Owners asked to pay $175,000 each toward Miami condo 40-year recertification

Owners are being asked to pay $175,000 each towards their 40-year recertification and this is a story we have been hearing more and more across South Florida.

[melodeev]

The very fact that the Property Management's engineer wanted to give the contract to their sister company should be more than enough info to tell you what's going on here.

[daft]

Cmon it’s Miami, scam city. Of course there’s shady contractors 😂

[Zzrdemon]

It does not need to be brought up to current code, only the code when it was built

[Absaalookemensch]

It sounds like the HOA misappropriated dues for their own personal use.

[thesailjunkie]

I am the president of our Board of Trustees for our townhouse community. We are acutely aware of our finances and ensure all residents have the information at will. We have an extremely healthy reserve fund and in our thirty years of existence we have NEVER had a special assessment. The key? Making repairs when needed, continually monitoring conditions, planning ahead for aged items such as roof repairs/replacements, paving, etc. And most of all having an exceptional property manager and BoT involvement.

I hear all of these horror stories about HoAs and property managers and the common denominator is a lack of resident oversight. People in the HoA need to be involved. It's your community, it's your money, it's YOUR future. This is the result of sitting back and saying that you pay your monthly fees and you shouldn't have to concern yourself. That is the exact attitude that allows your HoA and/or property manager to run amok.

[palace]

This happened in Seattle. Each condo owner had to pay $80, 000 each and they moved forward with the repairs.

[andrerone]

Sounds very shady to me I hope that all the residents who own those homes will unite together to fight this and win.

[lunasol]

If that’s how many owners showed up at this meeting they are in trouble . This happened to my building years ago . Because most of the owners were investors from out of town and the rest renters we were high jacked by An untrustworthy HOA President that was not voted in and he basically bankrupted our building . He also used our offices for free and became the Property manager . I hope these people rally together to stop this or they will lose big .

[ryanbarker]

i wish we lived in a world where people committing fraud went to jail.

[RJRussoVids]

That management company needs to be investigated. Sounds like a blatant money grab.

[alexsteven.m]

From my analysis, people overpaid for homes even while loan rates were low, I believe there will be a housing catastrophe because these people are in debt. If housing costs continue to drop and, for whatever reason, they can no longer afford the property and it goes into foreclosure, they have no equity since, even if they try to sell, they will not make any money. I believe that many individuals will experience this, especially given the impending mass layoffs and rapidly rising living expenses.

[blackrain]

Many homeowner associations are mismanaging funds. We had reserves of almost $1 million but the association, on behalf of all of the homeowners, took out a $5 million loan, and raised our monthly association dues. There needs to be regulations prohibiting such.

[bigmamassoul]

I was considering a condo, thanks for putting it out of my mind

[joshstoffel]

This is why I will never live in any home that has an HOA. I will have 100% control of my residence. I pay the bills can decide what goes/stays and also what needs to be fixed.

[nonawolf]

I had a condo for 16 years. We hired & fired 4 different HOA management companies in that period. Same story every time... HOA identifies a problem, quotes an exorbitant price, and wants to give the contract to a subsidiary. Every. Single. Time.

[apumpkinsmom]

Repairs should be done at the time they are first needed, and paid for by the monthly HOA dues that are already being paid. This definitely needs to be investigated.

[rockpadstudios]

I talked to a guy that owned a nice condo, elevator repairs $13k each. Front brick repairs $10k each, garage repairs $8k each all in a 3 year period. Be really careful with condo's and townhouses.

[AK-ISTHEWAY]

This is why I live in an RV out in the woods. Nobody bothers me or asks for money.

[nickbeaucage]

As someone with more than 20 years experience doing structural engineering and currently living in Florida I think that’s a total joke! Glad I have my little house

[femmebrulee]

You can build a whole new building for $46 million. WTH.