A Condo in Paradise Isn't Always What It Seems

The bigger the building, the bigger the problems. This is something condo buyers fail to consider when they hunt for that vacation getaway, retirement spot or new home without a pool, lawn, shrubs or overgrown trees to maintain themselves. There is something so convenient about being able to lock your door, shut that balcony hurricane shutter and take a trip without having to worry about security, an oncoming storm, and making sure that grass gets cut or fallen branches get carted away. That's the job of the condo association. “That's what I pay maintenance fees for,” is the thought.

Freedom from the headaches of home ownership is a reason I've heard time and again for why many people buy a condo. It's like having your cake and eating it too – investing in an asset worth something “without all that responsibility.” Except it's not that simple.

Residents of Surfside’s Champlain Towers South never dreamed they would get a special assessment for $90,000 or more when they bought their beachfront condo in paradise. While it's true that most condo owners will never see an added cost that high, special assessments to address property issues are part of the deal and often a shock to the system, not to mention one’s bank account.

We now know that Champlain Towers South board members had been grappling with their aging building for years, and didn’t have enough money in the association's coffers to address the issues plaguing the property. This is not uncommon. The tragedy has brought this issue to the forefront, and now associations everywhere are faced with the realization that they’d better take a hard look at their own buildings and fix things fast – before little problems become big ones. This means more owners will be asked to dig deeper into their pockets and more often. So much for that worry-free lifestyle.

Condo owners also frequently shy away from serving on their boards because they are time-consuming, often contentious and carry too much responsibility. There's that word again: responsibility. Blessed are those who realize that serving on a condo board is an exercise in protecting a collective investment, even when their neighbors don't appreciate them.

People fail to realize that owning one unit in a building of many does not absolve them or protect them from the myriad issues that arise on the entire property. Your single unit is one part of the whole and that whole building could be crumbling around you.

South Florida condo buyers, and hopefully buyers everywhere, will undoubtedly become more savvy now. But there is more to being a smart shopper than touring a property looking for cracks and leaks. They can be patched and painted over. When buying a single-family home, many people pay for an inspection, or at least they used to before it became a seller’s market and bidding wars became the norm. It's not unlike getting a trusted mechanic to inspect a used car before buying it, because you never know what's up until somebody who knows gets under the hood. Unfortunately, the information you can access about a building before buying a condo is limited.

Condo associations do not have an obligation to provide prospective buyers information about structural integrity and needed repairs; statutes do not require it. When a buyer sends an association a real estate contract, known as an estoppel letter, the buyer will be told prior to closing if special assessments for repairs are upcoming as well as if there is a capital contribution fee, resale fee, transfer fee or other anticipated fees. That's it.

Condo associations do not have to be transparent about the condition of their buildings. Clearly, changes in the law are required.

Without legal modifications, condo owners will continue to make substantial investments in properties that could turn into an albatross they'll want to ditch instead of calling it “home.”

Florida's lemon law protects consumers when they purchase a new vehicle (not even a used one) that fails to function as it should. It provides people with a remedy if they purchase a car that does not meet performance standards. No such luck for condo buyers if they buy into a building that turns out to be just as sour an experience.

Our hearts go out to every soul lost in the Surfside catastrophe and their grieving families. Now it's up to the citizens of South Florida to demand action from our legislators to protect consumers from falling victim to deception, as well as aging, decaying buildings.

Emily Cardenas is the executive editor of the Biscayne Times. She previously worked as a producer at WTXF in Philadelphia and at WSCV, WFOR and WPLG in Miami.