A client recently came to me with an issue about repairs and improvements being made to a Florida condominium that he had just purchased. The Condominium was built in the 1960s and the entire property was now going through its 40-year inspection, as required by Broward County. As it turns out, the balconies for the Condominium were in bad shape and had to be replaced at a great expense to the residents. Because the Condominium did not have enough money in reserves to pay for the repairs, a special assessment was levied against each unit. Of course, that came as a surprise to my client, given that he had only just bought the unit and no one ever made him aware of the 40-year inspection issue.

To make matters worse, when the repairs were being made, all of the unit’s windows and sliding glass doors were removed. The frames for those items were no longer usable, so my client had to spend additional money to replace all of the windows and sliding glass doors. This was, of course, on top of the special assessment, not to mention the fact that my client was unable to use his condominium unit for months while the repairs were being made. So beware when buying an older condominium unit in Florida. Be sure to ask about the Condominium reserves, if the 40-year inspection has happened and what, if any, repairs will have to be made to the property and the cost for doing so.