For anyone looking to purchase a home right now or in the past few years, you may have given up. As a result, you might have looked into buying a northern California condominium, and you could have actually purchased one too. And, one of the ways condo sales people sell new and used condos is that you do not take on the maintenance and upkeep cost alone. It may come as a shock with shared upkeep, but Sacramento, California, condos have defects too, and they are common.
What is a defect?
A condo defect is like any other construction defect that an owner encounters with the construction of a building. Essentially, it is any issue where the building fails to meet local or state building code or industry standards, and this failure has resulted in product failures. The result is that the area will either need to be restored or demolished and restored, which can have substantial costs associated with it.
Examples
For condos built on hillsides, large concrete columns are required to support the building. However, if they are undersized and do not conform to the engineer’s specifications and drawings, they will need to be replaced. This can cost several million dollars, but if it is not done, eventually, the building will collapse.
The foundation of the Champlain Towers project in Surfside, Florida, collapsed, killing 98. This occurred because of a construction defect in the concrete foundation and podium deck that supported the tower, among many other alleged issues.
Most common types of construction defects
The most common types of condo construction defects are construction defects. These occur in the foundation of the building itself and the deck, driveway, parking garage, sidewalks, curbs and other drainage infrastructure. This is in addition to the reinforced concrete walls on the building too.
Do not expect help from the condo board either
And, before you think that the Sacramento, California, condo board will be on your side when you notice these construction defects, they may not necessarily be on your side. The cost of doing an adequate inspection can sometimes exceed available funds and getting approval from the board can be difficult. Sometimes, board members take the “kick the can down the road approach” and hope they can sell before it spirals out of control. This is why you may need to force the issue and initiate northern California real estate litigation.