in 2002. She was upset about the FPE panel that obviously was in all the condos (except hers after the seller agreed to have it replaced). So she went to the first HOA meeting armed with my home inspection report. The HOA would look into it. Several months later, the HOA said, “The panels have always been there and haven’t caused any problems.” She invited me to the next HOA meeting. I responded to their idiotic statement with this: “[FONT=Verdana]Electric panels in and of themselves typically do not ‘cause any problems.’ It is the electric components or appliances that typically cause problems, e.g., a short in an appliance, an electric outlet, or a light switch. Electric panels and circuit breakers are designed to prevent personal injury and property damage in the event of a short (or other problem) by shutting down the electric current to the faulty appliances or electrical components. The fact that there “have not been any problems” simply means that the electric wiring, switches, and outlets; and the appliances using the wiring, switches, and outlets, have not had any problems at this time. But if anything ever does have a problem, I can’t guarantee you that the circuit breakers in the FPE panels will shut off the electricity.” I also gave them some web sites so that they could read about them on their own.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]A few months later she called to tell me that the HOA had agreed to replace all FPE panels that remained in the complex. But even better, they agreed to re-imburse her sellers for the FPE panel that they had replaced for my Client.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Education, education education.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]By the way, much of what I wrote above is now part of my education about FPE panels (as well as Zinsco panels) in my Interactive Report System. Putting things on a personal level (which, by the way, Keith Swift does very well in his Inspect and Protect book, which everyone should buy and read) is a very common and great way to get one’s message across.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]I use the personal story approach when I explain to my Clients that I would be doing them a disservice if I issued an on-site report because having a property with a good roof, a good foundation, etc., does them no good if it burns down from a defective appliance that no one know about. I had a house in Slidell, Louisiana, a dozen years ago that burned down from a defective microwave.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Therefore, my Clients [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]receive a [STANDARD, PREMIUM, TECH] inspection report after, and only after, I have done my research to determine if there are any recalls or safety concerns on anything in their home. Including the three types of reports previously mentioned, as well as all other inspections that involve a written report (BASIC, LIST, RENTER), I teach my Clients how to do their own CPSC recall and safety concern research. All other inspection types (WALK, DRIVEBY, FLYBY, CARRY, VOICE) include no written report because those specific types of inspections don’t need one. However, Clients on those inspections get a 25% discount when they get an inspection that involves a written report.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Readers, you, too, can learn how to educate and teach your Clients.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Simply go to About Homes.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Click on Library.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Click on NACHI.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Enter the NACHI password (Toronto2007) in the box and click on verify.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Scroll down to file 0478 and click on it to download or run.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Modify that file as you see fit to provide to your Clients to help educate them and teach them.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Educate, educate, educate.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Choices, choices, choices.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Solutions![/FONT]