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Construction defect, real estate dispute under MD real estate law

We have a condo in Germantown, MD. All the buildings have been having problem leaking because evidently the builder took a short cut and did not put a barrier in the walls. Now, it is going to cost a lot to fix this. The management company says that the Master insurance policy won't cover this and the builder has been out of business for a while so they cannot go after them. Well, they have decided each unit needs to pay $4000.00 to cover the cost to fix the problem. That is a monthly payment of almost $400.00 for 35 months that we have to pay on top of the $250.00 of HOA payment. We cannot pay this amount as the times are really tough and we cannot afford this. Any way around this and can they recover this money any other way?

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Attorney answers (1)

Reputation Level 6
Generally, the community association will have a right to order a "special assesment" to cover these type of expenses. Under most condominium association documents, if the unit owner fails or refuses to pay, the unit may be foreclosed. However, there may still be remedies against the Insurance Company of the contractor who is out of business. There may even be remedies against the subcontractors and their Insurance Companies that performed the faulty work. Every state has different Statute of Limitations and Statutes of Repose that set time limits to bring these sorts of claims. My recommendation is ask your Board of Directors to obtain an opinion from your Community Association Counsel and see whether a claim may still be made.
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