Duplex condo nightmare (renters, attorneys, construction)

[SBER]

Do you have any idea who was involved with the rental to these students? Was it through a real estate agent? I would think that they would have some responsibility here, knowing the conditions/set-up of the bedroom situation in this condo. Assuming that you are in the city of Boston, it is clear that this condo does not meet many of the code requirements for rental to students. Sorry for your continued troubles; you've had a rough year.

[duplexcondo-owner]

SBER, yes, I got a lot of information from all of the students. The Unit Owner works at the univeristy and rented to them. They told me that they were told they have to provide their own
electricity, their own furniture. You made an excellent point that there may be special codes for rental to students. I will look this up. Thank you!

The Master Deed reads in part: .." Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section, unless at least 100% of the first mortgagees of Units (based on one vote for each mortgage owned) have given their prior written approval, this Master Deed shall not be amended so as to (1) abandon the condominium (except for abandonment provided by statute in case of substantial loss to the Units and common area and facilities; (2) partition or subdivide any unit or by act or omission seek to abandon, partition, subdivide, encumber, or sell or transfer the common areas and facilities (the granting of easements for public utilities for other public purposes consistent with the intended use of the Condominium shall not be deemed a transfer within the meaning of this clause); (3) change the percentage interest in the common areas and facilities of any Unit or change the pro rata interest or obligations of any individual unit with respect to hazard insurance or condemnation awards.

[accufitgolf]

Duplex

The last owner of the other unit put it to you as is the present owner.

When are you going to stop allowing others to *********?

Either buy the other unit or get out of there. Personally I think even if you buy the other unit you will not be happy. I suggest you talk to the other family member helping/owning with your unit and get the hell out of there ASAP.

This saga will go on.

[duplexcondo-owner]

Accu-
You are list as from SC. The area here is college area, so it is attractive to rent out to students. I cannot purchase the other unit until it is up for sale. I will not be putting my
unit up for sale/moving from my home anytime soon. As mentioned in
earlier posts, previous unit owners in the past were good neighbors and paid
condo fees on time. The last Unit owner and this one are poor.
The person who purchased the unit in April, never moved any furniture in because he
had contractors renovating it. He abandoned the property and then rented it
out to students in August. There are always slum-lords who will try to
take advantage. Luckily, there are many bylaws and laws on our side to use
to protect this condo. It is unfortunate. The current owner had wrong information from the previous owner. I am confident that this nonsense will stop soon. I am not on the market
for a new home as a result of misconduct of unit owners. Two unit condo's can go well if
the new unit owner is good, ethical, follows the rules, and poor if not. Clearly the only intent of this new unit owner was to make the most amount of money from tenants, ignore all of the building and fire codes, not pay condo fees, and run. His scheme will not work, as he will very soon find out. The city and state can impose large fines for those who clearly violate building code.


He placed drywall down the middle of the baseboard heater in the bedroom. Inspectional services
should be able to address this fire-hazard rather quickly.

[duplexcondo-owner]

I believe it is best to close this thread.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by duplexcondo-owner

The Master Deed reads in part: .." Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section, unless at least 100% of the first mortgagees of Units (based on one vote for each mortgage owned) have given their prior written approval, this Master Deed shall not be amended so as to (1) abandon the condominium (except for abandonment provided by statute in case of substantial loss to the Units and common area and facilities; (2) partition or subdivide any unit or by act or omission seek to abandon, partition, subdivide, encumber, or sell or transfer the common areas and facilities (the granting of easements for public utilities for other public purposes consistent with the intended use of the Condominium shall not be deemed a transfer within the meaning of this clause); (3) change the percentage interest in the common areas and facilities of any Unit or change the pro rata interest or obligations of any individual unit with respect to hazard insurance or condemnation awards.

I think you may be misinterpreting this section of your master deed. As I read it, it doesn't prevent the unit owner from say taking one bedroom and splitting it into two. What it does prevent is a unit owner from sectioning off part of the unit and creating two or more units out of a single unit. It sounds like the work was unpermitted though and not done to code so you can probably get some satisfaction through the local building department.

[duplexcondo-owner]

Mike, okay. The Zoning enforcement board should be able to advise better and an attorney
to assist on collecting condo fees. He just sent a letter to tell me to mind my own business.

[duplexcondo-owner]

Thank you. I just spoke with a reputable condo attorney who I am hiring today.

[MikePRU]

I can only imagine the amount of time you are spending on this and the amount of money you are fronting on behalf of the association. Along with the time & money involved in dealing with the prior owner.

[duplexcondo-owner]

Mike, thanks. Tiring. However, I believe the other unit really does not have a choice about paying the condo fees. The Super LIEN law is strong in favor of the Condo Association. The unit owner stated he did not wish for any communication or letters, and made it clear he disputes everything. The MGL however, states that even if he disputes the charges, he has to pay these fees in protest and then dispute them in court. He cannot simply decide he does not wish to pay, as he has done. He also holds a mortgage and has renters. Both of these are pressure points to collect the fees, as often a mortgage company will pay the fee to avoid collection. One article blog I read states the following:

" Another favorable aspect of the lien law is that a unit owner is not allowed to withhold payment even if he disputes the charges. There is no right to set-off. If the unit owner is unhappy or disputes the validity of the assessment, that’s too bad. He must pay the fees under protest, and file a suit challenging the legality of the assessment."

" Collection Against Tenants: Another helpful remedy in the case of absentee unit owners is that the condo trust has a right to collect rents from tenants of non-paying unit owners. The condominium association will notify the tenants in writing that they are required to forward all future rent payments to the condo trust until the unpaid balance is satisfied. This typically gets the prompt attention of the unit owner.