If you have never lived in an association, whether it be as a homeowner or an owner of a condominium, you will want to know the benefits of association living as well as what could be some drawbacks.
Some benefits of condominium living are that large expenses are pooled together. Reroofing, painting your building, landscape costs, and snow removal are just a few examples. Some drawbacks are that you must have respect for the common areas like your front yard since all the land is jointly owned by the Owners of Meadowlawn. Following rules and regulations set by the Association becomes a necessary duty out of respect for you and your neighbors.
Every resident should have a copy of the Declarations & Bylaws. The Declarations state how the property is set up and where responsibilities lie. Your homeowners’ insurance will most likely want to see a copy of this and can be requested by the office and sent via email in electronic form for the price of $0. You can also access both on our website at www.meadowlawncondominiums.com. A hard copy may be requested from the office for a purchase fee of $25, which will be added to your account.
The Bylaws state how the association operates, what the duties of the board of directors are, when the annual meeting is each year, and how the financials work.
Every resident should have a copy of the rules & regulations. These are rules set up by the Board of Directors to ensure quality living for everyone. Through the Declarations, the Association has the power to create rules for better living and to enforce these rules with the possibility of fines. Most of the time, the Association will give you an appropriate amount of time to correct any violation of the Rules and Regulations or violations to the Declarations and Bylaws. A simple letter may be sent informing you of the violation. Failure to correct the violation will result in fines or intervention with our attorney. All legal fees generated by the attorney in the attempt to correct your violation will be billed to your Association account.
The biggest responsibility of an association owner is to pay its maintenance fees and, if applicable, what’s called a heat reserve fee if you live in buildings 1 through 8. Your maintenance fee is determined using a percentage stated in the Declarations. These fees are due by the 1st day of each month with a 10-day grace period. If your fees are not paid by the 10th a late fee of $35 will be added to your account. When your account is 2 months past due, the association will file a lien against your property. The cost of the lien plus attorney fees will be added to your account (~ $2,000). When your account is 3 months past due, the Association will begin foreclosing on your property, and legal fees (~ $3,000) of that procedure will be added to your account. Other items the owner is responsible for are windows, shutters, doors, garage doors, front door lighting, limited common patios, limited common garages, fences, limited common sidewalks, your dry wall, electrical, and plumbing that is not common or shared. Please review the Declarations to better understand what you and the Association are each responsible for.
The association will tend to the landscaping, snow removal of the common areas, the roof, and siding, to list a few. The Declarations dictate all that the association is responsible for. Please review the Declarations to better understand what you and the association are each responsible for.