City says all decks at condo complex appear to be unsafe -- The Providence Journal: "WARWICK –– A deck collapse at the Greenbrier Condominiums that badly injured several women on Saturday led to the city’s discovery that all of the decks at the 20-year-old complex appeared to be unsafe...Several friends were enjoying a dinner on a neighbor’s first-floor deck when it suddenly gave way. As the deck pulled away from the building, the second-story deck also crashed down on top of the women –– with only a large air-conditioning unit and porch furniture keeping them from being crushed under the falling wood, Pagliaro said. Five women, including the president and vice president of the condominium association, were crushed under the rubble and had to be freed by firefighters. All of them suffered bruises and broken bones."
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A 20 year old complex with unsafe structural conditions that had already been repaired-- inadequately, it seems. Nobody responsible for repairing the place except the owners. Builder protected by statute of limitations. Insurance probably doesn't cover it. This is the picture that a lot of associations will be facing over the next decade.
2 comments:
Of course these kinds of things are going to happen. Garden variety (not urban luxury) condos are marketed as "affordable" housing but as this and similar instances illustrate, they are more like disposable housing with short life spans.
In addition, they are attractive to demographic groups -- first and last time homebuyers -- that aren't interested in a long term investment or ensuring the solvency of the condo association. These demographic groups also have a low risk tolerance, which is a mismatch with the fiscal realities of condos where major repairs and large special assessments become commonplace once they reach 15-20 years of age.
For these and other reasons, I predict the demise of the garden variety condo development in the long term. The high end urban and mixed use hotel/condo that we've seen appear in the last several years will become the dominant form of condominium in the U.S.
This exposes the lie that is frequently used by real estate people that buying into a CID of any kind is an "investment." While any home can be a money sink, CIDs are the worst money sinks, and the worst risks. Fred is right that so-called "affordable" condos are a serious financial risk to those who are most likely to buy into such housing. Condominium housing, as troubled as the concept may be, is only for those who have the deep pockets to sustain the expensive association and pay the large special assessments necessary to maintain the buildings. Those who can afford such also have the choice of buying housing with no association at all involved and can enjoy the privilege of real ownership.
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