When a Project Manager is Needed

I have never seen a Condo Declaration that required a project manager for any maintenance or repair. But if I were to look, I would look at the maintenance provisions, the authority of the board provisions and the damage and destruction provision. Th… Read More
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Washington State Supreme Court Resurrects Rental Restrictions for Many Condo Associations

On April 28, 2016, the Washington State Supreme Court issued an order in a case called Bilanko v. Barclay Court which, in effect, reverses its decision in Filmore v. Centre Pointe from 2015 – but only for associations that adopted their rental… Read More
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Are Co-ops Subject to Landlord Tenant Law?

Our firm takes the position that the corporations that own cooperative housing developments are subject to Landlord Tenant Law.[1] As a result, we believe that individuals managing cooperative housing developments should take the time to become famil… Read More
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What Laws Govern Cooperative Housing Developments?

There are multiple entities that can form a cooperative housing development, and thus the laws governing a particular cooperative housing development depend on the cooperative’s specific structure. Under Washington law, a corporation or association… Read More
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Allocating Risk When Hiring Professionals

We frequently review contracts between associations and licensed professionals, like Architects and Engineers. One common provision that many of these professionals are inserting to their contracts is to limit any liability they have for performing t… Read More
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Categories: Board Conduct, Contracts

Reserves for Mixed Use Building & Limited Common Elements

Often condo declarations state that some building components are to be paid for exclusively by one group of owners. This may include all residential owners, or all owners within a single building. This means that reserve contributions for those compo… Read More
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Reserve Contributions

What is a “fully funded reserve contribution”? Most condo boards, managers, and reserve study professionals do not understand that the “fully funded balance” is not directly related to the “contribution rate”, and… Read More
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Categories: Condominium Laws

Building Envelope Inspections Gone Bad

In the past month I have been handed 5 different “engineering inspection reports” by construction consultants who have found problems or defects with construction on condominium buildings. Every one has failed to evaluate the building in… Read More
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Categories: Condominium Laws

Your Condo Declaration is Not a Contract Between You and the Developer

Many buyers of condominiums do not understand that the Condo Association and the Developer are not the same (even though they seem to be early on in the life of the Condo Association). The purchase and sale agreement that the buyer and seller have is… Read More
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Categories: Governing Documents

Update on Carbon Monoxide Sensors

Since my posting last October regarding Carbon Monoxide sensors, the code revisor’s offices and the state have been busy making changes. There is a lot of confusion regarding the imposition of the new requirement, and different players putting… Read More
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Categories: Condominium Laws