Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I purchased a condo in a 40 unit apartment building from the developer. It came with a parking space ("exclusive use common area") which was directly next to a maintenance room. I recently reviewed my disclosures and noticed that the maintenance room does not appear in the survey of the garage. Upon measuring my spot, I found that the wall was actually built well within the boundaries of my spot. Do I have any recourse? And would it be against the HOA or the developer? If its against the developer, would you recommend hiring my own attorney or asking the HOA to handle it?


Asked on 12/08/10, 4:05 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

You would actually have an action against both of them, against the developer for deeding you title to exclusive use of space that it knew or should have known was encroached on, and against the HOA because they own the encroachment. Before you go suing anyone, however, you will have to take a hard look at what your damages are. What is the real dollar value of your loss? Worth paying an attorney for? If it creates a problem for you, is there another non-dedicated space they could give you? If so, your damages are zero if they are willing to deed you a different space. It sounds like you need to contact both the HOA and the developer and see what they can do for you before you go off suing anyone.

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Answered on 12/13/10, 4:18 pm


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