We've all heard of construction defects in condos. This usually comes with major hassles as homeowners go through repairs of leaks, windows, and other common issues with new construction. It's almost a rite of passage for a condo to be completely wrapped in plastic a few years after its launched. Apparently, condo owners are not only group at risk of these type of inconveniences.
The McGuire in Belltown, a nine year old apartment building is heading for demolition – yes, demolition – by end of the year and and is asking their existing tenants to vacate their units. This seems like a good idea if they're really going to demolish the place. Most have heard of condo sidings failing but an apartment building that needs to be teared down is quite a story. I wonder if they're going to try building another condo in place of it. Read more here.
" KOMO News has learned that the issue involves cables, concrete and corrosion that have become so costly to repair that it would be cheaper for the owner to tear down the building that to fix it."
Suppose the McGuire had gone condo during the boom. Obviously the condo owners and their association would be in quite a pickle at this point.
But what would that mess look like? And do most condo HOAs do much planning for such catastrophic failures?
Just curious.
Need a good insurance policy.
Fortunately all the occupants were renters, not homeowners. It is a lot easier to give up on a rental unit than a owned one.
“It’s almost a rite of passage for a condo to be completely wrapped in plastic a few years after its launched.”
Well, no it’s not a rite of passage, it’s a sign of poor quality design and workmanship. You might do your readers and your clients a service by not focusing so much on the go gahs and shiny things included in a building and instead focus on the quality of construction.
I’ve been in the development business for 20 years and never had a building I constructed get wrapped in plastic. Some of us know how to do quality construction, and do it consistently. But we often get ignored by realtor’s, too many of whom only respond to free lunches and bauble giveaways.