Florida Condo Collapse

[ruffdog]

This was interesting....at 5:30 into the video, a past maintenance manager discussed the never ending saltwater issue in the lower level.

 

[mapper]

Have friends that live on the Wa. coast, any exposed steel turns to rust in a very short time. A reinforced concrete structure where the concrete is cracking and water is leaking through on the coast with salt air would make me really nervous.

 

[/pine]

Let's hope they don't do like NYC did after 911 and think that out of sight is out of mind and they ended up sending a bunch of remains (in some cases the only remains) to a landfill...
Not to mention all the people digging in the the rubble and refusing to wear face masks (sound familiar?) who later kept clamoring for health compensation...

IMO nothing that has not been hand inspected should leave the site until all have been identified...

 

[ddbackhoe]

From what I've heard on the news, the rescue crews are getting under the debris from the parking garage that is still open underneath everything. To me, that means it wasn't a sink hole. I also wonder how the building collapsed above the underground parking garage, but the parking garage is still supporting the weight of the collapsed building

This is likely a reason why building reinforcement was not done, or the time schedule stalled. Some rough math from news reports leads me to believe it would take about a $45,000 per unit one-time special assessment for the work.

I own a property in a 400+ unit HOA. Years ago we had a one-time special assessment of $7,200. Nobody likes special assessments in *any* amount.

Some of the owners revolted, refused to pay their HOA dues, lawsuits were filed, etc. It became extremely bitter with various warring factions of owners. Even fistfights. Eventually, about 20 owners lost their properties in foreclosure due to refusing to pay HOA dues. Over $1M in legal fees were accumulated, making this property the #1 in the State for the highest HOA legal bills. All over a crappy one-time special assessment of $7k. (The $7k expenditure was well justified.)

Now consider a $45k special assessment. It probably came as a surprise to the owners. A lot of people don't have that kind of money, and people don't like surprises.

So while you own the unit, who owns the actual, building(s)?

 

[Sigarms]

What bomb test? Maybe one of the tenants had a stash of Tannerite that accidently got set off....

There is this thing called Google (or any basic internet search). You may find it helpful...

Yeah, one of the tennants having a stash of tannerite in a Miami high rise makes as much sense as you paying cash for everything...

 

[plowhog]

So while you own the unit, who owns the actual, building(s)?

It can vary. But a common scenario is the developer builds and owns it, then ownership passes to the homeowners once a certain percentage of units are sold. The "common" areas like walkways, pools, landscaping are "common interest" to all the owners, including responsibility for maintenance and upkeep.

New owners buying into an HOA are smart to review the books to ensure proper money has been set aside for on-going maintenance, like roofs, paint, pool surfacing, etc. (A lot of buyers have limited understanding of this.) And a 40-year old multi-story building with structural problems was probably not an on-going repair reasonably forseeable for many owners-- certainly more difficult *before* the report was submitted.

Anyone who purchased a unit after the inspector submitted his report should have received a disclosure and a copy of that report. (But a lot of people in real estate deals don't read the documents, either.) I'd expect lawsuits by some, claiming they were never properly notified....

 

[Sigarms]

We all know that those who join a HOA are God's greatest gifts with intelligence. The shame of it all to rely upon your brothers and sisters to look after you since you pay money to have them do so being in a HOA...

I join a HOA, big brother is watching after me even if I'm not looking at who is supposed to take care of me.

News flash... join a HOA, you're a dumb SOB in my book no matter how you cut it...

 

[5030]

There is this thing called Google (or any basic internet search). You may find it helpful...

Yeah, one of the tennants having a stash of tannerite in a Miami high rise makes as much sense as you paying cash for everything...

I don't do Goggle smart azz. Your spelling is as usual, poor. Hope you can shoot better than you can spell.

 

[Fixastuff]

I don't do Goggle smart azz. Your spelling is as usual, poor. Hope you can shoot better than you can spell.

You www.askjeeves.com type of guy?

 

[rademamj1]

We all know that those who join a HOA are God's greatest gifts with intelligence. The shame of it all to rely upon your brothers and sisters to look after you since you pay money to have them do so being in a HOA...

I join a HOA, big brother is watching after me even if I'm not looking at who is supposed to take care of me.

News flash... join a HOA, you're a dumb SOB in my book no matter how you cut it...

Unfortunately, condo ownership rules require all owners, to be a member of the Condo HOA and make the required annual payments for upkeep and maintenance, which also includes electrical power for elevators and front lobby security. A well managed HOA means smooth and cost effective operations of the building for all involved.

The collapse of this building will be studied and evaluated for many years.