Duplex condo nightmare (Boston, Waltham: apartment complex, HOA fees, assessor)

[convextech]

I would sell, now, before you have a nightmare renter in the unit next door. Forget about all the other crap. Just sell it and be done.

[Irena.M]

Sorry. Just doesn't seem to end for you. I would honestly go to see MEEB guy's. The expanse should be payable from the associations funds since it concerns the association. So the other owner has to pay up as well for the consult. I don't know if they do free hour but it is worth it. ( I don't work for them or am associated with them, but they are sharks in that field. very good ones too).

[accufitgolf]

I have followed this from the beginning. I am he one that said I doubt all will be well with a new co-owner.

Sorry to say I doubt the OP will ever be happy with any co-owner that does not do it the way he wants it done. I believe the answer is for the OP to sell his unit or buy the other unit and be the landlord.

[duplexcondo-owner]

Thank you so much everyone. Accufitgolf, actually, sorry to say you are not correct in your last post. Prior to
this nightmare woman unit owner moving here, as previously mentioned, were fabulous unit owners (several)
and also fabulous renters in the abutting unit. They were quiet, and we worked together on landscape improvements
and got together for outdoor barbecues. Any condo fees were paid promptly, without any concerns. The current
unit owner has moved out. However, it appears the city will be checking out the zoning violations of converting
the unit with extra bedrooms without permits, etc. He is not from the US and it appears some of the problems come from mistakes from damages from the previous owner which he unfortunately inherited along with broken water pipes, and a contractor etc. This will now be addressed. I am very pleased that the woman moved out because it could not get much worse. Now that there is
someone else communicating about this, it should improve.
As earlier mentioned, I wish I bought a single family house or that I had bought both units. Irena, thank you. They are the best. Thank you everyone!! This was very helpful. I think it may be time to close this thread.

[Valerie C]

Perhaps the current owner will decide that he doesn't wish to own the unit (due to the city's looking into the zoning violations and other issues) and you may have the opportunity to purchase that side. Please don't close the thread-many of us are interested in hearing how this situation evolves...

Originally Posted by duplexcondo-owner

The current unit owner has moved out. However, it appears the city will be checking out the zoning violations of converting the unit with extra bedrooms without permits, etc. He is not from the US and it appears some of the problems come from mistakes from damages from the previous owner which he unfortunately inherited along with broken water pipes, and a contractor etc. This will now be addressed. I am very pleased that the woman moved out because it could not get much worse. Now that there is someone else communicating about this, it should improve.

[duplexcondo-owner]

Valerie, okay, I will keep it open. Thank you. I am not sure how this forum works. The other unit owner is a nice man. He is not from the US and he told me he was unaware that he was unable to convert the condo to a 4 bedroom, change the storage into a bedroom, and more. He wanted to also tear up the front yard to make another driveway. He let me know he would not meet with me because he did not have time. He moved out on July 1st. He told me he is very overwhelmed with the
condo, an unethical contractor who should have known he could not make permanent architectural changes to
the condo without permits. I get the impression he may sell it, although he only bought it in April. He also told me that he was unaware of all of the interior damages due to serious neglect by the previous owner until after he bought it. It was the responsibility of the realty agency inspector to inform him prior to sale. I paid for a roof inspection because the issue of needing a new roof went to court. The judge believed the attorney representing the other side that the new unit owner was given a lower price due to the damages on the roof, and had agreed to pay for the new roof. He denies that
it was true. But at least he told me once he sells it, I will be given the first right to buy it from him. I would love this opportunity. I am pleased that at least we have these issues out there on the table. In another nearby three unit (stacked) condo, a fire killed one of the residents. There were many fire-code violations. I watched the fire from my house. It was horrific. The city's fire department rescued everyone else safely without any injuries. So with this fear, it is also all the more important that at this condo, that I know that we meet the fire and building code standards for safety. Some of the violations are very visible so hopefully, easily to resolve. Thank you again everyone.

[convextech]

But what about that pesky thing called disclosure?

If the new buyer had any brains, he would sue the previous owner for not disclosing all of the problems.

Also, the realtor should have known about the condo fees and what's associated with it.

Something stinks here.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by convextech

But what about that pesky thing called disclosure?

If the new buyer had any brains, he would sue the previous owner for not disclosing all of the problems.

Also, the realtor should have known about the condo fees and what's associated with it.

Something stinks here.

I was thinking the same thing.

[duplexcondo-owner]

Convextech, I totally agree with you. As a matter of fact, I wrote to the Realtor when I read in the
advertisement that the condo fees were "$0.00" Yup, free to live here.
Her attorney wrote to me and threatened to sue me for interfering in the
sale of the property. As soon as the new owner moved in, he called me to tell me there was a
flood in the basement and could I come over. Sure enough, leak from the ceiling pipe. The realtor
told me that the new owner planned on putting in a new kids room in the basement. I told her to tell
him to not move forward with this, we have had 6-12 inches of water in the basement, and the previous
unit owner was cited for building code and zoning violations for the same (using the basement
as sleeping quarters for her minor child, and then complaining that I sent poison
to her through the walls (yes, mental illness of previous owner)... I put it all in
writing PRIOR to the sale of the property for full disclosure on my side. The realtor
clearly tried to hide all of this to make the sale, and the other side clearly
was intending to deceive the new owner, and block me from disclosure.

[convextech]

That sounds like a dirty realtor, dirty attorney, etc. There is something very wrong with this whole scenario. I don't understand why no one has fought back legally against the realtor? they are responsible for making sure the buyer gets what they are supposed to get and that there is nothing hidden.

First thing I would do is report the realtor to the Realtor's Association, and report the previous owner's attorney to the Bar Association. The countersue them all for damages.