exterior minor roof repair

Started by SteveC4 • 18 replies • 1284 views

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SteveC4 (Florida)
Posts: 154

Posted:

Hello;

I have a minor leak upstairs in my bathroom could be from the skylight not really sure...was wondering if the association would be responsible for this repair or not?

Im in Florida 28 units/townhomes in my declaration section 2.20 it states that the association shall provide exterior maintance upon each dwelling unit: painting repairs of exterior surfaces and exterior roof maintenance. The association of each sub-tract shall not be responsible for major structural roof repairs.

DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671

Posted:

Steve,
I have a similar situation in my rental villa community. The association IS responsible for all roof repairs. BUT the owner is responsible for windows and their repair and maintenance. I'll bet that yours is similar so check to see if windows are included in the association or owner responsibility.

One of our older lady's unit developed a similar leak, not knowing if it was a roof or skylight problem. Turned out that after inspection, it was the seal on the skylight and it then became her expense to manage. She called her lawyer, the association called their lawyer. Guess what??? Two different opinions on who should be responsible. The Board then contacted some roofing experts and it was finally established that indeed, the skylight was a window and the homeowner was responsible for it's repair. Her lawyer finally agreed after seeing some documentation from the roof experts.

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Without seeing all of your documents and taking the time to read them it's hard to say. The best thing to do is ask the BOD or Management Company. If they say no it's your responsibility then make them show you exactly where in the documents it says it's a homeowner expense. This is assuming the skylight is original to the townhome and not something added by you or a previous owner in which case it would probably be up to you to fix.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

SteveC4 (Florida)
Posts: 154

Posted:

DonnaS: thanks for the information! I will get a roofer to check it out...but what if it has nothing to do with the skylight...think it would be the association to repair?

KirkW1 (Texas)
Posts: 1,665

Posted:

At a glance, your association may be on the hook for repairs. I would recommend you call the property manager (or whoever your point of contact is) and bring the issue to their attention. It is entirely possible that you won't know for sure who is responsible until the problem is found. But the one given is that fixing it sooner is better then later.

I try and give people the benefit of the doubt. So call and ask and see if they work with you to resolve the problem without getting into the blame game. Hopefully they will investigate the issue and if it is your responsibility will have a clear explanation of why it is. That is the ideal associations should try and live up to.

SteveC4 (Florida)
Posts: 154

Posted:

GlenL; Thanks for the info! the sklights are orginal on the townhomes and most of the units have one! I will have a roofer to check out the roof.

SteveC4 (Florida)
Posts: 154

Posted:

KirkW1: Thanks for your info!

DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671

Posted:

Steve,
If it is a roof problem, then according to what you wrote earlier, then it is the association responsibility. But money says that it will be the seal on the skylight. Florida sun can eat those things up in a few years and we are seeing almost all of them start to leak now. But DO check your documents to see if the window responsibility is yours or the association. Good luck as this is one of those items that everyone has a different opinion on who owns what

SteveC4 (Florida)
Posts: 154

Posted:

DonnaS: just had the roof guy check it out and he stated its not the skylight it's the ridge vent...its was nail down and needs to be replaced and seal down not nail down.

DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671

Posted:

Steve----
ASSOCIATION RESPONSIBILITY---"my declaration section 2.20 it states that the association shall provide exterior maintance upon each dwelling unit: painting repairs of exterior surfaces and exterior roof maintenance. The association of each sub-tract shall not be responsible for major structural roof repairs."

SteveC4 (Florida)
Posts: 154

Posted:

So I called my Assoication Manager , explaining the minor leak and that I had a roof guy come and check it out and its the Ridge Vent that needs to be replace ,and she stated the the roof is not cover....told her she needs to read the by-laws carefully...she stated she will have her attny look into it. In the mean time she stated I need to get the minor work repaired then go a head and pay for it and at a meeting bring bill. We will see where this goes.

BradP (Kansas)
Posts: 2,640

Posted:

Steve:

I don't know if I would go ahead and fix it myself just yet without a clear understanding of who is responsible. Unless it is something that needs to be done today I would ask your Manager to get you a ruling on who is responsible ASAP and ask them to fix.

I guess I am being pessimistic here, but I can the following happening...a prolonged argument over whether you will get reimbursed, if issues arise in the future in that area the HOA will blame your contractor for work they did and try to hold you responsible.

SteveC4 (Florida)
Posts: 154

Posted:

Hey thanks for the information...but the manager stated there is not enough money in the association to cover this.....its only 250.00.

BradP (Kansas)
Posts: 2,640

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By SteveC4 on 06/27/2008 6:25 AM
Hey thanks for the information...but the manager stated there is not enough money in the association to cover this.....its only 250.00.

Red Flag for me...I guess you need to make a decision, if the leak is causing further property damage then I would work with the board and manager to find an approved contractor and pay to get the leak fixed and fight it later.

If it isn't causing further damage then I would fight it now and wait to repair. but your manager stating you don't have $250 to fix it is a little questionable to me.

SteveC4 (Florida)
Posts: 154

Posted:

Hello: had another roof guy come this morning and he stated that the ridge vents itself are fine they dont have to be replaced and that he can re-screw the vents down tightly and would cost only $75.00 for both...so I will call the manager letting her know about this service fee....and possible take it out of my monthly association fee which is $89.65 since they have no funds to pay for this now.

KirkW1 (Texas)
Posts: 1,665

Posted:

Steve,

You need to look into taking some action here. If the association can't afford $250 then it is in serious financial trouble. And that will come to haunt you. Don't get me wrong, obviously if they really can't afford it, then they can't.

If my association was in that kind of condition I would have to consider going to the self managed route. Not that I think it is easy, but when you are against a wall you do what is needed.

SteveC4 (Florida)
Posts: 154

Posted:

kirkw1: Thanks for the info...I did have another roof guy come and check it out he would charge me $75.00. I then fax to association manager and she then said to send bill to office and they will pay for it!

Told her the by-laws states minor roof mainenance is covered and they want my monthly payments they need to pay this.

MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 7,043

Posted:

Steven,

Glad to hear you finally got this resolved.

In response to your remark that you would deduct the cost of the repair from your assessment; I would strongly advise against that! IMO, that would be opening a whole new can of worms. If the assn decided they didn't want to pay the repair bill your assessments would be delinquent. We all know what that can lead to. Word of advice: never withhold assessment payments for any reason!

SteveC4 (Florida)
Posts: 154

Posted:

Thanks for the advise makes sense...but since the manager requested me to send bill , I will pay the whole monthly assessment that is due.

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