Maryland Condo Law Blog
An online resource for condominium and homeowner associations and their members, and for developers, builders, contractors, architects, engineers and others in the building industry.
MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONSIDERING LIMITED FORECLOSURE RELIEF FOR CONDOMINIUMS AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS
Legislation has been proposed in the current session of the Maryland General Assembly that would provide some relief to condominiums and homeowners associations in the event of a foreclosure. House Bill 842, known as the Residential Association Sustainability Act of 2010, provides that a specified portion of a lien on a condominium unit or lot in a homeowners association, would, in certain circumstances, have a priority over any future first mortgage or deed of trust recorded after October 1, 2010. This is intended to assist condominiums and homeowners associations who have been left with unpaid assessments, despite having obtained a lien on the property, where the proceeds of a foreclosure sale are exhausted by the outstanding mortgage debt. read more…
Foreclosures Impact Condo Fee Collections
The effects of the recession on real estate values, and the resulting wave of foreclosures throughout the country, has had a direct and immediate impact on the ability of many condominium councils to collect the assessments necessary to properly operate and maintain their communities. Unit owners who are unable to keep up with their mortgage payments often become delinquent in their fee assessment payments as well. When this happens, the entire association is negatively impacted, because a condominium’s financial viability is entirely dependent upon timely payment of assessments by all unit owners.
Because condominiums cannot operate without full participation of all unit owners in paying their share of the common expenses, the Maryland Condominium Act establishes a procedure in which a council of unit can obtain a lien on a delinquent owner’s unit that is enforceable by foreclosure. However, the current real estate climate has left many associations empty handed in spite of the fact that unpaid condominium fees remain due and are subject to a lien. This happens when the sale of a unit fails to produce sufficient proceeds to satisfy all existing obligations. This can occur when the condominium forecloses on its lien, or when the unit is subject to foreclosure by a mortgage lender. In either case, the resulting sale often produces less than the amount due under the mortgage. This deficiency means that there is nothing left from the sale to satisfy other amounts due on the unit, including unpaid fees and assessments. read more…
The Nuances and Subtleties of the Three-Year Common Element Warranty
A would be condominium buyer has inquired about having heard that it is possible to buy a condominium unit without having the benefit of the three-year common element warranty, because it has already expired at the time of purchase. What that purchaser heard is absolutely correct. Maryland’s three-year statutory warranty on certain components of the common elements can, indeed, expire before all units in the community are sold, leaving subsequent purchasers without the protection and assurance afforded by the statutory warranty specific to the common elements. This is of particular relevance in slow selling communities, especially as a result of the economic downturn, and in large communities that are built in phases over a long period of time. read more…
Green Buildings
During 2005, in Maryland’s venerable Eastern Shore seaport town of Crisfield, an ambitious redevelopment project commenced at the City Dock. The Captain’s Galley is a luxury condominium complex consisting of a six-story building with 23 residential units, a heated pool, fitness center, boat slips, and a rooftop restaurant. One notable component of the project specifications called for the construction to result in a “Green Building” that would obtain a “Silver Certification” in accordance with the U. S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, popularly known as LEED standards. In doing so, the developer intended to qualify for more than $600,000 in tax credits.
Captain’s Galley became a memorable project, not only because it was one of the first in Maryland to incorporate the LEED rating into the contract documents, but because it became one of first anywhere to result in litigation arising, in part, from the general contractor’s alleged failure to comply with the environmental design standards. In the suit filed in the Circuit Court for Somerset County, the developer, along with other claims, sought damages for the loss of the tax credits as a consequence of the alleged failure of the building to meet the contractually specified LEED standards. read more…
Those So-Called “10-Year” Warranty Policies Are Not Always What They Seem
If you have bought a new home in Maryland during the last several years, including a new condominium, your purchase likely included what are commonly referred to as “ten-year warranty” policies.” But a careful reading of the typical provisions of many of these policies reveals that the suggested coverage benefits are nearly non-existent. In fact, the policies often offer little, if anything, beyond the warranty obligations that the law imposes on new home sellers regardless of whether a warranty policy is offered. The initial coverage under these policies is usually not provided by the warranty company, but is the builder’s obligation alone; an obligation that the builder would have in any event. Only in year three does the policy coverage usually commence, and then only for “structural defects,” and only if one of numerous exclusions does not apply. Indeed, these policies do not provide any meaningful reason for homebuyers to feel assured that building defects in their new home will be corrected for a period of ten years. read more…
The Council’s Master Insurance Policy Must Insure Both the Common Elements and the Units
The law governing condominium insurance requirements, which changed in 2008 as a result of a court decision, has changed again as result of amendments to the Maryland Condominium Act effective June 1, 2009. During the last legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly took action on the issue in direct response to a 2008 Court of Appeals decision concerning the allocation of responsibilities for property damage between a condominium council and the individual unit owners. The new law establishes that the condominium master insurance policy must cover all of the building elements, including the units, except for improvements installed in the unit by the owners after construction. However, where the damage originates in a unit, that unit owner is responsible for any insurance deductible under the council’s policy, up to a maximum of $5,000. read more…
Preserving Your Asset
An important consideration of nearly all purchasers of residential condominium units is the fact that a condominium provides the advantages of home ownership without the time-consuming and laborious tasks that are an expected part of maintaining a house and property. After all, exterior maintenance is taken care of by the association. But that does not mean that maintenance and repair issues are something with which condominium owners need not be concerned. On the contrary, there are several reasons why building issues should be matters of extreme urgency in a condominium setting.
It is important to first understand the condominium form of ownership. The purchaser buys a unit that is owned in the same way that an individual home would be owned, but also receives an ownership interest, in common with all other owners, in the common elements of the complex. Each owner’s property, therefore, includes all of the common elements in addition to their unit. This means that maintenance and repair issues in the common elements effect the value, maintainability, and useful life of every owner’s property. read more…
The Trouble With Mold
When mold was discovered in part of the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, it ultimately resulted in the closing for more than a year of an entire 453-room 25-story tower. It is reported that Hilton spent some $20 Million on consulting and investigation costs, and an additional $35 Million in the remediation. This is one notable example among many of how the presence and growth of mold in homes and commercial buildings has developed into a serious issue that has potentially far reaching consequences for residential and commercial property owners and managers, as well as for the construction and insurance industries.
Several states have established task forces to study mold and its effect on buildings and indoor air quality. However, the intelligent dialogue required for the development of proper standards for mold exposure and remediation has, in large part, been drowned out by extreme voices. On the one hand are those who summarily dismiss the issue as the fabricated product of a conspiracy between tort lawyers and a developing cottage industry of mold remediation consultants. On the other are those readily prepared to broadly attribute a wide variety of medical conditions to the unhealthy environment of “sick buildings.” read more…
Maryland Condominium Owners Need to be Mindful of Common Element Warranty Requirements
If you have decided that the condominium lifestyle is for you, and have purchased a sparkling new unit in a recently constructed complex, you probably take comfort in the fact that Maryland law provides for a three-year warranty on major components of the common elements. However, you may not be aware that when you purchased your unit, the three-year warranty was probably already running, and, in fact, may even have expired. That is because the common element warranty, does not begin to run when you settle on your unit, but, instead, commences when the first unit sold in the complex settles. As a result, where the size of the condominium or the slowness of the market results in the project taking a period of years before all units are sold, it is possible that many purchasers may take title when the three year common element warranty has nearly, if not already, expired.
Condominium Building Maintenance Issues
An important consideration of nearly all purchasers of residential condominium units is the fact that a condominium provides the advantages of home ownership without the time-consuming and laborious tasks that are an expected part of maintaining a house and property. After all, exterior maintenance is taken care of by the association. But that does not mean that maintenance and repair issues are something with which condominium owners need not be concerned. On the contrary, there are several reasons why building issues should be matters of extreme urgency in a condominium setting.
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The Maryland Condo Law Blog is written by Raymond Daniel Burke. One of the region's top construction and real estate development lawyers, Ray has more than 35 years of experience in matters relating to condominium and other multi-use development matters.