$1 Million assessment for concrete/rebar repair on 15 year old Miami condo building

[Demovictory9]

glad the repairs are being made. sucks that the damage happened within 15 years. probably wasn't built correctly

only about $7500 per owner, so not bad.

[napi21]

1. Dare I ask if they got more bids? I know that kind of job isn't easy, but I hope they got several

bid, if for no other reason but to give everyone peace of mind that they verified they have the best price & contractor performance available

[BigmanPigman]

2. Here is what the owners had to pay to save their bldg...

"The problem: The homeowners’ association had just $800,000 in reserves, and getting the work done meant asking residents to shoulder huge special assessments ranging from $80,000 to $200,000 on each home. No one was eager to pay."

“The dirtiest words in the community-association industry are ‘special assessment,’” Donna DiMaggio Berger, a lawyer for the board, said of the effort to get 135 homeowners — of varying means and of multiple nationalities — to agree on a plan to do the repairs."

"During the prolonged tumult over the needed renovations, several members of the board had quit in frustration."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/us/condo-associations-surfside-collapse.html

I can see how someone wouldn't have that kind of money for a special assessment. Not many people do, especially if the owners didn't live there full time or were just renting it out.

What I do not understand is a builder who does not grade/slope the cement area around the pool when it was first built? That is just one of many construction problems that may have caused the collapse.

[msongs]

3. account required to read at link nt

[Deminpenn]

4. Why shouldn't a pool be built completely seperately from the building?

Seems that might solve a lot of problems.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

5. I agree.

It's also troubling that anything was built without enough structural integrity redundancies to help prevent issues like progressive collapse. Maintenance only goes so far if a building design doesn't help isolate potential failures enough.

[snowybirdie]

6. In cases where a special assessment

is needed, loan programs for owners ensure payments are spread out over time. So owners don't have to come up with a large amount all at once. Just like in most single family homes when major repairs are needed. If I lived in a million dollar condo, I'd factor in that eventuality as part of my expenses.

[Klaralven]

7. Turning the assessment into a loan payment effectively increases the HOA fee

This makes the condo less attractive on the real estate market.

[snowybirdie]

8. Yes

but if you own a single family home, you might need a loan to replace a roof, etc. so its no different really. Been there, done that with both.

[Deminpenn]

9. But it's an honest and known expense

nt