Northwest Condo & HOA Law Blog : Washington & Oregon Construction Defect Lawyer & Attorney : Barker Martin Law Firm : Homeowner Associations, Condos : Seattle, Portland

The last few years have brought with them a substantial upturn in development of large tower condominiums and multi-use condominiums in the Pacific Northwest, predominantly Seattle and Portland. Such condominiums often include multi-million dollar units, high-end retail stores and anchor hotel or grocery store chains. Each of these divergent segments is coalesced into a single master condominium association.

However, what is best for a hotel may conflict with the interests of individual homeowners. Public access and marketing efforts for a retail store may offend or intrude upon homeowners and hotel guests. Issues of parking, easements, common areas, pools and pets that involve most standard condominiums take on special significance and impact within tower and multi-use condominiums. Even rudimentary homeowner-to-homeowner disputes, such as excessive noise, are elevated to newfound consequences when multi-million dollar unit owners confront one another.

Recently, several multi-use condominium associations have contacted me regarding some of the exact issues highlighted above. In these instances, the condominium owners associations, with no prior formal legal representation, faced multi-million dollar sub-association entities with large corporate legal departments. If you are a homeowner or board member of a tower or mixed-use condominium association, in order to level the playing field, you'll want to ensure you have highly specialized legal counsel and other association professionals on your team.

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Recently, I have been contacted by several Oregon condominium association board members and individual homeowners whose conversion condominiums are experiencing serious construction defects and substantial repair costs.  Some of these owners and board members have stated they don't believe they have any legal claims because the developer sold the condominium unit "as-is."

Oregon law, as in many states, provides statutory warranties or disclosure requirements for initial condominium purchasers--for both new condos and conversion condos:  

  *  A Declarant of a newly constructed condominium shall expressly warrant against defects in the plumbing, electrical, mechanical, structural, and all other components of the newly constructed units and common elements.  The applicable statute is ORS 100.185.

  *  A Declarant of a conversion condominium must provide a statement of the "present condition of all structural components and major mechanical and utility installations in the condominium, including the approximate date of construction and a reasonable estimate of the remaining useful life of, at a minimum, the roof, siding, plumbing, electrical, HVAC system, asphalt, sidewalks and decks."  The disclosure also must include a statement of whether the assessment of conditions was prepared by a licensed engineer, architect or home inspector.  The applicable statute is ORS 100.655(h).

Thus, there is no such thing as an "as-is" new condominium unit sold in Oregon.  Although Declarants may sell a conversion condominium unit without a warranty, or "as-is," that does not necessarily mean an owner or association foregoes all legal rights in the event construction defects or prior damages exist.  An owner or association may have claims for lack of proper disclosure in the Condominium Disclosure Statement, regardless of whether an "as-is" statement was included in the Condominium Disclosure Statement and/or Purchase and Sale Agreement.

Lastly, although there are no reported Oregon appellate decisions directly on point, courts in other states (including neighboring Washington) have rejected a Declarant's attempts to disclaim warranty and disclosure obligations through a general "as-is" statement.

If you have specific questions regarding your condominium's warranties or disclosures, feel free to contact the Portland or Bend offices of Barker Martin, P.S.  

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