Whole Building Refurbishment Is Best, But Only Piecemeal Is Possible

Pictures and information provided by the property manager

The BOD has been unable to collect the Special Assessment payments from all unit-owners in any building except for Building 19. Consequently, whole-building refurbishments (the most cost-effective strategy) have been stalled because of the lack of payments.

An alternative strategy to fund a building's refurbishment is for the BOD to borrow money from a bank on behalf of unit owners, and then pay back the bank with the money that unit owners pay in their Special Assessment. The current BOD attempted to secure that type of loan but were denied because the bank judged our community to be a bad risk because of too many unit owners with unpaid monthly and Special Assessments. 

At the same time, the whole community is in danger of losing insurance coverage, falling property values, and possible actions from the City code enforcement. Unable to fund the projects the way they would like to do it, the BOD has settled for a strategy that is at least possible, if not desirable. They have commissioned repairs to be done on buildings in a piecemeal fashion.  That is to say that various buildings may have only one or more sections of the building worked on, as a reflection of the amount of Special Assessment funding that has been collected for that building.

Coordinating such a dispersed construction effort is a challenging task.  The pictures reveal a color-coding system developed by the Property Manager to stay organized. Materials (purchased by the BOD directly so as to avoid Contractor's mark-up)  are stored in the clubhouse (for security reasons, as it has a security alarm). Equipment stored in the maintenance building are guarded by sensors and alarms, and each night the cherry pickers are used to block the maintenance building garage door. 

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.

Refurbishments and Re-roofings

Building 1 (above) has a new roof and looks excellent from University Drive, putting a much better face on the TAJ neighborhood than has existed since hurricane Wilma two years ago when much of the old and worn roof was damaged by the wind. A year of opposition by building 1 unit owners resulted in increased maintenance and engineering costs (some estimates are that the delay and repetitious studies cost unit owners a combined amount of over $10,000.00) and was finally put to rest when the BOD recently voted to replace the roof on Building 1, as is being done on other buildings throughout the community.


Building 26 (above and below) is getting a new roof. This building is on the Southwest corner of the neighborhood and is the first thing many passers-by see of TAJ. The new roof will help our community's "curb appeal." It will also correct many leak problems that I was told exist in that building. In the picture above can be seen the large crane they use to haul material up to the rooftop. Below can be seen some of the crew that was working on Saturday. Click on the picture below to see a larger image and you may be able to see where the workers are replacing a portion of what they call the "roof deck" (the plywood that is under the shingles).



Building 27 (above) is nearing completion of the majority of refurbish work. JM Construction faced a delay due to materials, I was told, but they are back on track. Sun-decks appear to be the final stage of the work to be done.


Building 14 (above) is being prepared for re-roofing (shingles piled along the peak) and refurbishment (sun deck walls removed, scaffolding erected).


Building 21 (above and below) is also being prepared for refurbishment. Scaffolding lines the front and back of much of the long building.


Rotted plywood (above) is evidence of water intrusion over the years in building 21. Fortunately there is a concrete truss that is impervious to water-rot (seen under the rotted plywood). Hopefully the other trusses made of wood have avoided the decay that has typically been found in other buildings. Hardi-panel and rain gutters are part of the plan to reduce the amount of water intrusion and the resulting rot that will happen over the next several decades.


A building 27 resident has replaced their windows (above) with hurricane-proof windows that are made with safety glass and wind-rated frames. They are attractive as well as functional.