I’ve been at Trace for 13 months now and just went through submitting all the one year issues with my place. For those curious here’s what was on my list:
- Some grout in the bathtub surround has developed some holes in it for lack of a better way of describing it
- The bathtub floor seems to be permanently dirty. Nothing will get it clean.
- A section of drywall in the bedroom keeps cracking
- The in-sink disposal is making a funny noise
We also just had our annual meeting. The issues that came up were:
- Should we get an audit? Consensus was no, it wasn’t worth it
- Should we get a reserve study? Yes, we should get one every 3 years starting this year.
- Elevator: Our Kone elevator had a lot of issues. It seems to be stable now but folks were pretty concerned we were sold a lemon. Turns out you just can’t return an elevator.
- Security: Lots of discussion around this. No changes planned to our security infrastructure.
- Rental cap: Lots of discussion around this. People seem more concerned that they might not be able to rent their unit than concerned that they won’t be able to resell it. Frankly I think they’re ill formed and they’re ill advised to listen to the developer on this issue. The developer wants to sell (or rent) the remaining units and the less rules the better. Hopefully the board pushes forward on this and gets proper legal advice on how to proceed. I’m sure we can draft something which will address the majority of concerns.
- Window coverings: Two units (one being mine) wanted to change our window covering policy. No such luck. Turns out we are sticking to window coverings that need to be black on the outside. Unfortunately I accidentally bought custom black out window coverings that weren’t black on the outside. Surprised that this wasn’t the case when they arrived I contacted The Shade Store who said they have never heard of black outward facing window coverings. (I was puzzled after installing them because in my unit they looked grey but when I went outside they did not. It took me a few days to realize they weren’t the same color on both sides.)
As for HOA dues, they’re raising one or two dollars, that’s it.
I’d be curious to hear from other new construction buyers on first year kinks either with the HOA or their unit? (I’m sure Mosler owners have more than a few stories to share :) )
Popularity: 14% [?]
16 responses so far ↓
1 Trevor // Oct 16, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I’m in Trace #205 and I find that no-scratch Comet, coupled w/ a sponge and some arm muscles, will turn your bathtub floor brilliant white.
2 Dan C. // Oct 16, 2008 at 1:25 pm
What ever happened with that massive lien on Mosler? Did it get resolved
3 Matt's maid // Oct 16, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Thanks for the tip Trevor! I’ll let you know how it goes.
So far, leaving a pool of bleach overnight in the tub hasn’t worked. :-)
4 kent // Oct 16, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Liens are still alive here at Mosler. One mediation session between Belltown Partners the developer, and JE Dunn, the prime contractor, did not resolve the issues. So we are still living under a bit of a cloud here. Overall, I think people are generally quite satisfied with the building and their individual units. We have had no issues with workmanship or system failures. I know some people complain about the noise from the hallways or adjacent units. We have a rental cap here, I believe it is 20%. I understand this is quite important to ensure that lending institutions are willing to finance units in the building, someday in the future that is. We have had some trouble with security in the past, but have taken step to improve it and it is better. Internal water damage due to homeowner neglect or workmanship was a problem early on but not recently. Overall, life is good at Mosler, great location, good solid building. Get rid of these leans and things will be even better.
5 GP // Oct 16, 2008 at 6:18 pm
what kind of kone elevator is at trace and who is servicing it?
6 Matt // Oct 16, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I hear it is a “room less” elevator and it is being serviced by Kone.
7 Peckham // Oct 17, 2008 at 7:07 am
“Should we get an audit? Consensus was no, it wasn’t worth it “
Your condo is required by law to have an annual audit of its financial statements by an independent CPA.
Yeah, not worth it.
8 Matt // Oct 17, 2008 at 8:49 am
Under state law, HOA’s with 50 or more units must have their books audited annually by a CPA.
For HOA’s under 50 units they can waive the annual audit if at least 60 percent of the ownership votes to approve the board’s decision to do so.
9 Peckhammer // Oct 17, 2008 at 9:33 am
“For HOA’s under 50 units”
Ah… so Trace Lofts and Trace North HOAs are separtate not-for-profit corporations. Interesting.
10 Trevor // Oct 17, 2008 at 9:38 am
P.S. Make sure not to mix comet and bleach. It will release deadly chlorine gas.
11 jcricket // Oct 17, 2008 at 9:51 am
Yeah, waiving audits, definitely good idea. Did we learn nothing from Enron, Entellium, etc?
Seriously Matt - you hear stories all the time about people being “taken” by “bad apples” in HOAs, churches, small non-profits, etc.
Get an audit.
12 jo // Oct 17, 2008 at 10:51 am
lol @ comparing the audit of a 40 unit non-profit HOA to a multi-national multi-billion dollar energy for-profit energy company
13 jcricket // Oct 17, 2008 at 12:47 pm
LOL @ anyone who misses the point. Companies, big and small, get “taken” by dishonest people, no matter how little there is to “take”.
Audits help uncover that.
The longer you go without an audit, the more vulnerable you are and the bigger the mess can be to clean up.
Pretending you are immune because you’re just a “lowly little HOA” is folly.
14 yalnes // Oct 17, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Matt, didn’t you just transition from Declarant (developer)? If so, there is a different requirement for transitions.
RCW 64.34.312 (2): “Upon the transfer of control to the unit owners, the records of the association shall be audited as of the date of transfer by an independent certified public accountant in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards unless the unit owners, other than the declarant, by two-thirds vote elect to waive the audit. The cost of the audit shall be a common expense unless otherwise provided in the declaration. The accountant performing the audit shall examine supporting documents and records, including the cash disbursements and related paid invoices, to determine if expenditures were for association purposes and the billings, cash receipts, and related records to determine if the declarant was charged for and paid the proper amount of assessments.”
15 Matt // Oct 18, 2008 at 12:31 am
That transition happened about six months ago. I’ll check and see if an audit occurred.
16 stone // Oct 19, 2008 at 8:30 pm
hey Matt, the hardware store across the street carries Mr. Clean’s magic eraser - that takes elbow grease and the “magic eraser” spongey thing will disintegrate as you use it (maybe buy two) but it got everything clean without smelling like a chlorine bath (I’m super sensitive and actually have done the vinegar water in the bathtub thing, but that didn’t help. Magic eraser didn’t cause me to be out of my abode for day at a time waiting for the scent to abate.
Leave a Comment