Empty nesters in the Boston, Massachusetts suburbs are flocking to the City after the kids have finally left home. City living is convenient, but if condominium living is selected, there is almost never a three or four bedroom condominium available, and people who leave grand homes to become urban dwellers are often in search of larger living space than the market offers.
The answer to this problem for many people is the purchase of two, either side by side or floor on floor, units and then combining them into one larger living space. This combination is expensive, and is often undertaken by the Owners without paying any attention to the provisions of the Master Deed, which until very recently, were silent as to how an person owning two Units should proceed to combine the Units.
In the past month, I have worked on assisting people who have either completed, or are contemplating, these combinations. I thought it would be useful to outline some of the steps which are required to make combinations happen, so that they are in compliance with the Condominium Law, and the owners, at some point in time, can convey the combined Unit to a Buyer, without encountering "good and marketable" title concerns down the road.
•1. Any construction work in combining the Units should be approved upon, in a recordable document, by the remaining Unit owners and all Trustees.
•2. An amendment to the Master Deed should be drafted which shows the combined Units as one Unit. Accompanying this amendment should be a Plan, drafted by an architect, engineer or surveyor, which shows the combined Unit, and is certified by the professional who prepares same.
•3. If there are mortgages involved, the Mortgagee(s) should consent to the amendment to the Master Deed. If there are two different Mortgagees, my advice to clients is to refinance the combined Unit, and pay off the mortgages in question, rather than wait for consents. This process can do nothing but confuse the Burger King Kids who are asked to approve it, and a refinancing "do-over" makes more sense.
Many new condominium documents now make provision for combing Units. Sometimes, I include these provisions when I am bringing old condominium documents up to date.
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