AboutJonathan Dever, Esq Expertise Real Estate Law, Buying Selling, Investor, all types of acquiring property through "creative techniques" and fraud avoidance
Experience Super Lawyer by Law and Politics for the last three years, part of over 900 transactions in the last 6 years
Organizations Ohio Bar Assn
Greene County Bar Assn
Champaign County Bar Assn
Publications Personal web site and web articles
Education/Credentials JD - Capital University
MA - IU of Penn
BA - U of Cincinnati
Awards and Honors Super Lawyer 2005, 2006, 2007
Who is Who, Lawyers 2006, 2007
Question In December 2006 I bought a condo in Miami Beach. In November 2007 while I was living abroad I received cryptic emails from the management company that the condo board had an issue with my dryer vent and apartment door. The mgmt company never replied to my inquiries.
Upon arriving in Miami Beach for Christmas, I found in my mailbox returned certified mail notices and under my door some violation notices. I personally went to the mgmt company office for information.
It seems that Board is trying to press fines against me for my apartment door for being different and for the dryer vent having changed the exterior of the building.
The door is a plain white door up to building code installed by a previous owner of an unknown date. The other doors in our 16 unit building are also plain white but at least 20 yrs older and have a small molding which mine does not.
The vent also has been in place for at least a decade and is on the side of the building hidden by shrubs not facing the street.
I contacted two previous owners who have stated (one even in writing) that these characteristics were in place when they bought the apartment respectively.
Since this apartment went through THREE sales, three esptopple letters, and three lien searches, can I be held liable for poor recording keeping by either the management companies or prior boards regarding "approval" of such changes?
The new mgmt company has agreed to hold a "hearing" of unit owners to consider the infractions. I and my closing atty (who is not a litigator or specialist in condo law) feel that we and the other former buyers felt assured that there were no imperfections with the unit. Had there been, they would have been cured prior to any of these closings.
What is your opinion please? And how should I direct my response at the "hearing" beyond having the written statement of a previous owner and a copy of my own estopple?
Thank you.
Answer You need to find a local attorney that can look at the documents and the transfer paperwork. The Association documents and the bylaws combined with your state statutes and case law will govern your situation. Since I do not know what state you are in or have copies of the documents to read, there is little I can do in the form of offering an opinion.
