The deadly building collapse of Champlain Towers South forced many condo owners to start asking questions. The disaster also highlighted a need for change.
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Starting in 2025, Florida law will require condo boards to set money aside to cover future major repairs. NBC 6’s Sasha Jones reports |
“To add a structural
element to it that will require a different skill set from
people who are used to looking at buildings and saying,
'there is a crack there, you need to fix it,' and there’s no
cash flow or budget management expertise in that,” Nordlund
said.
The law now requires an engineer or architect to do a visual
inspection during the study. Nordlund said this will raise
the overall cost of the survey.
But despite these drawbacks, he said mandatory reserve
studies are a step in the right direction.
“We've done statistics and analysis on this, and Florida is
unique,” Nordlund said.
His company recently looked at condo associations that have
less than 30% of the recommended funds in their reserves,
and they found Florida had 50% more of these associations
than any other state.
“The most important thing is for community association
leaders not to wait,” said Lisa Magill, a condominium and
planned development law attorney.
Condo boards and residents should start taking action now,
she said.
“Immediately establish a relationship or interview with
several engineering firms so they can have an understanding
of your building, give you a priority list so that you
tackle some of the necessary repairs on your own timeline,”
Magill said.
Magill said condo boards should also start looking at
funding options like loans. Condo associations have until
the end of 2024 to complete the structural integrity reserve
study.