shoddy condo construction (Austin: appointed, for sale, real estate)

[borgerboy]

i've hesitated posting on here about my condo situation, because my neighbors, property manager, board, and legal team will know who i am. but i am really fed up and frustrated beyond imagination. if you're interested in austin's real estate at all please bear with me and try to read through this. my goal is to try and find out the possible solution and outcome(s) of this situation.

i bought my condo in 2006 during the high point of real estate prices. all of phase 1 sold out (about 42 units) and most of us began having problems immediately with water leaking in. the construction company for phase 1, EBCO construction promised to fix everything and began trying to make repairs. the construction workers that i dealt with didn't speak english and the managers didn't speak spanish. the men doing the construction were hard workers, but they had never done the type of building they were now working on. if you've seen the condos you will notice they are unique in that they used recycled concrete and steel beams. the workers finally got frustrated and just sheared the bolts off and glued the tops to the beams to make it look like it was correct.
(one of many construction mistakes).

phase 2 finished construction during the relative bust in this area and hardly any of the units sold. i'm sure the prospective buyers knew of the plight of phase 1 and when they visted they could actually see the water leaks and other problems. phase 2 was constructed by STRUCTURA since for some reason EBCO was out of the picture. finally an auction was held and all units were disposed of one way or another. since texas is a nondisclosure state, i haven't been able to find the selling price of phase 2, but am pretty sure it was a lot less than phase 1.

about that time both builders left the premises and refused to have anything to do with repairs needed. about 5 years ago we had an assessment to hire a legal team. since that time we have yearly meetings and it's always the same old story. more contractors get brought into the case and more time is needed to prepare their defense. one point of hope is that an arbitrator has been appointed for phase 1. however, our lawyer sold us it will "be awhile" because the judge will not allow a jury trial until much more arbitration is completed.
meanwhile, phase 2 is in limbo because the insurance company for STRUCTURA is in "receivership" and is based in the state of delaware.

last year the city of austin investigated and partially condemned 90% of our condos. we can live in them and even rent them out if we provide a notorized statement of the danger to the leasee. we can't sell them for more than a few dollars because no one can get a mortgage on a condemned property. oh, i should probably mention that the city of austin code compliance did their required inspections, but they used "contracted help" because there was so much demand for their services at the time.

so we're all happily living and paying our mortgages to a leaking, condemned property hoping for "pie in the sky" solutions while STRUCTURA and EBCO are happily making millions building more properties around central texas.

now that i got that off my chest, my point is to find out if anyone else has seen similar instances of this and what if any the outcome has been. i'm just looking at my mortgage as paying rent right now so i'm ok with it, but i need to retire in a couple of years. i hadn't planned on retiring in central austin, but i'm convincing myself that would be ok. my biggest concern is that once the legal options play out and/or a couple of the buildings start to crumble what happens then. we've been informed that it would cost about 1/3 more (15 million) to repair all the units than is would to demolish them and rebuild(8 to 10 mil.). a lot of my neighbors seem to think we are going to get brand new condo's built and all our worry will be over. if a huge assessment is necessary to repair/rebuild then maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal for someone who only paid half as much for a unit in phase 2 as phase 1. i know, this just sounds like me being selfish. for some reason (skepticism of the judicial system) i don't see that happening. i guess the other kicker is that our little industrial neighborhood is starting to change and there are big plans down the road for hotels, brewries, markets, and more living spaces. i'm excited about the changes, but i don't really see how that is going to affect the remedying of our situation. i'm making the payments on a 200,000 mortgage, but i don't think i could possibly swing a 300,000 or more mortgage to repair or rebuild.

i am now contacting news stations, the original builders, the city of austin, and anyone you or i can think of. i guess my newly elected city councilman, pio rentaria, might be a good contact to start.

[davebarnes]

The condos are The Bel Air Condos, The Bel Air Condos Austin, The Bel Air Condos for sale, bel air auction

[borgerboy]

mr barnes? are you expecting some sort of prize for revealing the obvious?

[SandyJet]

Do the different phases of development own different pro-ratio amounts of building?

If you did win a big lawsuit do the newer folks who bought cheap get same settlement.

Also are folks now heading towards bankrupty and not paying maint?

Also how many original owners left. Can new owners sue for shoddy construction who bought second hand

Finally, what would make you happy? What are you looking for?

[borgerboy]

thanks for the intelligent questions sandy, i think the only different ratio of ownership would be the size of the condo. so no, those who paid less don't actually own less.

if we win a big settlement either everyone's condo would be repaired or rebuilt. or i guess if it was a monetary payment it would probably be based on the sq footage. i doubt they would give someone a quarter million 'cause that's what they owe on their mortgage, while someone else might get $50,000, or zip if they paid cash.

surprisingly, maintenance dues are update as far as i can tell from the yearly statement.

we get no information whatsoever on who has or hasn't declared bankruptcy. it isn't something i would expect to know.

as far as original owners, that isn't shared information either. i'm not sure why we lack this kind of information, but there is no one who will supply it. texas is a non-disclosure state with strong privacy laws which might explain. it's not even possible for me to find out the selling price of any unit. also, the auction was non-disclosure as well. sure, i was interested in the price accepted at the auction, but unless you know something i don't, it isn't possible to find this out. maybe if i had an inside relationship with a realtor it would be different (but probably illegal and unethical).

when i tried to get some information from my loan closing officer she dropped me like a hot potato when she found out the mess we're in. likewise, my realtor said something like "oh i'm sorry baby thats not something i can get for you."

there has certainly been some turnover here, and some of the units are unoccupied, but it isn't like a condo graveyard or anything like you might see in florida. maybe it has to do with the fact that other then major leakage and loss of property value it's still a very comfortable place to live.

i'm glad you asked me what would make me happy as it's always a good idea to ask yourself that. i guess the ability to sell my property after i retire and move to a quite area. if lieu of that i could probably be happy living here till i die if my mortgage payment stays in an affordable range. i didn't go out on a limb when i bought the place. i didn't take out a mortgage with a crazy interest rate or balloon. i put the proper 20% down. and i realize that living in a condo will incur reasonable expenses over time. so, what will make me happy is for the dang builder to be held responsible and come in and do the necessary repairs

[SandyJet]

https://www.redfin.com/city/30818/TX...&market=austin

I see sold prices of condos on-line at the Redfin site.I thought you could not disclose it.

[SandyJet]

https://www.redfin.com/TX/Austin/10-.../home/56917525

here is the sample details of a sold condo. They give you everything.

[SandyJet]

A unit just sold in your building for $193.500 on January 28,2015

https://www.redfin.com/TX/Austin/480.../home/55177901

Great Opportunity! ** Cash Offers Only, Please read sellers Disclosure before showing clients ** Hip S. Congress gated condo community located minutes from downtown. Large roof deck plus a smaller deck off of living area.View toward community park. 2 car attached garage

4801 S Congress Ave Unit D3
Austin, TX 78745
$193,500
Last Sold Price
1
Beds
2
Baths 1,410 Sq. Ft.
$137 / Sq. F

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by SandyJet

https://www.redfin.com/city/30818/TX...&market=austin

I see sold prices of condos on-line at the Redfin site.I thought you could not disclose it.

Some people disclose the sale price voluntarily, via a form that the tax appraisal office sends.

For others (like the auction ones), you may be able to determine the sales price from the TCAD historical appraisal records. Look for the year right after the auction took place. If a place was appraised at a much higher # the year prior, then some ridiculously low value after that, chances are that new low # was exactly the sales price. A new owner would be compelled to take their closing statement to TCAD (to avoid paying much higher taxes than they are required to), and TCAD would adjust the value to that sales price. Then everyone knows.

Of course I expect there would be other big drops around the time that the problems/condemnations happened, due to owners protesting their value. But the drops right after the auction might still provide the exact sales value of certain units.

[JT-3]

What a debacle, I am really sorry to hear this. We had looked at those a few years ago and didn't know about these issues somehow. How can they mess up a steel and cinderblock building up so bad?

This sounds like the BP oil nightmare, where mgmt is blaming employees or contractors for mistakes, greed, and poor judgement.

Wish you the best and hopefully the neighbors remain motivated to be involved.