FIRST place to start is the purchase contract, and the voluminous accompanying documents known as “Codes, Covenants, and Restrictions.” This is what everybody agreed to at time of purchase, whether you understood it or not.
The CCR will explain, in exhausting, nauseating detail, what is “inside” and what is “outside.” Arguments which begin “I thought…” or “I figured…” or “Somebody told me…” have no standing whatsoever. If your damage is extensive and you really believe you are in the grey area of “theirs” and “mine,” my heartfelt recommendation is to contact an attorney.
Not just any attorney. You don’t want the neighbor’s cousin, or your poker buddy, or a generic attorney with an office in a shopping mall. You need a REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY who specializes in condos. Expensive? Probably. But that specialist knows what every comma and paragraph mean to your case.
You might be told to forget it. Don’t try to fight it or shop around for another lawyer. Suck it up, make the repairs, and sell. Otherwise, you will drag it out, spend more money than you can pay back, and you can end up ruined with no home.
Condos can be the ideal home for some. But they are a legal minefield.
~VOW
We have exterior planters that are gradually being upgraded (the original waterproofing installation was crap). We’ve had a lot of leakage and water damage, including to interiors of units. Our association pays for it all. I think your individual possessions, if damaged, need to be paid for your homeowner’s insurance, though.
Of course, depending on the structure, someone else’s problem might damage your unit: a friend of mine had to vacate her place for a bit due to a water leak upstairs from her (caused by a contractor drilling into a sprinkler line, IIRC).
Ok, I feel your pain. I’ve been there. I’m still there.
We (my wife and I) had an invisible leak originating inside the kitchen island (which includes our sink, so there’s plumbing inside). Water got under the floors, warped the wood. This wasn’t long after we moved in. And we’re the original owners – new construction building, we were one of the first buyers.
We’re still arguing about who is/was responsible.
And, just 'cause I feel like bitching, the build quality of everything in our apartment, in this supposed “luxury” building in an expensive neighborhood, is absolute shit.
Your father had the Codes, Covenants, and Restrictions then. Go to the County Hall of Records (or wherever the records are maintained) TODAY and get a copy of your father’s deed, with ALL pages. Then sit down and read it!
Owning a condo is “no fooling” stuff. You have expectations you must fulfill as part of your ownership.
~VOW
Despite the snazzy commercials from personal injury lawyers who say “no fee unless you WIN,” most lawsuits mean you hire the lawyer with big bucks up front before a courtroom is even mentioned. And if you lose, you are out every single dime you have paid to the lawyer, PLUS you still have to pay for the repairs.
Pay to fix the damage, then sell. Seriously. That is the least amount of heartache.
Unfortunately, shit happens. This is one of those times.
~VOW