As I said earlier, the only time I had this problem the roofer, who made a skazillion bucks putting the roof on was more than happy to come out and fix the problem as part of the roof warranty.

It depends on what the fix is. How do you know it is $2,500? What would the fix be for $2,500? I’m 99% sure whoever built it can get it fixed for less than that. Birds are hard to keep away though.

I’m glad you feel better. I’m pretty sure the laws for condos under X units are different than for those over X units…and I’m not sure what X is here. I just sold a townhome in an 8-plex, but they are all single family homes and not condos, as most Seattle townhomes are.

I once sold a condo in a 4-plex near Licton Springs park, but made it clear to the buyer that it was like four people jointly owning a single family home, and there was no great HOA fairy with a magic wand.

The listing agent has nothing to do with your ownerhisp issue, though I would expect he/she would give you the contact info you need for the HOA. If you had a buyer’s agent when you purchased, that agent might be able to help you get the contact info you need. But neither agent is involved in owners and the HOA after you purchase.

When you purchased you received documents, a big stack of them if it is a condo vs. a PUD. The info you need should be in there. The escrow who closed your transaction may be able to help you get the HOA contact info as well.

Remember, bird problems are not covered. Roof problems are. That’s a huge distinction. Who owns your roof? That is who is obligated to pay for a “roof repair”. Calling it a bird problem vs. a roof or eaves problem, will stall action. No one is in charge of birds except God

Not sure of the condo master insurance policy would come into play. You may want to check on that insurance and make sure you have a good supplemental policy of your own with a lower deductible than that of the complex policy.

You likely have to contact an attorney on that one. With only 6 units, your perception that the HOA covers things is not likely accurate. In my experience, 6 owners cannot feed enough money into the HOA to cover much, and problems are handled via special assessment.

Given 4 are still vacant, there may be legal obligations of the developer while he still IS the association, before he turns it over to the owners. So asking an attorney who specializes in condominium laws is what I would recommend. The agent is not the person to ask and generally has nothing to do with the HOA issues. See if you can find out who the attorney was who prepared the condo documents for the developer. Their name should be somewhere in your records or available in the County records.

Even large complexes generally do not budget for bird issues. When I managed large complexes in the past…it was not a reserve or budget item. I do recall one bird issue that was determined to be caused by the roof installation, and the roofer came and did the repair. One of the owners wanted the bird poop cleaned out of her attic, but that was not covered.

In most cases if a buyer purchases in a very small complex, they should not be led to believe that the HOA is someone other then themselves and their few neighbors. Since you have never paid any dues, I would think at minimum you would be responsible for 1/6th of the cost to fix the problem. Unless, the reason the birds found a way to get in, was a construction defect.

All documents are different, so I don’t know when your dues were supposed to begin. But it is standard that small complexes run somewhat like a condo and somewhat like a single family home, given the small number of people paying in to the HOA.

I know one HOA where the developer still owns and rents a portion of the units 40 years or more after they were built. I don’t think there is one standard for all associations. The original documents are different from complex to complex.

It doesn’t seem fair for the homeowners to not have to pay dues just because the market got soft and the developer couldn’t sell all of the units. On the other hand, for the developer to stop trying to sell them could be a problem for owners who may want to sell while there are too many rental units in the building.

I suggest you have a meeting of all of the owners. Usually there is someone who lives there who can read the documents or who has brought them to an attorney to answer the question you raise. It wouldn’t make sense for all 36 owners to separately get a legal opinion. If no one has asked an attorney yet, it shouldn’t cost much if all or most of the 36 owners chipped in to get an attorney to check if the developer is acting within his rights under the original document.

In the HOA I mentioned in the first paragraph, the developer clearly reserved the right to own and rent some of the units after the HOA was turned over. He did have to pay condo dues on those units. I doubt the developer can hold the 20 units and rent them without paying his share of the condo dues while he does that. Though he may have a reduced rate or a limitation on the amount his does can be increased. So check your documents carefully.

Since you have named the actual complex, I am very limited in what I can and can’t say on a blog. In most condo complexes, if not all, windows and hot water tanks are owner responsibilities from day 1 if they are new condos vs conversions. However it is my feeling that there should be a law requiring that the hot water tanks be addressed, even if it is not paid for by them, but a mandatory extra charge for every condo.

What you want to look for is a Reserve Study. That study should have a recommendations for the amount to be put in reserves before the complex is turned over to the HOA (owners). You want to match that against what the developer has committed to putting in, though they may not do it until the end. The Reserve Study rarely recommends 100% funding, but often makes 3 or more recommendations at different levels: “x to be 60% funded, x to be 70% funded, x to be 80% funded”. The remaining amount being built into the dues before the life expectancy of any major component is over.

If you do proceed, make sure you have insurance coverage in case someone else’s tank blows and water intrudes on your space. Not the HOA insurance with a huge deductible, but your own supplemental policy for your things plus a smaller deductible to bridge the gap. Also get a home warranty, the type only available whe you are buying and selling and renew it as long as they let you. That will help with electrical and plumbing issues, heater if it goes, and a few other things.

The issue on resale will be what if there are 10 for sale when you try to sell and 4 have 3 spots, 6 have 2 spots and yours is the only one for sale with only 1 spot? In my experience, regardless of what was paid for a spot at time of purchase, they end up at the same asking price and the units with the 2 and 3 spots keep selling and the one with 1 spot doesn’t.

Say 10 people want to move and there are only 5 buyers. By the time the 9 with more spots sell, there are more coming on market with more spots and the unit with 1 spot keeps getting “left behind”. You need a ratio of total units, how many have 3 spots, how many have 2 spots and how many have 1 including all units and not just those available or just those sold to date.

I agree that having only 1 spot that is not close to the unit is a considerable issue, and will be even more considerable on resale.