On March 12, 2010,
in Buyers,
by Aaron Moore
Yesterday I had the opportunity to review the CC&R’s for a client who is purchasing a condo in Eastlake.
The first thing I look at is the condominium resale certificate. This provides you with a bunch of different items including if there is a first right of refusal, current monthly assessment or HOA dues, any special assessment (big repairs to the condo building), delinquent assessments(for all units), delinquent obligations(unpaid bills for the building), fees and fines(lists what you could be fined for), anticipated repairs or replacements (anything that the reserve fund has been allocated for), judgments or lawsuits(what and why), pending lawsuits (how much and why), if there have been any alterations or improvements to the unit, occupancy (number of primary, second homes, rentals, and commercial), code violations (health or building), leases (should be fee simple) , completion of construction (is there any additional phasing planned), conversion (from new construction or apartment), financing approval (FNMA, FHLMC, VA, or FHA) non-conforming use (should not be non-conforming).
So after I go through all of these items I want to make sure that there is nothing funky to hinder the resale of the unit for my buyer. Lucky for me all of the items are in good working order. I can definitely say that I have seen much worse including my own HOA.
Next on the list to review are the CC&R’s and this lists the governing documents that dictate how the homeowners association operates and what rules the owners, and their tenants and guests must obey. These documents and rules are legally enforceable by the homeowners association, so you must make sure there is nothing too wild to make your home ownership experience into a big headache. For example can you turn you condo into a rental? Most places with have a set number in the bylaws. After getting through the CC&R’s there was not anything out of the ordinary.
Moving on to the financials of the HOA. You will get to see all the reserves and how they spend your hard earned money. How the budget is set and the profit and loss for the last couple of years. If the building is in the red and losing money each year you will want to get out the deal immediately. Good for my client the building is run well and is in the black.
Finally I took a look at the minutes for the HOA meeting for the last couple of years. Here you get to see what people are complaining about and how the decisions were made to make improvements. It is good to see that everybody seems to be getting along because who wants to move into a place where everybody hates each other. You will also want to check to see if there have been any break ins or thefts to make sure the building is being secure.
On March 3, 2010,
in Home improvements,
by Aaron Moore
Everyday I would walk into my place and I would stare at the ugly popcorn ceiling. Since the Internet is such a powerful tool I did a little research and was able to figure out that it was a pretty straightforward process to remove. The key element is the prep work so you don’t let the mess get out of hand. Lesson learned on day 1 was that make sure the walls and floor was completely covered in plastic. I used painters plastic since I will use it again to paint once the work is done. Another lesson learned on day 1 was to keep the ceiling moist so that would help keep the dust to a minimum and made the removal process quite a bit easier.
Day 1 Photo of removal process
On Day 2 I was a little more prepared for the mess and did about twice the work in half the time because I let most of the prep work I did the day before up. So the only prep work was covering the floor which if you tape to the plastic to the floor made the clean up process clean and simple so I could spend more of the time getting this damn popcorn off.
Day 2 photo
Day 3 I was able to finish the majority of the popcorn removal process. Some key lessons I learned along the way wad having the proper equipment including respirator, eye protection, long sleeves, and tons of plastic to cover everything really helped keep things in order so I wasn’t sitting in a pile of popcorn with my hands in the sky screaming. If this is something you want to tackle it is doable just do your research and get your ceiling tested for asbestos before you start.
Day 3 photos
Day 3 after cleanup
