TAJ Construction Projects in 2012 Collage

I stopped by the clubhouse for the first time in a long time and noticed this great collage on the wall.

Building 19 Refurbishment, Thanks to Special Assessment Paid in Full

Pictures and information provided by Property Management, July 29th

These pictures show the effects that water intrusion can have on the sub-structures of our buildings. Quite simply, studs in the exterior walls were rotted underneath moldy and rotted plywood sheathing.  

Although the wall was in terrible shape, the building is in pretty good shape, financially.  It is a four unit building with only one occupant.  That occupant paid their share of the estimated $27,000/unit repair bill. The property manager was able to get the non-occupant owners of the other three units (the bank) to pay their share. That is $81,000 collected from the banks. Because the full amount was collected, the building refurbishment could commence.  

The property manager reports that no other building has fully paid their special assessment. That is to say, even though some unit owners in a building may have paid their portion of a special assessment, others have not, making a full-building refurbishment economically unrealistic.

Special Assessment Meeting for multiple buildings

Even though I am late in posting this picture, I'm putting it up here just for the record.

Special Assessment Meeting, July 8th 2009, 7:30pm

I assume that the affected buildings received more full notice, but for those others who might care, the time of the Special Assessment meeting tonight is to be 7:30pm, according to Beth G in the office.

PS. I attended this meeting very briefly. It was packed with unit owners, as you can imagine. I was told by one owner in the audience that the BOD had disclosed their intentions to, in the future, levy a Special Assessment for the refurbishment and/or roofing of their buildings. The details of when and how the Special Assessments would be passed were apparently not clearly defined or agreed upon.

Unit # 1901 For Sale -- Cheap

As seen on Zillow, Unit 1 in Building 19 is for sale after having been foreclosed.  I suspect that there may be some extra assessment costs associated with the property for unpaid maintenance fees, as well as future assessments for impending refurbishment work.

Does anyone remember two years ago when the Board and most residents thought that the home prices at TAJ would reach $300,000?  It sure seemed like a good idea for the BOD to buy the under-priced homes and try to "flip" them at that time.  Now it seems like it would be a financial disaster.  

But who will buy this property and others here in TAJ?  Does anyone want to share what they know about TAJ home sales?  Let us know.

Special Assessments for Buildings 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 19, 28, 29, 42

According to a recent flyer, buildings 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 19, 28, 29, and 42 will be receiving a Special Assessment on Wednesday, October 8th at 7:30pm. Those buildings have been selected for the next phase of refurbishments, and so it is likely (but unconfirmed) that the Special Assessment is for that purpose. I have no information about the amount of the Special Assessments currently under consideration.

I served for two years on the BOD directors, during which time there were several building refurbishment projects. Also, as a unit owner I faced my own Special Assessment for the refurbishment of my building. From those experiences I know that the cost of some past building refurbishment projects has totaled as high as approximately $35,000.00 per unit (some more, some less).

There was a time when we had a relationship with Floridian Community Bank that allowed us to offer payment terms through a construction loan. The details of providing that service makes the accounting hugely complicated (and apparently beyond the scope of our previous accounting firm's abilities). It is not known if that situation still exists, or what the terms of the Special Assessment are going to be.