Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
I notified my condo manager and board about water damage from the roof (I live on the top floor) in March 2011 and again in 2012. They finally began repair in December of 2012 1/2 of my unit walls are demo'd to the studs and waiting to finish repair for roofing replacement. My unit won't be back to normal until mid February 2013. This has caused me stress, discomfort, some loss of use and mainly the inability to have my place appraised for a refinance I began in November. Now the bank is wanting to charge me $850 to lock my rate which I want the association to pay but they have refused. I have threatened them with small claims and stated I won't pay HOA dues for the 3 months my condo was in dissaray while they decided on whether to repair or replace the roof.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Are you asking whether this is a winning strategy? Without knowing how the HOA sees their responsibilities in this situation it's rather difficult to handicap. My guess is that you would have some chance to prevail, but probably less than 50%, based on defenses the HOA is likely to argue. Also, Small Claims Courts are less predictible than Superior Court because the judges are less experienced. In addition, some of your potential claims may be outside Small Claims rather limited jurisdiction. If there is any way to handle the matter by negotiation, I'd go that way, even if significant compromise is necessary.
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