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I can't afford to lose the down payment. It's $20,000.00. As I said I'm a retired widow. I had looked in this development before and the woman in that house had a gate and then I saw several more so I thought it would be ok. I was originally going to just do it without asking but then they gave me the house rules which said you can't do work outside without approval so I couldn't say I didn't know.
I didn't want to get off on the wrong foot so I figured..eh..they'll let me. They allow it. Now if I do it they've threatened to fine and sue me.
The other homes have it in their yards..not the common areas. I couldn't use theirs because the yards are fenced in.
I have not stated I need this for parking..I said I needed it for access to the public bus and for my daughter to catch her van.
I am not lying about my daughter. She is mentally challenged.
This. You can back out up until the moment you sign on the dotted line at closing, OP. A savvy mortgage broker or real estate attorney can often help you get even the down payment and earnest money back if you honestly discuss the situation with him/her. Rent a room for a month or two until you find something else with the money you've saved for closing costs. If you're already having this kind of trouble with the condo board, what kind of trouble will you have later, after they've got you bent over a barrel
I can't afford to lose the down payment. It's $20,000.00. As I said I'm a retired widow. I had looked in this development before and the woman in that house had a gate and then I saw several more so I thought it would be ok. I was originally going to just do it without asking but then they gave me the house rules which said you can't do work outside without approval so I couldn't say I didn't know.
I didn't want to get off on the wrong foot so I figured..eh..they'll let me. They allow it. Now if I do it they've threatened to fine and sue me.
The other homes have it in their yards..not the common areas. I couldn't use theirs because the yards are fenced in.
I have not stated I need this for parking..I said I needed it for access to the public bus and for my daughter to catch her van.
I am not lying about my daughter. She is mentally challenged.
Call the gov's office and see how they direct you. I would think she would need good access to the bus.
Have you asked the other neighbors what's going on with their gates? Get them on your side if you can.
The other homes have it in their yards..not the common areas. I couldn't use theirs because the yards are fenced in.
Who's land will this gate exit to? You cant just make a gate and trespass on someone else's land no matter what your excuse. The fact that you want a gate in the common area complicates things. Its possible the city wont allow an access point where you want one for a variety of reasons. Its also possible the association cant allow other people in the community to use that gate because its a limited common area which further complicates things.
Be prepared, you may not get this gate for many, many reasons.
As for signing something, just toss that in the trash. You dont have to sign anything.
If your ex-boss is a real estate attorney who is doing the closing, you need to discuss this with him immediately, not just ask him to write a letter. The conversation you have with him should center on you not buying this condo and him trying to get your deposit back. Also in the conversation, be sure to make your disabled daughter the center of the problem. Just because she is physically fine, does not mean she does not have a disability.
In my humble opinion you would be a fool to purchase this place. HOA and condo arguments can get very expensive and ugly really quick. This is not a good sign for someone who hasn't even purchased yet, and the attitude that they have taken to a widow and her disabled daughter is very wrong.
^^^when an association decides to enforce a rule that hasn't been enforced, the people who have been allowed to violate the rule are grandfathered. This is according to an article I just read in a paper by a real estate attorney.
OP, you need to decide which is the lesser of the two bad outcomes: buying and not having the gate or losing your deposit. However, you might talk to your neighbors to see if you can use their gate (assuming you can access your back door from their gate). I think your best bet is to get an attorney who handles ADA issues to write the management company a very strong letter. No one in their right mind wants to take on the ADA.
I agree, perhaps even you can write a letter yourself citing ADA (American Disability Act), the Federal Fair Housing Act, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Cite a bunch of relevant statutes from those acts, educate these idiots, and see if they don't back down. It is totally illegal to not allow reasonable accommodation for disability in housing, esp. when other neighbours already have these gates. This board doesn't have a leg to stand on.
For immediate answers on potential reasons why there are no additional gates, I'd start with city hall. Pull the file on the property at the code enforcement officer town planner or similar. See what's in the file. Your answer might already be on file. Someone else may have already fought this and lost.
Or there may be nothing on file. Worth a look, and free.
Thanks for all the great ideas. The board meets on April 7 so I want to prepare to send something in. The mgmt guy won't allow me to go in person. My realtor is friends with a congressman who may be able to help too.
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