Starting to do a couple condo inspections and I only inspect on the inside, anyway on today’s inspection I went in the garage and I noticed a water stain on the ceiling and the window glazing weatherstripping was falling down on the windows.
So in the garage there is a small scuttle hole, No storage allow up in the attic as there are fire sprinkler pipes running up in the attic. So my question is, I am putting the roof leak in my report, letting the client know to consult the HOA on this issue. Do you put this in the summary, leave it just in the main section of the report, or make a summary for the HOA?
I don’t want to shove the issues all in the summary. My intention was to leave them in the main report section, that way all that is going in the summary is what I found inside. Wanted to consult you guys on what you do??
I do a lot of condos. I had the same issue with a attic. I don’t think I put it in the summary but I did take a pic and made a comment for the body of the report. With that said, If it warrants going into the summary I usually post it there.
Thats what I was thinking, I was leaning more towards just putting it into the correct section of the report. Leaving the summary for what I found on the inside.
So to what your saying is, two sections my main section is General Summary then create an additional summary called Common Areas, put all the HOA stuff in this.
No my main report has a section called “Common Areas” so I can note things like where the garbage room is,notate safety detectors or alarms,Management info,and garages with leaks in this case.
Roof
Exterior
Common Areas
etc:
Any Common Area issues that effect safety or have a financial effect that I deem important enough, go in the red comments with the other issues.
I’m using inspectit now because I’m working for someone and they provide the software for free. My contract is up pretty soon and I’ll prob go my seperate way, so it’s between hip and home gauge. Leaning toward hip tho
I use HIP.Very easy to change around.
I keep the C.A section in all templates and simply check or uncheck it in on report generation to include or exclude.
You can merge and duplicate to change them up easily.
I like this idea and was considering something similar, but what I have run into already is different areas which are considered covered by the HOA. Some have common roofs, some not. Some have common garages, some not. Some have common patio areas, some not. Etc…
How do you differentiate between who maintains what? Do you contact the HOA and find out what is covered by them and what by the home owner? That seems like the best idea but maybe a little “above and beyond”.
Common areas is places like hallways,basement areas ,public laundries,lobby and vestibule areas.
Roof always stays under roof and balcony stays in exterior along with wall covering,windows ,etc.
Any doubts or you are not sure ask the Agent…yeah yeah. however I guess just from experience I know.
Safety detectors is yet another example of a category always under common areas .
When it comes to inspecting exterior items make sure to add a disclaimer it is at your discretion and that these items are usually paid for and maintained by the HOA.
I have inspected three different town homes (in addition to houses) recently, and each one was a different set up. And even though I researched each properly the night before, I was still surprised what was and wasn’t part of the HOA.
One was more or less what I expected a town home to be, a house with two common walls, common roof, common foundation.
One was legally a town home, it even had a unit number, but it was constructed like a single family home. No common areas what so ever. It was only zoned a town home due to the small lot size.
The third was essentially an apartment with it’s own exterior entrance. All common walls, common roof, the water meter AND the hot water heater were part of the part of the HOA, but it had it’s own garage (complete with leaking waste pipe).
To paraphrase Tom Hanks’s movie character, a town home is like a box of chocolates, you never know what it you are going to get until you inspect it.
And I make sure to tell the client to review their CC&Rs.
however I guess just from experience I know.