I’m a structural engineer, and these are long-known problems. I saw many of them first hand before I designed a condo in 2003 on Cocoa Beach out of a type of rebar known today as ChromX. It’s ultra high-strength and ultra corrosion-resistant. I also used high-strength concrete to increase the density and decrease permeability. I put a few other features into the building to protect it against storm surge in the event of hurricanes. The investment of these owners is better protected than any traditionally reinforced building in Florida. This is the only way condos in FL should be designed.
That is very informative. Thank you for the first hand testimony. Sounds like you did a great job on your buildings. As for the video, I looked at those buildings on that strip of land with water on each side, and it made me wonder if there was enough solid ground to build on. It looks like they would be building on waterlogged ground that would be constantly eroding. Not for the faint of heart.
It's much cheaper to own a home inland, or in another state, and when you're in the mood for south Florida oceanfront living, book a hotel room on Miami Beach.
The Empire state building is 90 years old. Concrete and steel. The condos built in Florida are not built on bedrock and are basically built like cheap enclosed parking ramps.
There are almost no buildings ever built that are better than the magnificent skyscrapers built in NYC, Chicago, and other old northern cities in the 1920s and 30s. Aside from the sheer beauty of their architecture and details, they are some of the strongest and most durable buildings ever built. You almost can't even TEAR them down. Somebody flew a plane into the side of the Empire State back in the 30s and it scarcely felt it. I have seen even less significant Deco skyscrapers that were exploited, neglected, and even abandoned to the elements for decades, that were still almost as structurally sound as when they were new, and were restored to perfection. They should never, ever be torn down because we will likely never see anything as good built again in our lifetimes.
No matter what home you buy you're buying a lifestyle. The people in The Villages bought that lifestyle. The people in a trailer park in Kentucky bought that lifestyle.
@@exmeasententia5528 I lived in different condos, you'd be amazed how many condo owners who think, "if it doesn't affect my unit, then it's not my problem, and I shouldn't have to pay to have it repaired" One story is actually funny only because of how stupid it was. One of the buildings I lived in wanted to open a small emergency care unit in the ground floor store. this place would be simple stuff, and not open 24/7. In exchange for the space, they'd pay rent, and would add a generator the whole building would profit from. since this was a 20 floor building, you'd think most homeowners would welcome the idea. WRONG! most people said no. Funny part was, every time the building had no electricity, they would all grumble about climbing xxxxx amount of stairs to go home. My dad, who had voted yes to the emergency care unit moving in, reminded them all they had said no to a free generator. He sold his condo soon after, and bought a different condo on the 2nd floor in another building. He said, "even if these people are idiots, at least I don't have to go up 20 flights of stairs"
Guess it depends on how you look at it. The roof on my house was $15K, the HVAC, another $10K. A few $5K out of pocket expenses for condo owners shouldn't be a big deal. The maintenance should be done wherever you live.
Unless you want to live in a cave, there is no such thing as a "no maintenance" home. Whether you live in a condo or an SFH, it makes sense to set aside _at least_ 1% of the value of your home every year to pay for repairs and maintenance. 2% would be more prudent.
Points well taken. However, do not believe for a second that these assessments are actually $5K or $15K (which, as you said, are average and unavoidable numbers for any property maintenance). More like $75K on average. I lived in one of these buildings (it was a nightmare, and not only for this reason) and I have seen those numbers on so many buildings like ours countless times. One neighboring building paid a $25K assessment, only to see the contractor go bankrupt and then have to pay a similar amount **again** with a new vendor. South FL is a nightmare in that sense.
You pay a condo fee every month. That should help for repairs but over the years I paid many special assessments . I heard there is Loss Assessment Coverage which will chip in for special assessments but what happens when you make a claim, does the insurance company drop you. Don't know . When your house burns do you get the money to rebuild . If a HOA decides it won't rebuild who gets the money . According to my HOA they say they don't have to give the money to me . For reasons stated this is why you see homes in disrepair . People have to choose . the House or food . You do want maintenance done absolutely . Its your Home , you do not want it falling apart. You have to hope its paid off when it comes to retirement and you are on a fixed income. 5 grand could kill you .
@@rbspider My, oh my, you're muddled! An HOA has _nothing_ to do with rebuilding, or not, other than approving the plans conform to the restrictive covenants. Homeowners insurance pays the cost of rebuilding if your home burns down, is flattened by a tree, or ripped apart by a tornado, even if the cost is greater than the market value of the home. Obviously the replacement has to be built to current code even if the home was old and not even close to current code. As a result of the laws governing mortgages and mortgage lending, it is _required_ that such insurance coverage (sufficient to pay for rebuilding) is in place if you have a mortgage, so that the lender isn't left with a lien on a low-value vacant lot. If you _don't_ rebuild, the claim value is used to pay off the mortgage and any other liens, with the balance going to the home owner, who is responsible for demolition and clearing the debris away, .... and who now also owns a vacant lot with clear title (assuming that the insurance payout was sufficient to pay off the mortgage and liens). As far as I can tell, the condo fees pay for ongoing stuff, like landscaping, resurfacing the parking asphalt, pool service if there's a pool, painting the lobby and hallways, _etc._ I have never heard of major repairs being done without a special assessment. ..... Should the fees be (much) higher to meet capital repairs? Yes, I would say so, but I haven't heard that that is common practice even if it would be sensible to do so. It seems that a lot of the (retired) owners of ocean front condos in Florida think that capital repairs can be postponed until they're someone else's problem. ..... And if my neighbor doesn't maintain his home, it _isn't_ going to collapse and flatten _my_ home and kill my family, which is why I live in an SFH, not a condo!
I will never, ever again buy a condo. But this report is spot on and any future buyers who watch it should save it on a playlist of their own, along with other reports pertaining to real estate. I owned a beautiful condo in Ft. Lauderdale for 13 years. From the get go I had issues with the condo "bored" of directors - some even were deeply offended by my requests, which included one mentioned in this video, a copy of the last 12 months of board meetings. I also asked for treasury records, condo docs, maintenance records and records of any assessments for the entire life of the building. I purchased my unit in 1990, the building, was erected in 1971. Conclusion, save this video on a playlist of your own, and take very seriously the advice given herein.
@@pulaski1 once was enough for me. And I sold it just before the real estate market collapse after Clinton. And I didn't have a mortgage on it. I walked away with some serious cash and reinvested after the crash on income properties. I wouldn't wish condo life on my worst enemy.
@@codecaine for me, it was age appropriate to buy a condo at 28. I was also recently widowed loosing both wife and son. I didn't want the responsibility of caring for a house, specially, living by myself. The condo fell into my hands and it had been completely updated to eliminate all the tacky 70's crap. The price was right, too. One thing I can say in favor is that it was impeccably maintained. It was a good investment in the long run. I have terrible work ethics in the sense that I have an innate disregard and contempt for authority, particularly, when it's delegated by a bunch of doltish nincompoops. I've been financially independent ever since I sold it.
Just a note...for those who hate property tax assessments from the condo boards. Anytime there are assessments, that means the board is NOT doing their due diligence in collecting enough HOA fee's each month. They have to forecast expenses that will be coming down the road and calculate how much revenue they need to have to "run the building" for years and years not to mention pay the usual bills. A poorly run HOA board will always hit their residents up with assessments. A well run board will slowly raise the monthly fee's so that they end up with the money needed to do building maintenance vs. hit the residences up for a big one time payment. That is what the HOA fees are all about, lower monthly payments to the HOA to keep the money flowing for the time there are large maintenance items and repairs or replacement of equipment etc. Most people would rather pay an extra $100 a month knowing that a big expense is due 5 years down the road vs. a property tax assessment just before doing the work, that they have to pay all at once.
Incorrect. There is no such thing as "property tax assessment". The monthly assessment is dependent on a yearly budget to maintain the property. What is needed in every condominium is reserves. Reserves are collected in addition to the operational budget to offset a potential assessment in the thousands as discussed in the video. Unfortunately, most Boards do not include reserves in their budget to keep the monthly maintenance low or they let the owners vote to have or not to have reserves. Most of the time the owners would rather have a one time assessment instead of having reserves.
@@saxologist1 Not according to HOA standards. HOA dues are what generate reserves and when the reserves are inadequate to support total maintenance costs, the "one time" assessment is created which is an indicator that the board is not fulfilling the long term reserve needs. Raising the monthly dues is how they generate revenue and assessments are not favored by consultants for HOA's. Those direct assessments also carry bad news as if they are not paid...the HOA can sell your property. Happens fairly often. Those Champlain Towers South folks did not like the lump sum assessment which is why much got voted down. Had the HOA been doing their job, the HOA monthly dues would have been raised years ago to bring in the needed revenue in a more affordable fashion vs. lump sum.
@@PatricioGarcia1973 Buildings constanty need maintenance, that is the nature of buildings, _all_ of them. Somethings need to be done frequently, such as cleaning exterior surfaces, some from time to time, such as painting, some every 10-20 years, such as resurfacing the roof (which can mean a lot of things depending on what sort of roof the building has). But mostly, as an owner/ resident, you need to be watching _constantly_ for anything happening - a water stain here, a crack there, _anything_ that suggests that something has "changed", and if you can't disgnose the problem yourself then you need to bring in someone who can. In the case of a multi-story condo building where there are thousands of tons of steel and masonary that are resting, literally, on the foundations of an engineer and architect who relied on calculations and measurements, then vigilence needs to be heightened becaue with the massive weight above then things can go from bad to worse, and worse to catastrophe _very_ quickly (as compared to the projected lifetime of the building), as CTS proved.
@@PatricioGarcia1973 If the building was built in 1971 as the ones in this story were - ie 50 years old - it of course will need maintenance - often big ticket maintenance. Perhaps not 'constant', but if you're hit with a $5,300 bill every few years, or even much more (as the Surfside people were), that may feel 'constant' even though it isn't.
@@PatricioGarcia1973 All buildings -- whether they're $100,000, $1,000,000, $10,000,000, or more -- constantly need periodic maintenance and repairs. Just like your car or your body. The building may indeed "be living ready," just like your car. But your car needs fuel, insurance, maintenance and repairs. All these items have a cost and must be factored in when you make a purchase. If you had a home, it would be the same thing: the roof does wear out ($$$), the AC does need maintenance and repair (and eventual replacement -- $$$), the paint needs to be redone ($$$), the fences wear out ($$$), the hot water heater breaks down ($$$). It never ends.
@@PatricioGarcia1973 , although I can appreciate the intent of your comment, you would have to agree that it is simply not realistic as a blanket statement. You could pay $1,000,000+ for a 30-40-50 year old beachfront condo, and find it in need of a lot of expensive maintenance!. Mr Pulaski's comment below articulates some of the realities of buying real estate - of any value / price point.
Glad to see that they are taking this stuff serious. If you want to live in a condo beachfront home be prepared to pay for it. if you got infinite amounts of money to throwaway be my guest. Also consider that the condo board members might miss appropriating funds. I would never consider living in a condo. Maybe to visit for vacation but that’s about it. Everything comes at a cost! if I had a great deal of money I would never consider living in a condo anyway.
I like living in a one story home. My home. Not in an HOA. I don't live in Florida but there are condominiums where I live too, in my state too. And HOAs too. Someone moved into my non-HOA neighborhood about 4 or 5 years ago and went around with a petition trying to turn it into an HOA. I think just about everyone told her "No way! We don't want an HOA." The neighborhood was built in the late 60s. Why would we want to turn a 50 year old neighborhood into an HOA? It would cost us a bunch of useless money in HOA fees. It would allow neighbors like that busybody to make rules about our own property and fine us for anything they objected to about our own house and yard. That woman was on a power mad trip. There was another woman in the neighborhood who ran a psychic business from her home. That same busybody woman harassed her for over a year until that psychic home owner with a home business later sold her home and moved out. I felt so bad for that woman being harassed by a malicious neighbor. I do not visit psychics but I do not care one way or another if someone who thinks they are psychic lives in my neighborhood. It is none of my business. For me it was a case of live and let live. That busybody woman caused a lot of trouble in the neighborhood. I think she finally moved out because she hasn't been by in a while. And the neighborhood is going back to the way it used to be before she tried to boss us all around. Everyone pays for their own home maintenance. They paint their houses whatever color they want. They plant whatever they want in their yards. No darn busybodies, please. No neighbors trying to scam other neighbors on power trips anymore. Thank heavens!
I live in a condo, this is a common problem. In many cases, the HOA board is populated with enough people who don't want to do anything. Their answer to everything is "it's too expensive there for it can't be done", or the board does not want to deal with angry property owners when there is an assesment.
Oh yeah, I live in a housing tract that's an HOA and the bitching never stops. We have to repave our streets and they're all whining, bitching and moaning. Why the hell did they buy in an HOA if they weren't willing to keep it up?
As a contractor, I've been continually shocked at the building practices used by fly by night contractors building condos. The lengths they will go to to defeat codes to save a few dollars is scary. I once opened a wall to repair a bathtub mixing valve, only to realize that the studs the building was built with had one nail at the top and one at the bottom. It dawned on me as I checked in various places on the building, that I was looking at a building that could literally blow over in a high wind. I carefully patched the openings I had made, told the owner to never call me again, and drove away. I showed the residents what I had found, as I found it, and left it to them to deal with. Truth is: Those people owned the property, and the building manager only arranged repairs for them. Most didn't understand this, and thought the building manager had some legal responsibility to fix the unfixable for them. Their entire complex needed to be rebuilt. I didn't want my name associated with it in any manner whatsoever. But there you go: minimum $100,000 to own a worthless property, and no one to sue to get your money back, due to defects you could never discover during a home inspection.
I have only ever owned/lived in SFHs, never condos, but every one I have owned (11 so far) has had some sort of stupid and/or dangerous issue that would not show up on a regular pre-purchase inspection. One had the water heater wired to a lighting circuit, one had the hot-cold water pipes to _both_ baths connected the wrong way, another had the water heater plumbed with the water going into the outlet and out of the inlet, and one had a (none load bearing) kitchen wall that had studs that were 4ft apart (not code 16"), _and_ the entire wall was not attached to the ceiling joists, _and_ the dropped kitchen ceiling was suspended from 2x2's, which explained why it sagged! I could go on, but those are only a few of the issues I have found over the years!
yeah but not everyone can afford it, and most condo buildings funnily enough dont fall down like surfside, its a freak incident, not a frequent occurance, although the increased due dilligence and hopefully inspection and safety regime is a positive move, just hope it is done in a way that doesn't price too many out...
these kinds of events are e x t r e m e l y uncommon.... i mean c'mon, the chance of death from driving is THOUSANDS of times higher than "living in a condo building" but people do it every day without a second thought
I would never buy a condo in a large building and get stuck with all the maintenance costs for others peoples units and the common areas not to mention the owners association getting involved in your business nit picking very thing your do. Beside which at the rate of global warming melting the polar ice caps half of Florida will be submerged in the next 20 years.
@@williamhaynes7089 But here's the thing. A small condo building may not be so bad but these large buildings have huge maintenance costs for common swimming pools and tennis courts etc.. Huge sq footage if you have to paint of replace a roof and if someone is injured or drowns in the pool thats a huge wrongful death lawsuit against the owners association. Which is especially bad if you're paying fees for all these things and don't even use the pool or tennis court.
@@whiteorchid5412 - the taller the tower, the less the land costs per unit... so the same site with only 50/100 condos would be like the tower next door at 8 million a unit.
Good point, but the taller the tower the more complexity and maintenance costs for common areas, facilities and maintenance of areas you will probably never use or benefit from. My experience trying to buy a home in Los Angeles I compared a condo to a single family house. The house was more expensive but had more appreciation and better resale than a condo of the same sq ft. in the same area. I would consider buying a condo in a vacation destination like Miami or San Diego as a second home in a small building in a good location as long as condo association rules didn't prohibit you from renting it out as a short term rental.
I really wish they would reconsider building these condos right on the beach..in my opinion they’re an eyesore..if these people want to throw they’re money away let them…but don’t complain about it later.!!!!!
Poor maintenance is not the only reason for the problems. Before buying any condo I would be digging into who built it. Who was the engineering company and developer? What we have are results from corruption. As they all live high and mighty others are having to pay for their scams.
It's a conflict of interest. Owners want to keep monthly costs low to maximize the value of their investment. They know the maintenance needs to be done but want to pass that buck to the next guy after they cash out.
I tiled the downstairs on our 1300 sq ft two story "cabin". Got a great deal on the tile which was just over 2000 bucks but with all the other materials it was 5 grand even though I did all the labor. It is really not that hard to spend 5 grand on a house. Try putting on a roof.
I have a friend that just sold her place in a beach condo building. It wasn’t a high rise, but the board was refusing to hire a manager to care for the complex. They didn’t want to pay to fix major problems. They were also ignoring the need for inspections. Basically anything that might cost money they didn’t want to do. I told her that should be a wake up call. If you wait any longer that place will be worth nothing because it will be falling down! Thankfully she saw the light. By comparison I live in an HOA community that has been hit by some major repairs in the last few years and did we get assessments? Nope! I mean a literal dam had to be replaced and there was enough money to do it and not need to make an assessment. They also repaired most of the roads last year. There will be a slight increase in HOA fees this year to replace what was spent, but because they prepared appropriately there was no giant assessment to replace the millions needed to finish the jobs. I know some people hate the HOA systems, but if you get involved in a good one they really are great. Everything in the community stays in great repair, we have tons of amenities, and it is a snap to talk to someone in charge. Like they said though do your due diligence before you buy! That will tell you if it is a good community or somewhere they are letting the place rot out from under you. Then boring or not go to board meeting! Know what is going on with your investment. If you don’t you will pay the price sooner or later…
Do people think that living by the water doesn't come without serious costs? There's a reason why it comes with a major price tag. Salt water degrades the property severely over time and unless you can go down to the dirty bits to continuly fix whether it's a condo or a house, if it's seaside adjacent it's going to cost you a fortune to own.
Do people think you can live in any building without spending any money to maintain it? It really seems that politicians think that infrastructure maintenance can just be differed year after year and they can take the money "saved" and use it elsewhere. The thing about building maintenance is, you can spend a a bit of money every year or you can send no money for 9 years then spend 20 or 30 times what it would have cost to maintain the structure over that 10 years to repair it. And that's if your lucky. If you're less lucky the structure will collapse people will be killed or injured then you get to pay 100's of times the decadal maintenance cost in legal settlements. Ant that is before you consider the cost of rebuilding the structure. And unless you are like Donald Trump, you now get to live with being directly responsible for the deaths of many men women and children.
It is about time we found out what Roman Concrete, which strengthens over time, rather than weaken when it comes into contact with salt and use it for coastal environments.
It’s getting so expensive to live in south Florida. I bought my house 3000sq ft in a gated community in 1997 for $176,400. It just sold for 1 million. I would not pay half of that for the house. I got 14 offers on the 1st day on the market.
A lot of buildings built on the cheap, decades ago, next to saltwater, in a state with let's just say a terrible record of inspections and code enforcement. What could possibly go wrong?
And you get teh Cpt Obvious award for the day for your post utiliing both a totally generic cliche as well as being completely uninformative in any way
The people that buy Condo's on the beach in South Florida will be alright with all the extra fees for safety reasons. They just love to complain when they are forced to pay more money. They will be alright, they are NOT going to go hungry. It is better to pay for repairs than to get hurt.
It will come to a point where the building needs to come down eventually, 50 year old building would need major repairs & cost if still standing. Condo prices continue to sky rocket & the living conditions with constructional damages increases through out those years. Living in a new build condo is not the same as living in an old 50 year one with cracks in the wall & ceiling. If the building isn't maintain well, why are the condo prices continue to sky rocket?? buyers are being scam big time. It's like buying a 30 year old used car with major repairs, it's going to cost you 3 times more than if you bought it 30 years ago with tons of repair bills.
All buildings have a fifty year design life. Every single component needs work when that rolls round and degradation accelerates from that point if it isn’t done.
That’s why they often say you’re far better off finding a good rental to live in that’s not too crazy in price. But that can be a real problem depending on where you live.
Even with these superficial, facade repairs will the building structure be structurally sound ??? These repairs seem to be only for appearance. I would be very careful purchasing a multiple story condo on ocean front property. many structures on ocean front property are leaning and tilting due to being built on sand and NOT bedrock.
@@williamhaynes7089 If I saw metal supports in the parking or on other floors it would scare the hell out of me knowing Champlain North collapsed due to "punch-thru" where supporting concrete pillars "punched thru" the supporting floors causing a pancake collapse. What prevents these supports from "punch-thru" of the supporting floors ???
Lost my Condo along with 11 other units to a fire in May . My insurance company paid what the deductible was on the Master HOA policy minus my deductible of 500 usd. Liberty Mutual snuck into the build without contacting me and sent me a check for 9500 usd even though the policy claims I was covered for up to 40k for dwelling. Now the master Policy might not cover rebuilding . Nine months in and finally the building was removed but only because the town had sent a warning that the building was a danger to the public and they were fined . Rents are going up, I still have a mortgage, condo fee and some town taxes because of a garage that is still standing . They say we could have a special assessment of 25K . 1.2 million for construction is all they will give us and it will take over a year to rebuild . we probably need twice that amount. It may never go back up and I have nothing to show for it after 18 years . The Surfside Tower will be even a bigger mess . Wonder what their insurance covers? What is the insurance company willing to chip in for a rebuild there ?
I suspect that the insurers of CTS will weasel out of paying much, if anything, on the grounds that the building was "clearly structurally deficient" and nothing had been done to remedy the matter.
@@TheDsgrant79 Also suggest all units have at least one fire extinguisher even with a water suppressing system . I would not be living in 210 sq feet if the fire starters had one .
Well they only really had a $500k-$600k budget, they just didn't realize it, and instead sunk their money into something they couldn't really afford on the erroneous assumption that the monthly fees would pay for _all_ the maintenance.
@@markbernier8434 Which makes it unlikely that they're interested in paying for any kind of long-term maintenance, right? But hey, isn't "let's just kick that can down the road" the essence of Florida "culture"?
@@markbernier8434 Which is just an argument for ongoing fees every year from the time that construction is completed, sufficient to pay for major renovations and structural repairs many years in the future. I would suggest that 2% of market value every year would be a conservative starting point. .... I don't imagine such a radical proposal will ever be introduced.
Clearly the overzealous condo board is coming up short. If your dues don't cover repairs and extra for a reserve fund, causing a special assessment annually, then your HOA dues are too low.
or you bought into a dud. You don't want those condo fees to be too high , they always go up never down and pretty tough when you are fixed income . When people spend other peoples money they spend it freely . Just look at the Feds . 2 million dollars to study if going in a hot tub is relaxing .
Absolutely correct. People gasp at the $550 monthly I pay for my 1,075 sq ft in a high amenity old courtyard building in Chicago, but it covers a vast array of costs, including the heat (major expense in Chicago), as well as water, sewer, trash disposal, operating and maintenance of huge indoor year round pool, plus steam rooms, saunas, fitness room, insurance costs, staff salaries (2 skilled men), and maintenance of a reserve for large capital costs that come up every couple of decades or so. Our budget for a 66 unit building is about $600K a year, yet that is the budget of this 378 unit two building high rise association fronting the ocean? That means they have NO reserve and must levy a special when the inevitable heavy repairs and maintenance become necessary, which has to happen sometime.
$5000 for one special assessment. What about the $5000 per year, every year, for association dues? A homeowner might need to replace their $25,000 roof once every 30 years.
I’m amazed that this many people are willing to live in high rise buildings. I live in one right now and it’s terrible. Not having a yard, being subjected to the stench of my neighbors’ cooking, now we need to worry about building collapse. All this nonsense has me wanting to move to the Midwest so I can afford a real home. I’m not down with this Agenda 21 dystopia anymore. I’m also convinced that too much population density creates very unfriendly humans.
If you want to live on the ocean, it's going to cost! Salt destroys everything, including everything in your condo or home as well as the structure of the building.
@@user-tb7rn1il3q Sure about that? Why did Obama buy beach from in Martha's Vineyard and just build a beach front house in Hawaii if it's all going to be underwater?
@@seanrhone5306 , because, like other rich, complacent seaside prop owners, he's confident that A. he'll probably have passed on before the worst hits, and B. the money will somehow be found to build seawalls and raise streets and do all the other remediation these rich folks think will save their property, because we taxpayers have been subsidizing flood insurance in high risk areas and funding rebuilding of rich coastal areas that get hit with a major weather disaster every few years, that's why. Well, we might be getting to the end of our ability to bail out coastal dwellers over and over, to say nothing of our tolerance.
So do people believe after buying a condo in a building that they don’t pay for repairs to that building. You aren’t renting anymore, you are buying . Which means you have ownership. That means you pay for upkeep.
I would never want to be in a highrise when it starts falling… Can survive a 2 story fall… but probably not a 5 story and up fall… when you need to jump off a collapsing structure.
This has echos of the fallout from the Grenfell Disaster where homeowners of apartments in buildings with suspected combustable cladding found themselves with a high assessment and maintenance bill and an unsellable property.
Stupid story. Upkeep and maintenance doesn’t disappear just because it’s condo and not a house. The last guy hit the the nail on the head. If you can’t afford to maintain your investment, don’t buy it. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone,
seeing that rubble with those floors pancaked is just so disturbing, and then to hear that boards aren't in a rush to make the residences safe is even more disturbing.
Pretty sure a house is a lot cheaper to keep up with though, if it was built right to begin with. Bigger building, more things to go wrong. Smaller building, less things to go wrong. Pretty basic
@@gorak9000 not really. They live in older condos. An older house needs a lot of regular maintenance. Experts even say to set aside so much every month for repairs that may come up such as if a pipe bursts or a furnace goes out. This is similar to a fund that condo owners may have to pay in to for building upkeep. These fees may be separate from HOA fees in both scenarios.
Wow everyone needs you to state the completely obvious, no doubt nobody ever thought of that especally after the fact. Maybe you could tell us the Titnaic might sink too?
I would encourage anyone considering investing in a condo to look into whether there is a fully funded reserve fund that will cover anticipated building maintenance. Existing owners should be paying monthly into such a fund.
#1 Multi-floor buildings are already expensive because Elevators themselves are big money holes and every floor up the costs of exterior repairs goes UP. #2 When developers build these places they often rent them out on extended leases until they see BIG repair expenses coming. Then they sell them off and move on leaving you with a shitshow.n
Look at the last 10 years' financial statements and focus on "maintenance and repairs" plus capital spending which reflects major rehabilitation of building systems.
@@danabryant6138 Are you really that clueless? He obviously means the people who are the CURRENT owners when that 50-100 year period down the road arrives, not the ones who are the current owners today. It's actually a good question. And if a 30-year old buys right now, which is prime home-buying age, in 50 years they will be 80, and likely not "long gone".
@@Bradimoose The one person saved from the Surfside condo collapse rubble was a 13-year-old boy... And you are also saying that his mom gave birth to him when she was 72?? LOL
Honestly I don’t know why people would wanna live in a building that’s more then 25 years old on the beach. New construction is bad but old buildings suck. These money have money and you don’t have to live on the beach. The Surfside building was in horrible shape. People were stupid for living there and buying units in the past years.
And just think my broke sister actually had the nerve to say to me, 'if I were you, I would buy a condo.' OK, then you pay the cost. Yes, everyone wants that lifestyle, but few can afford it, even if it is in a lower cost unit, not necessarily in Fla. I live in a home, a row/townhome, near, so-so people at times; so yes, when they act up, I think about it, but I know that I don't have a mortgage, the condo association fees and them telling me what I can do, and cannot do; and taking my money and not doing anything with it. I have a reliable contractor that I call for repairs that have used for years, so it works out. Thus maintenance expenses are a must wherever you live. Ms. L. Churchill
Work into your contract to be able to use a private licensed contractor, save you some fees on your personal unit. Unfortunately the main structure will be at the boards whim. Make sure the board has your best interest at hand, owners need to know the cost upfront!
Makes no sense to live in those high rise condos due to the high cost of maintenance near the ocean. Own them to lease...likely the better option as the rent will help pay for the up keep. i would also suggest that the local city/county building codes are upgraded to require developers/construction to use top quality foundations, concrete and rebar. It's fairly obvious that the current codes are just being met and the buildings are not resistant enough to the elements.
There are buildings in Sydney Australia that are so poorly built (yes, they’re new) that they’re unfit for living or close to being unfit. Unless the owners pay between $200k to $500k EACH to fix the structural issues these buildings will either either get knocked down or owners will be forced to leave. Such an awful business model. I always say to buy smaller condominiums or just stick with homes.
If there is one thing I have learned by being a condo owner is: NEVER BUY A CONDO. Unless, of course you like other people telling you how to live your life and letting them spend your money without your say-so. The owners of my condo association were sick of the annual increases in condo fees and voted to not increase them for this year. In response, the management company invoked a clause in the agreement forcing each owner to pay $2000 into the emergency fund that they had intentionally depleted. Honestly, it seems as bad as living in a HOA.
There are good and bad HOA's. Not all bad. However most of the ones in Florida are bad. My mom owns in a good HOA in Ohio. HOA is 200... The people live in side by side townhouses. It's actually a net positive because the use bargaining to get discounts on snow/lawn/trash removal...
In short, the buildings are built on wet ground near the ocean. The building contractor took any shortcut to save a buck. There will be collapses in the future.
Rich people complaining about having to pay bills on things that rich people buy. I can confirm to everyone here, that I do not care. It's interesting that this collapse highlights the fact that even the rich have their very own classes of rich people. These repair and structure issues are only problems that the Poor "rich" class faces. The Upper class "rich" people don't have to worry about any of this because they don't buy into old buildings. They only buy into the newest most recent condo buildings that won't have these repair concerns probably in their lifetimes. Just think of how many of these condo buildings need massive amounts of "repair" work done to them. And that's if you choose to ignore any design and construction defects caused by cost saving sidesteps done by engineers and the builders themselves, just to improve their own profit margins !! I bet those people in that South Tower wished they'd bought a hut on the beach instead.
If you have money to live on the beach then pay up for safety reasons. Unless the fed or state government makes people do something then they generally will not do it
@@garyowen9044 Yes. Obviously. But the geniuses in our glorious "job creator" business class routinely attack any sort of regulation with the demon word "socialism". "Socialism" and "freedom" are tossed around so much by the wealthy and those who do their errands that the words have lost all meaning. "Socialism" means anything that might inconvenience the rich. "Freedom" means anything that makes their bank accounts even bigger.
Florida is NOT representative of all condominiums in the USA. I live in a concrete high rise condo unit. We've had spalling in our parking structure that needed repairs to the tune of 7 million dollars due to water seepage from the surface lots into our underground parking lot. We have another 3 million in repairs to go. Repairs have cost us in special assessments as our building is over 40 years old. There needs to be a little work on the balconies so that maybe another million or so to fix but the tower where the people live is fine. Our condo is inland away from salt air's aggressive corrosion. Where you live influences what you pay in repairs \ assessments.
You wouldn't believe how many dysfunctional Condo associations that are their own worst enemy, that are in south Florida. Always fighting, egos galore, nobody has money for assessments. Better hurry up with your concrete restorations. Because major changes to the Elevator codes also coming, your old crap elevators that you refuse to modernize, will soon have to be modernized to keep up with the new code changes
See…this makes a BIG CASE for people who do not want the DANGERS of sea side living (Hurricanes, etc) in only ONE seaside location but RV and stay in multiple locations with ever changing views, but still have an reasonable small location which is called home.
Not to mention Hurricane damage costs which may or may not be covered by insurance if the damage or portion thereof can be proven to have existed before the storm.
What gets me on this is you own a million dollar condo and are balking at a $5300.00 assessment? I mean I get being upset if it was a 50k condo but the cost on this doesn't seem so much when compared to the cost of the condo itself.
If you can afford a million dollar condo, assessment fees aren’t a big deal. My HOA is lower cost townhomes/condos, but no high rise buildings. Most of the residents here are retirees, on fixed incomes, who can’t afford large assessment fees.
people are usually ignorant to the costs of condo ownership, often thinking that only HOA fees apply. They often forget or ignore the prospect of property assessment costs for things like a new roof, exterior building maintenance, etc., which can often cost into the thousands, for which many owners do not prepare or possess. When purchasing, they often only consider what the mortgage, HOA and taxes will cost, never considering the potential assessments which may arise. My suggestion to anyone considering a condominium purchase, whatever the cost, always have money (no less than $10,000) ready to pay for these costs, because if you don't pay, the HOA bylaws may have provisiong allowing the to foreclose and take your property
So true for any property s along the sunshine state. Even 🏡 houses 🏘 homes 🏠 the upkeep that no one wants to do but Mother Nature and hurricanes 🌀 will force you. Reality.
I hate to disappoint but like Timeless Music Family Music mentioned those 50 year old buildings will eventually need to come down and be rebuilt to current building standards. I don't know about you but I wouldn't be able to sleep at night in one of those old buildings. I would be staring at the ceiling all night not that that would help! 😀
The truth is there isn’t any effective repair of spalling concrete. The cause is rebar corrosion which is unstoppable once it starts. The oxidation process continues to creep along the steel invisible from the outside. So I don’t know how these reinforced concrete buildings can survive the constant salt exposure.
Yeah it's truly like a cancer. And even with coated rebar, it's only as good as the coating. It's pretty much accepted that a certain amount of the coating will be damaged and then you end up with very rapid local corrosion in those spots.
Is my thinking wrong but I would be really mad if I had the cheapest condo and I had to pay the same assessment that someone with a better condo who gets most of the benefit. How is it fair for the condos without balconies and without ocean views that are not falling down pay the same? I guess that is why you read the fine print.
steel and concrete is such a mistake for high rise condos. notice how not ONE wood frame high rise building has ever fallen down. also, i've never seen a mobile home high rise condo fall down either.
Are you kidding? For sure. Being a condo owner and sitting on the board -- what an annoying proposition. Some people love all the politics and negotiations and general bs that goes with it; others of us shun that. My viewpoint is that chest beaters and power trippers and whatever/whomever they are LOVE that kind of nonsense. It is a nasty job that has to be done. Reminiscent of the student council and prom committee. Fortunately, my lawyer heads up his condo board as he has the stomach for it as well as the brains. Bottom line is the bottom line: down payment, mortgage payments and ongoing major assessments especially living on a strip of line right on the ocean. You gotta pay to play. God bless us all!
the more the ppl, the less gets done. Having a responsible and decent board is not easy and hard to come by. If money can make issues go away, those are not hard issues. Getting people on board and willing is the real issue with many condo boards.
I’m a structural engineer, and these are long-known problems. I saw many of them first hand before I designed a condo in 2003 on Cocoa Beach out of a type of rebar known today as ChromX. It’s ultra high-strength and ultra corrosion-resistant. I also used high-strength concrete to increase the density and decrease permeability. I put a few other features into the building to protect it against storm surge in the event of hurricanes. The investment of these owners is better protected than any traditionally reinforced building in Florida. This is the only way condos in FL should be designed.
That is very informative. Thank you for the first hand testimony. Sounds like you did a great job on your buildings. As for the video, I looked at those buildings on that strip of land with water on each side, and it made me wonder if there was enough solid ground to build on. It looks like they would be building on waterlogged ground that would be constantly eroding. Not for the faint of heart.
Is it true that houses or apartments near the beach are not stand for a life time? I heard that it needs to be rebuild every 50 years?
Very interesting, but politically, people are just going to b!tch and moan about housing that is properly constructed not being "affordable".
amen
How does ChromX rebar compare to galvanized steel rebar, as far as corrosion resistance goes? Better or worse?
It's much cheaper to own a home inland, or in another state, and when you're in the mood for south Florida oceanfront living, book a hotel room on Miami Beach.
Better than falling 11 stories at 2 in the morning, maintenance is a must!
In the case of Champlain... lack of maintenance is RUST.
@@paulk9985 spalling causes hauling!
@@paulk9985 ...and financially a bust.
@@jimleech2364 ... and now it's dust.
Bingo--If you can afford a million dollar condo, you can afford the freaking upkeep----$5,000 is a drop in the bucket for these cheapskates. Man...
The Empire state building is 90 years old. Concrete and steel. The condos built in Florida are not built on bedrock and are basically built like cheap enclosed parking ramps.
Florida is a business friendly state . Less government and less regulation. If you are from a blue state and you move to a red state . Buyer beware .
There are almost no buildings ever built that are better than the magnificent skyscrapers built in NYC, Chicago, and other old northern cities in the 1920s and 30s. Aside from the sheer beauty of their architecture and details, they are some of the strongest and most durable buildings ever built. You almost can't even TEAR them down. Somebody flew a plane into the side of the Empire State back in the 30s and it scarcely felt it. I have seen even less significant Deco skyscrapers that were exploited, neglected, and even abandoned to the elements for decades, that were still almost as structurally sound as when they were new, and were restored to perfection. They should never, ever be torn down because we will likely never see anything as good built again in our lifetimes.
Very well said "you're buying a lifestyle " "carefree dosen't mean cost free"
No matter what home you buy you're buying a lifestyle. The people in The Villages bought that lifestyle. The people in a trailer park in Kentucky bought that lifestyle.
@@exmeasententia5528 - bums?
You gotta Pay to play”, …as the saying goes.
@@williamhaynes7089 no
@@exmeasententia5528 I lived in different condos, you'd be amazed how many condo owners who think, "if it doesn't affect my unit, then it's not my problem, and I shouldn't have to pay to have it repaired"
One story is actually funny only because of how stupid it was. One of the buildings I lived in wanted to open a small emergency care unit in the ground floor store. this place would be simple stuff, and not open 24/7. In exchange for the space, they'd pay rent, and would add a generator the whole building would profit from. since this was a 20 floor building, you'd think most homeowners would welcome the idea. WRONG! most people said no. Funny part was, every time the building had no electricity, they would all grumble about climbing xxxxx amount of stairs to go home. My dad, who had voted yes to the emergency care unit moving in, reminded them all they had said no to a free generator. He sold his condo soon after, and bought a different condo on the 2nd floor in another building. He said, "even if these people are idiots, at least I don't have to go up 20 flights of stairs"
Guess it depends on how you look at it. The roof on my house was $15K, the HVAC, another $10K. A few $5K out of pocket expenses for condo owners shouldn't be a big deal. The maintenance should be done wherever you live.
my thoughts exactly
Unless you want to live in a cave, there is no such thing as a "no maintenance" home.
Whether you live in a condo or an SFH, it makes sense to set aside _at least_ 1% of the value of your home every year to pay for repairs and maintenance. 2% would be more prudent.
Points well taken. However, do not believe for a second that these assessments are actually $5K or $15K (which, as you said, are average and unavoidable numbers for any property maintenance). More like $75K on average. I lived in one of these buildings (it was a nightmare, and not only for this reason) and I have seen those numbers on so many buildings like ours countless times. One neighboring building paid a $25K assessment, only to see the contractor go bankrupt and then have to pay a similar amount **again** with a new vendor. South FL is a nightmare in that sense.
You pay a condo fee every month. That should help for repairs but over the years I paid many special assessments . I heard there is Loss Assessment Coverage which will chip in for special assessments but what happens when you make a claim, does the insurance company drop you. Don't know . When your house burns do you get the money to rebuild . If a HOA decides it won't rebuild who gets the money . According to my HOA they say they don't have to give the money to me . For reasons stated this is why you see homes in disrepair . People have to choose . the House or food . You do want maintenance done absolutely . Its your Home , you do not want it falling apart. You have to hope its paid off when it comes to retirement and you are on a fixed income. 5 grand could kill you .
@@rbspider My, oh my, you're muddled! An HOA has _nothing_ to do with rebuilding, or not, other than approving the plans conform to the restrictive covenants.
Homeowners insurance pays the cost of rebuilding if your home burns down, is flattened by a tree, or ripped apart by a tornado, even if the cost is greater than the market value of the home. Obviously the replacement has to be built to current code even if the home was old and not even close to current code. As a result of the laws governing mortgages and mortgage lending, it is _required_ that such insurance coverage (sufficient to pay for rebuilding) is in place if you have a mortgage, so that the lender isn't left with a lien on a low-value vacant lot. If you _don't_ rebuild, the claim value is used to pay off the mortgage and any other liens, with the balance going to the home owner, who is responsible for demolition and clearing the debris away, .... and who now also owns a vacant lot with clear title (assuming that the insurance payout was sufficient to pay off the mortgage and liens).
As far as I can tell, the condo fees pay for ongoing stuff, like landscaping, resurfacing the parking asphalt, pool service if there's a pool, painting the lobby and hallways, _etc._ I have never heard of major repairs being done without a special assessment. ..... Should the fees be (much) higher to meet capital repairs? Yes, I would say so, but I haven't heard that that is common practice even if it would be sensible to do so. It seems that a lot of the (retired) owners of ocean front condos in Florida think that capital repairs can be postponed until they're someone else's problem. ..... And if my neighbor doesn't maintain his home, it _isn't_ going to collapse and flatten _my_ home and kill my family, which is why I live in an SFH, not a condo!
I will never, ever again buy a condo. But this report is spot on and any future buyers who watch it should save it on a playlist of their own, along with other reports pertaining to real estate.
I owned a beautiful condo in Ft. Lauderdale for 13 years. From the get go I had issues with the condo "bored" of directors - some even were deeply offended by my requests, which included one mentioned in this video, a copy of the last 12 months of board meetings. I also asked for treasury records, condo docs, maintenance records and records of any assessments for the entire life of the building. I purchased my unit in 1990, the building, was erected in 1971.
Conclusion, save this video on a playlist of your own, and take very seriously the advice given herein.
I have never owned a condo, and _would_ not and _will_ not buy one. Ever.
@@pulaski1 once was enough for me. And I sold it just before the real estate market collapse after Clinton. And I didn't have a mortgage on it. I walked away with some serious cash and reinvested after the crash on income properties. I wouldn't wish condo life on my worst enemy.
Same exact boat here. So happy we do not own a condo in South FL anymore. The report, amazingly enough, *is* spot on.
@@estebanmedaglia4506 glad you survived, too. 🤣
Cheers!
@@codecaine for me, it was age appropriate to buy a condo at 28. I was also recently widowed loosing both wife and son. I didn't want the responsibility of caring for a house, specially, living by myself. The condo fell into my hands and it had been completely updated to eliminate all the tacky 70's crap. The price was right, too. One thing I can say in favor is that it was impeccably maintained. It was a good investment in the long run. I have terrible work ethics in the sense that I have an innate disregard and contempt for authority, particularly, when it's delegated by a bunch of doltish nincompoops. I've been financially independent ever since I sold it.
Just a note...for those who hate property tax assessments from the condo boards. Anytime there are assessments, that means the board is NOT doing their due diligence in collecting enough HOA fee's each month. They have to forecast expenses that will be coming down the road and calculate how much revenue they need to have to "run the building" for years and years not to mention pay the usual bills. A poorly run HOA board will always hit their residents up with assessments. A well run board will slowly raise the monthly fee's so that they end up with the money needed to do building maintenance vs. hit the residences up for a big one time payment. That is what the HOA fees are all about, lower monthly payments to the HOA to keep the money flowing for the time there are large maintenance items and repairs or replacement of equipment etc. Most people would rather pay an extra $100 a month knowing that a big expense is due 5 years down the road vs. a property tax assessment just before doing the work, that they have to pay all at once.
Incorrect. There is no such thing as "property tax assessment". The monthly assessment is dependent on a yearly budget to maintain the property. What is needed in every condominium is reserves. Reserves are collected in addition to the operational budget to offset a potential assessment in the thousands as discussed in the video. Unfortunately, most Boards do not include reserves in their budget to keep the monthly maintenance low or they let the owners vote to have or not to have reserves. Most of the time the owners would rather have a one time assessment instead of having reserves.
@@saxologist1 Not according to HOA standards. HOA dues are what generate reserves and when the reserves are inadequate to support total maintenance costs, the "one time" assessment is created which is an indicator that the board is not fulfilling the long term reserve needs. Raising the monthly dues is how they generate revenue and assessments are not favored by consultants for HOA's. Those direct assessments also carry bad news as if they are not paid...the HOA can sell your property. Happens fairly often.
Those Champlain Towers South folks did not like the lump sum assessment which is why much got voted down. Had the HOA been doing their job, the HOA monthly dues would have been raised years ago to bring in the needed revenue in a more affordable fashion vs. lump sum.
Even a house is intense maintenance. On my days off I’m doing repairs on something. And I shell out decent cash weekly.
If you can afford $1 million, you can afford the repair costs.
If I pay 1 million, I would expect the building to be living ready, not constantly need maintenance.
@@PatricioGarcia1973 Buildings constanty need maintenance, that is the nature of buildings, _all_ of them. Somethings need to be done frequently, such as cleaning exterior surfaces, some from time to time, such as painting, some every 10-20 years, such as resurfacing the roof (which can mean a lot of things depending on what sort of roof the building has). But mostly, as an owner/ resident, you need to be watching _constantly_ for anything happening - a water stain here, a crack there, _anything_ that suggests that something has "changed", and if you can't disgnose the problem yourself then you need to bring in someone who can.
In the case of a multi-story condo building where there are thousands of tons of steel and masonary that are resting, literally, on the foundations of an engineer and architect who relied on calculations and measurements, then vigilence needs to be heightened becaue with the massive weight above then things can go from bad to worse, and worse to catastrophe _very_ quickly (as compared to the projected lifetime of the building), as CTS proved.
@@PatricioGarcia1973 If the building was built in 1971 as the ones in this story were - ie 50 years old - it of course will need maintenance - often big ticket maintenance. Perhaps not 'constant', but if you're hit with a $5,300 bill every few years, or even much more (as the Surfside people were), that may feel 'constant' even though it isn't.
@@PatricioGarcia1973 All buildings -- whether they're $100,000, $1,000,000, $10,000,000, or more -- constantly need periodic maintenance and repairs. Just like your car or your body. The building may indeed "be living ready," just like your car. But your car needs fuel, insurance, maintenance and repairs. All these items have a cost and must be factored in when you make a purchase. If you had a home, it would be the same thing: the roof does wear out ($$$), the AC does need maintenance and repair (and eventual replacement -- $$$), the paint needs to be redone ($$$), the fences wear out ($$$), the hot water heater breaks down ($$$). It never ends.
@@PatricioGarcia1973 , although I can appreciate the intent of your comment, you would have to agree that it is simply not realistic as a blanket statement. You could pay $1,000,000+ for a 30-40-50 year old beachfront condo, and find it in need of a lot of expensive maintenance!. Mr Pulaski's comment below articulates some of the realities of buying real estate - of any value / price point.
Glad to see that they are taking this stuff serious. If you want to live in a condo beachfront home be prepared to pay for it. if you got infinite amounts of money to throwaway be my guest. Also consider that the condo board members might miss appropriating funds. I would never consider living in a condo. Maybe to visit for vacation but that’s about it. Everything comes at a cost! if I had a great deal of money I would never consider living in a condo anyway.
I like living in a one story home. My home. Not in an HOA.
I don't live in Florida but there are condominiums where I live too, in my state too. And HOAs too.
Someone moved into my non-HOA neighborhood about 4 or 5 years ago and went around with a petition trying to turn it into an HOA. I think just about everyone told her "No way! We don't want an HOA."
The neighborhood was built in the late 60s. Why would we want to turn a 50 year old neighborhood into an HOA?
It would cost us a bunch of useless money in HOA fees. It would allow neighbors like that busybody to make rules about our own property and fine us for anything they objected to about our own house and yard.
That woman was on a power mad trip. There was another woman in the neighborhood who ran a psychic business from her home. That same busybody woman harassed her for over a year until that psychic home owner with a home business later sold her home and moved out. I felt so bad for that woman being harassed by a malicious neighbor.
I do not visit psychics but I do not care one way or another if someone who thinks they are psychic lives in my neighborhood. It is none of my business. For me it was a case of live and let live. That busybody woman caused a lot of trouble in the neighborhood. I think she finally moved out because she hasn't been by in a while. And the neighborhood is going back to the way it used to be before she tried to boss us all around.
Everyone pays for their own home maintenance. They paint their houses whatever color they want. They plant whatever they want in their yards. No darn busybodies, please. No neighbors trying to scam other neighbors on power trips anymore. Thank heavens!
@@rollothecat2010 Did the psychic not see her coming?
Not any less expensive if you have a house in the same area. Ocean front properties always need more maintenance than inland properties.
I live in a condo, this is a common problem. In many cases, the HOA board is populated with enough people who don't want to do anything. Their answer to everything is "it's too expensive there for it can't be done", or the board does not want to deal with angry property owners when there is an assesment.
Oh yeah, I live in a housing tract that's an HOA and the bitching never stops. We have to repave our streets and they're all whining, bitching and moaning. Why the hell did they buy in an HOA if they weren't willing to keep it up?
As a contractor, I've been continually shocked at the building practices used by fly by night contractors building condos. The lengths they will go to to defeat codes to save a few dollars is scary.
I once opened a wall to repair a bathtub mixing valve, only to realize that the studs the building was built with had one nail at the top and one at the bottom. It dawned on me as I checked in various places on the building, that I was looking at a building that could literally blow over in a high wind.
I carefully patched the openings I had made, told the owner to never call me again, and drove away. I showed the residents what I had found, as I found it, and left it to them to deal with. Truth is: Those people owned the property, and the building manager only arranged repairs for them. Most didn't understand this, and thought the building manager had some legal responsibility to fix the unfixable for them. Their entire complex needed to be rebuilt.
I didn't want my name associated with it in any manner whatsoever.
But there you go: minimum $100,000 to own a worthless property, and no one to sue to get your money back, due to defects you could never discover during a home inspection.
I have only ever owned/lived in SFHs, never condos, but every one I have owned (11 so far) has had some sort of stupid and/or dangerous issue that would not show up on a regular pre-purchase inspection. One had the water heater wired to a lighting circuit, one had the hot-cold water pipes to _both_ baths connected the wrong way, another had the water heater plumbed with the water going into the outlet and out of the inlet, and one had a (none load bearing) kitchen wall that had studs that were 4ft apart (not code 16"), _and_ the entire wall was not attached to the ceiling joists, _and_ the dropped kitchen ceiling was suspended from 2x2's, which explained why it sagged! I could go on, but those are only a few of the issues I have found over the years!
Condos are just a bad idea. You want to own your own home without having to get agreement from 300 other people to repair it.
That is why i just abandon the idea to move to Miami Luxury Condo
yeah but not everyone can afford it, and most condo buildings funnily enough dont fall down like surfside, its a freak incident, not a frequent occurance, although the increased due dilligence and hopefully inspection and safety regime is a positive move, just hope it is done in a way that doesn't price too many out...
U don’t own anything. If u read realize u r leasing da land from da state. Paying state taxes so 🤷🏻♂️
these kinds of events are e x t r e m e l y uncommon.... i mean c'mon, the chance of death from driving is THOUSANDS of times higher than "living in a condo building" but people do it every day without a second thought
Yep. I'll keep my one-story, slab foundation, in flood zone X, thank you very much.
I would never buy a condo in a large building and get stuck with all the maintenance costs for others peoples units and the common areas not to mention the owners association getting involved in your business nit picking very thing your do. Beside which at the rate of global warming melting the polar ice caps half of Florida will be submerged in the next 20 years.
You cant afford the land on your own, that's why 378 owners bought it... As far as upkeep, You have to pay money for a single family home too...
@@williamhaynes7089 But here's the thing. A small condo building may not be so bad but these large buildings have huge maintenance costs for common swimming pools and tennis courts etc.. Huge sq footage if you have to paint of replace a roof and if someone is injured or drowns in the pool thats a huge wrongful death lawsuit against the owners association. Which is especially bad if you're paying fees for all these things and don't even use the pool or tennis court.
@@whiteorchid5412 - the taller the tower, the less the land costs per unit... so the same site with only 50/100 condos would be like the tower next door at 8 million a unit.
Good point, but the taller the tower the more complexity and maintenance costs for common areas, facilities and maintenance of areas you will probably never use or benefit from. My experience trying to buy a home in Los Angeles I compared a condo to a single family house. The house was more expensive but had more appreciation and better resale than a condo of the same sq ft. in the same area. I would consider buying a condo in a vacation destination like Miami or San Diego as a second home in a small building in a good location as long as condo association rules didn't prohibit you from renting it out as a short term rental.
KEEP DRINKING THE KOOL-AID AND HOPEFULLY YOU WILL OD ON IT.
I really wish they would reconsider building these condos right on the beach..in my opinion they’re an eyesore..if these people want to throw they’re money away let them…but don’t complain about it later.!!!!!
Many of these would not be allowed today.
I can't even see the beach in Pinellas county. It's a 30 mile wall of condos.
@@Bradimoose yes Jesse that too..why should the people’s houses behind them be denied the pleasure of waking up to the sounds and sights of the ocean.
Poor maintenance is not the only reason for the problems. Before buying any condo I would be digging into who built it. Who was the engineering company and developer? What we have are results from corruption. As they all live high and mighty others are having to pay for their scams.
Get ready for a 80% increase in HOA fees.
I think you're missing a 0 on that number.
It's a conflict of interest. Owners want to keep monthly costs low to maximize the value of their investment. They know the maintenance needs to be done but want to pass that buck to the next guy after they cash out.
if they aren't give the proper justification for the expenses they'll think its a scam
As a single family homeowner, I wish I only had a $5,300 bill for something major.
I tiled the downstairs on our 1300 sq ft two story "cabin". Got a great deal on the tile which was just over 2000 bucks but with all the other materials it was 5 grand even though I did all the labor. It is really not that hard to spend 5 grand on a house. Try putting on a roof.
I have a friend that just sold her place in a beach condo building. It wasn’t a high rise, but the board was refusing to hire a manager to care for the complex. They didn’t want to pay to fix major problems. They were also ignoring the need for inspections. Basically anything that might cost money they didn’t want to do. I told her that should be a wake up call. If you wait any longer that place will be worth nothing because it will be falling down! Thankfully she saw the light. By comparison I live in an HOA community that has been hit by some major repairs in the last few years and did we get assessments? Nope! I mean a literal dam had to be replaced and there was enough money to do it and not need to make an assessment. They also repaired most of the roads last year. There will be a slight increase in HOA fees this year to replace what was spent, but because they prepared appropriately there was no giant assessment to replace the millions needed to finish the jobs. I know some people hate the HOA systems, but if you get involved in a good one they really are great. Everything in the community stays in great repair, we have tons of amenities, and it is a snap to talk to someone in charge. Like they said though do your due diligence before you buy! That will tell you if it is a good community or somewhere they are letting the place rot out from under you. Then boring or not go to board meeting! Know what is going on with your investment. If you don’t you will pay the price sooner or later…
Do people think that living by the water doesn't come without serious costs? There's a reason why it comes with a major price tag. Salt water degrades the property severely over time and unless you can go down to the dirty bits to continuly fix whether it's a condo or a house, if it's seaside adjacent it's going to cost you a fortune to own.
Do people think you can live in any building without spending any money to maintain it?
It really seems that politicians think that infrastructure maintenance can just be differed year after year and they can take the money "saved" and use it elsewhere.
The thing about building maintenance is, you can spend a a bit of money every year or you can send no money for 9 years then spend 20 or 30 times what it would have cost to maintain the structure over that 10 years to repair it. And that's if your lucky.
If you're less lucky the structure will collapse people will be killed or injured then you get to pay 100's of times the decadal maintenance cost in legal settlements. Ant that is before you consider the cost of rebuilding the structure. And unless you are like Donald Trump, you now get to live with being directly responsible for the deaths of many men women and children.
@@erictaylor5462 this is boomer ethos to a tee. They have been putting off responsibility whenever possible since the 70s.
With climate change they will be flooded in a few years anyways.
It is about time we found out what Roman Concrete, which strengthens over time, rather than weaken when it comes into contact with salt and use it for coastal environments.
$5,000 assessment on a $1,000,000 condo is very reasonable
It’s getting so expensive to live in south Florida. I bought my house 3000sq ft in a gated community in 1997 for $176,400. It just sold for 1 million. I would not pay half of that for the house. I got 14 offers on the 1st day on the market.
People should also have the right to know the financial status of the hoa before joining.
A lot of buildings built on the cheap, decades ago, next to saltwater, in a state with let's just say a terrible record of inspections and code enforcement. What could possibly go wrong?
And you get teh Cpt Obvious award for the day for your post utiliing both a totally generic cliche as well as being completely uninformative in any way
That’s not a bad assessment considering. My condo had a $5,000 per unit assessment after Hurrricane Wilma.
The people that buy Condo's on the beach in South Florida will be alright with all the extra fees for safety reasons. They just love to complain when they are forced to pay more money. They will be alright, they are NOT going to go hungry.
It is better to pay for repairs than to get hurt.
It will come to a point where the building needs to come down eventually, 50 year old building would need major repairs & cost if still standing. Condo prices continue to sky rocket & the living conditions with constructional damages increases through out those years. Living in a new build condo is not the same as living in an old 50 year one with cracks in the wall & ceiling. If the building isn't maintain well, why are the condo prices continue to sky rocket?? buyers are being scam big time. It's like buying a 30 year old used car with major repairs, it's going to cost you 3 times more than if you bought it 30 years ago with tons of repair bills.
All buildings have a fifty year design life.
Every single component needs work when that rolls round and degradation accelerates from that point if it isn’t done.
That’s why they often say you’re far better off finding a good rental to live in that’s not too crazy in price. But that can be a real problem depending on where you live.
Even with these superficial, facade repairs will the building structure be structurally sound ??? These repairs seem to be only for appearance. I would be very careful purchasing a multiple story condo on ocean front property. many structures on ocean front property are leaning and tilting due to being built on sand and NOT bedrock.
These repairs will keep the rest of the building from becoming damaged..
@@williamhaynes7089 If I saw metal supports in the parking or on other floors it would scare the hell out of me knowing Champlain North collapsed due to "punch-thru" where supporting concrete pillars "punched thru" the supporting floors causing a pancake collapse. What prevents these supports from "punch-thru" of the supporting floors ???
@@larrybruce4856 - imagine someone looking at buying a unit from a current owner, seeing this on tour.
Lost my Condo along with 11 other units to a fire in May . My insurance company paid what the deductible was on the Master HOA policy minus my deductible of 500 usd. Liberty Mutual snuck into the build without contacting me and sent me a check for 9500 usd even though the policy claims I was covered for up to 40k for dwelling. Now the master Policy might not cover rebuilding . Nine months in and finally the building was removed but only because the town had sent a warning that the building was a danger to the public and they were fined . Rents are going up, I still have a mortgage, condo fee and some town taxes because of a garage that is still standing . They say we could have a special assessment of 25K . 1.2 million for construction is all they will give us and it will take over a year to rebuild . we probably need twice that amount. It may never go back up and I have nothing to show for it after 18 years . The Surfside Tower will be even a bigger mess . Wonder what their insurance covers? What is the insurance company willing to chip in for a rebuild there ?
I suspect that the insurers of CTS will weasel out of paying much, if anything, on the grounds that the building was "clearly structurally deficient" and nothing had been done to remedy the matter.
@@pulaski1 The CTS insurers voluntarily paid out the entire ($14M?) policy to the court appointed Receiver. No fights there.
Wow, that makes me so nervous about my condo. I need to re-read my insurance policies.
@@TheDsgrant79 Also suggest all units have at least one fire extinguisher even with a water suppressing system . I would not be living in 210 sq feet if the fire starters had one .
$1,000,000 for a condo and these people are crying about $5,300 fee? Hilarious.
Well they only really had a $500k-$600k budget, they just didn't realize it, and instead sunk their money into something they couldn't really afford on the erroneous assumption that the monthly fees would pay for _all_ the maintenance.
Many people move often. 5% equity and plan on selling in two or three years. The average is 5 years. Any sort of assessment wipes out the equity.
@@markbernier8434 Which makes it unlikely that they're interested in paying for any kind of long-term maintenance, right? But hey, isn't "let's just kick that can down the road" the essence of Florida "culture"?
@@markbernier8434 Which is just an argument for ongoing fees every year from the time that construction is completed, sufficient to pay for major renovations and structural repairs many years in the future. I would suggest that 2% of market value every year would be a conservative starting point. .... I don't imagine such a radical proposal will ever be introduced.
Clearly the overzealous condo board is coming up short. If your dues don't cover repairs and extra for a reserve fund, causing a special assessment annually, then your HOA dues are too low.
or you bought into a dud. You don't want those condo fees to be too high , they always go up never down and pretty tough when you are fixed income . When people spend other peoples money they spend it freely . Just look at the Feds . 2 million dollars to study if going in a hot tub is relaxing .
Absolutely correct. People gasp at the $550 monthly I pay for my 1,075 sq ft in a high amenity old courtyard building in Chicago, but it covers a vast array of costs, including the heat (major expense in Chicago), as well as water, sewer, trash disposal, operating and maintenance of huge indoor year round pool, plus steam rooms, saunas, fitness room, insurance costs, staff salaries (2 skilled men), and maintenance of a reserve for large capital costs that come up every couple of decades or so. Our budget for a 66 unit building is about $600K a year, yet that is the budget of this 378 unit two building high rise association fronting the ocean? That means they have NO reserve and must levy a special when the inevitable heavy repairs and maintenance become necessary, which has to happen sometime.
That's what it is when you buy, you can't just call up the landlord and they send someone out to fix it, out of their pockets
some people are not ready for this truth
$5000 per unit is not bad. home owners can get stuck with a $ 25,000 reroof, or thousands for plumbing repairs, furnace , paint etc....
My friend got a $2500 assessment for utility doors. The doors had to be fire rated and earthquake retrofitted.
Yeah, I can't do a roof for 5k. Can't do windows for 5k. 5K didn't even touch what it cost to R&R the concrete in the garage.
$5000 for one special assessment. What about the $5000 per year, every year, for association dues? A homeowner might need to replace their $25,000 roof once every 30 years.
Think that’s bad, Hawaii is much worsw with sticker shock. This is why we have so much homelessness in Hawaii.
I’m amazed that this many people are willing to live in high rise buildings. I live in one right now and it’s terrible. Not having a yard, being subjected to the stench of my neighbors’ cooking, now we need to worry about building collapse. All this nonsense has me wanting to move to the Midwest so I can afford a real home. I’m not down with this Agenda 21 dystopia anymore. I’m also convinced that too much population density creates very unfriendly humans.
If you want to live on the ocean, it's going to cost! Salt destroys everything, including everything in your condo or home as well as the structure of the building.
It’s all going to be underwater soon anyway.
@@user-tb7rn1il3q Sure about that? Why did Obama buy beach from in Martha's Vineyard and just build a beach front house in Hawaii if it's all going to be underwater?
@@seanrhone5306 It’s built up a little more than South Florida Real Estate and he is 60. 3 feet of water rise will devastate South Florida.
@@seanrhone5306 , because, like other rich, complacent seaside prop owners, he's confident that A. he'll probably have passed on before the worst hits, and B. the money will somehow be found to build seawalls and raise streets and do all the other remediation these rich folks think will save their property, because we taxpayers have been subsidizing flood insurance in high risk areas and funding rebuilding of rich coastal areas that get hit with a major weather disaster every few years, that's why. Well, we might be getting to the end of our ability to bail out coastal dwellers over and over, to say nothing of our tolerance.
Buy a house, not a condo
So do people believe after buying a condo in a building that they don’t pay for repairs to that building. You aren’t renting anymore, you are buying . Which means you have ownership. That means you pay for upkeep.
Stupidity has a cost, and that cost is high
I would never want to be in a highrise when it starts falling…
Can survive a 2 story fall… but probably not a 5 story and up fall… when you need to jump off a collapsing structure.
This has echos of the fallout from the Grenfell Disaster where homeowners of apartments in buildings with suspected combustable cladding found themselves with a high assessment and maintenance bill and an unsellable property.
or like in the UK when that combustable cladding caught fire and people died.
Stupid story. Upkeep and maintenance doesn’t disappear just because it’s condo and not a house. The last guy hit the the nail on the head. If you can’t afford to maintain your investment, don’t buy it. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone,
seeing that rubble with those floors pancaked is just so disturbing, and then to hear that boards aren't in a rush to make the residences safe is even more disturbing.
Money don’t grow on trees
Yeah, its like keeping up with a house. You don't just let it fall into disrepair.
Pretty sure a house is a lot cheaper to keep up with though, if it was built right to begin with. Bigger building, more things to go wrong. Smaller building, less things to go wrong. Pretty basic
@@gorak9000 not really. They live in older condos. An older house needs a lot of regular maintenance. Experts even say to set aside so much every month for repairs that may come up such as if a pipe bursts or a furnace goes out. This is similar to a fund that condo owners may have to pay in to for building upkeep. These fees may be separate from HOA fees in both scenarios.
Wow everyone needs you to state the completely obvious, no doubt nobody ever thought of that especally after the fact. Maybe you could tell us the Titnaic might sink too?
@@slowery43 thanks for the laugh 😄
If your buying buy a detached house that includes the dirt…if u want a box of air in the sky rent…it’s as simple as that.
I would encourage anyone considering investing in a condo to look into whether there is a fully funded reserve fund that will cover anticipated building maintenance. Existing owners should be paying monthly into such a fund.
#1 Multi-floor buildings are already expensive because Elevators themselves are big money holes and every floor up the costs of exterior repairs goes UP.
#2 When developers build these places they often rent them out on extended leases until they see BIG repair expenses coming. Then they sell them off and move on leaving you with a shitshow.n
People think buildings are forever, and forget they have a limited life and will eventually require expensive repairs and finally demolition.
Soon, those oceanfront homes won't exist..🤷♀️
Yes, if you live in a condo, repair assessments should be expected. Just matter of when, not if. Understand this before buying into a condo, anywhere.
Thank you for this report!
Look at the last 10 years' financial statements and focus on "maintenance and repairs" plus capital spending which reflects major rehabilitation of building systems.
Wait Florida is paradise? On what planet?
*Building falls killing almost everyone inside*
"Oh okay NOW let's fix our buildings shall we?" 🥴
I paid high annual special assessments for years for steel and concrete repairs. Finally sold the thing.
Ownership mean you have to foot the bill or sell it.
Florida real estate and the lack of state regulations is a disaster.
What happens when they can't be repaired? In 50 to 100 years do they just become worthless and the current owners are out of all their money?
In 50 to 100 years, unless technology takes a turn for the worst, these CURRENT owners will be long gone.
@@danabryant6138 Are you really that clueless? He obviously means the people who are the CURRENT owners when that 50-100 year period down the road arrives, not the ones who are the current owners today. It's actually a good question. And if a 30-year old buys right now, which is prime home-buying age, in 50 years they will be 80, and likely not "long gone".
@@KP99 I really am. 🤷♀️💃
@@KP99 30 year olds don't live in Condo towers in florida lol. Minimum age is 85+
@@Bradimoose The one person saved from the Surfside condo collapse rubble was a 13-year-old boy... And you are also saying that his mom gave birth to him when she was 72?? LOL
They can keep their "oceanside paradise". No thanks.
Honestly I don’t know why people would wanna live in a building that’s more then 25 years old on the beach. New construction is bad but old buildings suck. These money have money and you don’t have to live on the beach. The Surfside building was in horrible shape. People were stupid for living there and buying units in the past years.
And just think my broke sister actually had the nerve to say to me, 'if I were you, I would buy a condo.' OK, then you pay the cost. Yes, everyone wants that lifestyle, but few can afford it, even if it is in a lower cost unit, not necessarily in Fla.
I live in a home, a row/townhome, near, so-so people at times; so yes, when they act up, I think about it, but I know that I don't have a mortgage, the condo association fees and them telling me what I can do, and cannot do; and taking my money and not doing anything with it. I have a reliable contractor that I call for repairs that have used for years, so it works out. Thus maintenance expenses are a must wherever you live.
Ms. L. Churchill
Buy new construction and move within a decade.
Work into your contract to be able to use a private licensed contractor, save you some fees on your personal unit. Unfortunately the main structure will be at the boards whim. Make sure the board has your best interest at hand, owners need to know the cost upfront!
Makes no sense to live in those high rise condos due to the high cost of maintenance near the ocean. Own them to lease...likely the better option as the rent will help pay for the up keep.
i would also suggest that the local city/county building codes are upgraded to require developers/construction to use top quality foundations, concrete and rebar. It's fairly obvious that the current codes are just being met and the buildings are not resistant enough to the elements.
There are buildings in Sydney Australia that are so poorly built (yes, they’re new) that they’re unfit for living or close to being unfit. Unless the owners pay between $200k to $500k EACH to fix the structural issues these buildings will either either get knocked down or owners will be forced to leave. Such an awful business model. I always say to buy smaller condominiums or just stick with homes.
I read about a couple of huge, glitzy newer high rise tower in Sydney that had to be evacuated in 2018.
If there is one thing I have learned by being a condo owner is: NEVER BUY A CONDO. Unless, of course you like other people telling you how to live your life and letting them spend your money without your say-so. The owners of my condo association were sick of the annual increases in condo fees and voted to not increase them for this year. In response, the management company invoked a clause in the agreement forcing each owner to pay $2000 into the emergency fund that they had intentionally depleted. Honestly, it seems as bad as living in a HOA.
There are good and bad HOA's. Not all bad. However most of the ones in Florida are bad. My mom owns in a good HOA in Ohio. HOA is 200... The people live in side by side townhouses. It's actually a net positive because the use bargaining to get discounts on snow/lawn/trash removal...
There is another option.....MOVE !
In short, the buildings are built on wet ground near the ocean. The building contractor took any shortcut to save a buck. There will be collapses in the future.
A potential buyer should have a copy of an inspection report for the building. just like buying any home.
Inspections don’t do much. Most people don’t do good jobs.
All those condos will be in the water in a few years anyhow.
Gotta have lots of extra money 💰 to live like this.
Rich people complaining about having to pay bills on things that rich people buy. I can confirm to everyone here, that I do not care. It's interesting that this collapse highlights the fact that even the rich have their very own classes of rich people. These repair and structure issues are only problems that the Poor "rich" class faces. The Upper class "rich" people don't have to worry about any of this because they don't buy into old buildings. They only buy into the newest most recent condo buildings that won't have these repair concerns probably in their lifetimes. Just think of how many of these condo buildings need massive amounts of "repair" work done to them. And that's if you choose to ignore any design and construction defects caused by cost saving sidesteps done by engineers and the builders themselves, just to improve their own profit margins !! I bet those people in that South Tower wished they'd bought a hut on the beach instead.
If you have money to live on the beach then pay up for safety reasons. Unless the fed or state government makes people do something then they generally will not do it
But that would be *socialism* (gasp!). Much better to die free in the collapsed rubble of your home. It's the Florida way!
@@samuelglover7685 , that’s regulation not socialism.
@@garyowen9044 Yes. Obviously. But the geniuses in our glorious "job creator" business class routinely attack any sort of regulation with the demon word "socialism". "Socialism" and "freedom" are tossed around so much by the wealthy and those who do their errands that the words have lost all meaning. "Socialism" means anything that might inconvenience the rich. "Freedom" means anything that makes their bank accounts even bigger.
Florida is NOT representative of all condominiums in the USA. I live in a concrete high rise condo unit. We've had spalling in our parking structure that needed repairs to the tune of 7 million dollars due to water seepage from the surface lots into our underground parking lot. We have another 3 million in repairs to go. Repairs have cost us in special assessments as our building is over 40 years old. There needs to be a little work on the balconies so that maybe another million or so to fix but the tower where the people live is fine. Our condo is inland away from salt air's aggressive corrosion. Where you live influences what you pay in repairs \ assessments.
You wouldn't believe how many dysfunctional Condo associations that are their own worst enemy, that are in south Florida. Always fighting, egos galore, nobody has money for assessments. Better hurry up with your concrete restorations. Because major changes to the Elevator codes also coming, your old crap elevators that you refuse to modernize, will soon have to be modernized to keep up with the new code changes
2:22 when your cameraman has to pee..... :D
See…this makes a BIG CASE for people who do not want the DANGERS of sea side living (Hurricanes, etc) in only ONE seaside location but RV and stay in multiple locations with ever changing views, but still have an reasonable small location which is called home.
Not to mention Hurricane damage costs which may or may not be covered by insurance if the damage or portion thereof can be proven to have existed before the storm.
Yes, Sir. Here is my $5k to slap some mortar on degraded concrete. That will keep us safe!
What gets me on this is you own a million dollar condo and are balking at a $5300.00 assessment? I mean I get being upset if it was a 50k condo but the cost on this doesn't seem so much when compared to the cost of the condo itself.
Things are not good for many of us on Millionaire's Row, Miami Beach.
If you can afford a million dollar condo, assessment fees aren’t a big deal. My HOA is lower cost townhomes/condos, but no high rise buildings. Most of the residents here are retirees, on fixed incomes, who can’t afford large assessment fees.
More than I can afford
Price of living by the ocean. Common sense, expected expense live near an ocean .
Maintaining a single family home averages about 3% a year. That comes to $30k for a $1million property.
Jaseon Lecroix, you need to downscale if you are going to shell out 30k/year. unless you are rich
@@PHlophe I was only pointing out what it costs on average to maintain a home.
people are usually ignorant to the costs of condo ownership, often thinking that only HOA fees apply. They often forget or ignore the prospect of property assessment costs for things like a new roof, exterior building maintenance, etc., which can often cost into the thousands, for which many owners do not prepare or possess. When purchasing, they often only consider what the mortgage, HOA and taxes will cost, never considering the potential assessments which may arise. My suggestion to anyone considering a condominium purchase, whatever the cost, always have money (no less than $10,000) ready to pay for these costs, because if you don't pay, the HOA bylaws may have provisiong allowing the to foreclose and take your property
So true for any property s along the sunshine state. Even 🏡 houses 🏘 homes 🏠 the upkeep that no one wants to do but Mother Nature and hurricanes 🌀 will force you. Reality.
lol!
I hate to disappoint but like Timeless Music Family Music mentioned those 50 year old buildings will eventually need to come down and be rebuilt to current building standards. I don't know about you but I wouldn't be able to sleep at night in one of those old buildings. I would be staring at the ceiling all night not that that would help! 😀
The truth is there isn’t any effective repair of spalling concrete. The cause is rebar corrosion which is unstoppable once it starts. The oxidation process continues to creep along the steel invisible from the outside.
So I don’t know how these reinforced concrete buildings can survive the constant salt exposure.
Yeah it's truly like a cancer. And even with coated rebar, it's only as good as the coating. It's pretty much accepted that a certain amount of the coating will be damaged and then you end up with very rapid local corrosion in those spots.
How do those highrises do when there's a hurricane? Does the glass break in high winds?
Is my thinking wrong but I would be really mad if I had the cheapest condo and I had to pay the same assessment that someone with a better condo who gets most of the benefit. How is it fair for the condos without balconies and without ocean views that are not falling down pay the same? I guess that is why you read the fine print.
Really short sighted thinking is what we have here. Unfortunately these multi unit dwellings are filled with people just like you.
Good advice.. do your due diligence. Realize that your fees and expenses will go up in any condo association.
steel and concrete is such a mistake for high rise condos. notice how not ONE wood frame high rise building has ever fallen down. also, i've never seen a mobile home high rise condo fall down either.
Are you kidding? For sure. Being a condo owner and sitting on the board -- what an annoying proposition. Some people love all the politics and negotiations and general bs that goes with it; others of us shun that. My viewpoint is that chest beaters and power trippers and whatever/whomever they are LOVE that kind of nonsense. It is a nasty job that has to be done. Reminiscent of the student council and prom committee. Fortunately, my lawyer heads up his condo board as he has the stomach for it as well as the brains.
Bottom line is the bottom line: down payment, mortgage payments and ongoing major assessments especially living on a strip of line right on the ocean. You gotta pay to play.
God bless us all!
Safety and maintenance should always be top priority, especially when it comes to structures, that harbor human & animal lives!.... Period!...
Cpt Obvious has spoken
No mention yet of a law mandating maintenance cash reserves.
the more the ppl, the less gets done. Having a responsible and decent board is not easy and hard to come by. If money can make issues go away, those are not hard issues. Getting people on board and willing is the real issue with many condo boards.