New state law requires condo associations to report money set aside for long-term maintenance -Seattle Times

Attention, condominium shoppers: Washington soon will become one of a half-dozen states requiring condo associations to provide a financial-wellness check that can predict whether the place is a potential money pit.

The check, called a reserve study, estimates how much money an association must set aside to pay for expensive long-term maintenance, such as repaving a parking lot, replacing a roof or rebuilding rotting decks…

The reserve study must be done by a professional and can be waived only if it would “impose an unreasonable hardship,” something the law does not define. Still, the associations group, condo attorneys and property managers call the change necessary, if somewhat overdue, for a growing segment of the housing market. A quarter of King County home sales are condos, and many buyers are homeowner novices.

“It will act as consumer protection for a lot of potential buyers and give them a better perspective of the true costs of ownership in a condominium association,” says Marshall Johnson, president of The CWD Group, which manages about 90 condo associations in Seattle and Bellevue.

Sundberg, of Mercer Island, says that’s been sorely lacking.

“We’re seeing a substantial increase in litigation from unhappy purchasers who bought a condo then found out there’s a huge special assessment being levied,” he says. These irate buyers “go after the board, the manager, the real estate agents, the seller,” he says… 

For the fully story read New state law requires condo associations to report money set aside for long-term maintenance -Seattle Times

Mike Rozell ~ Realtor / Real Estate Agent ~ www.MyLifestyleRealtor.com