No surprises for condo owners

OLYMPIA — Condominiums are one of the last bastions of affordable housing. Many people choose them over single-family homes, hoping to be spared the extra costs of maintenance and major repairs. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Too often, condominium owners are surprised when they get hit with a huge bill from their condominium association to repair or replace a common element, such as the roof, parking lot, lobby, or recreational area. Currently, there is no statute that requires condominium associations to plan for and/or maintain levels of reserve funding for emergency repairs or even conduct reserve studies to determine when common elements will need to be replaced or repaired and what it will cost.

Senate Bill 6215, sponsored by Sen. Rodney Tom, Bellevue, takes the surprise out of the cost of owning a condominium by calling for condominium associations to do an annual reserve study to evaluate projected expenditures and current reserve account information, and to have an updated study every three years conducted by a reserve study professional.

This legislation also strongly encourages condominium associations to establish a reserve fund account to pay for major repairs or replacement of common elements as determined by the study findings, and let buyers know upfront what those costs will be.

“Condo buyers should be informed of the projected long-term costs of maintenance and repairs, and what their contribution will be before purchasing their home,” said Tom to the full Senate today. “That way there will be no huge financial surprises down the road.”

Because condominium associations have the authority to adopt and amend budgets and collect assessments from unit owners, buyers have a right to know what the association's current reserve is and what will be required based on a reserve study. If a study has not been conducted because it is cost prohibitive, then buyers must be made aware of the possible risks they face with future funding of undetermined maintenance and repairs.

SB 6215 passed the Senate today on a 45 to 2 vote. It now moves to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

Return to Sen. Tom's home page