I know it goes beyond the scope of a traditional home inspection, but I like to include some value added services for my clients.  I have mentioned before about little things I do like Appliance Recall Research, but a news story on the Local Fox station last night reinforced for me the importance of urging condo buyers to obtain and READ the meeting minutes from as many recent meetings of the Condo Association as they have access to.

The video is attached (gross out alert - it deals with raw sewage).  In short, the condo owners pay over $160 per month to the Association who has allowed raw sewage backups to exist for several months.  While a good inspector may likely uncover this issue during a typical inspection, such concerns that may be missed often can be found in the meeting minutes.

Among other important things, previous clients have used these reports to uncover concerns about:

• Problem Neighbors
• Unresponsive Maintenance Staff
• "Tabled" Issues (for things like parking lot resurfacing, often linked to large assessments)
• Common Complaints of Residents (windows, roofing, etc)

Many of these issues could not possibly be found during even the most diligent inspection, but all of them can significantly impact the pocketbook or quality of life (or both!) of the condo buyer-to-be.

I have no idea how many of my condo clients follow this advice, but I do know of at least 6 that have and uncovered some concerns that they were VERY glad they knew about before they bought. 

I should also mention that many Associations get very territorial about these documents and that can make obtaining them difficult to impossible.  But where the info is available, it is in everyone's best interest to read it (as the people in the Fox News story will surely tell you!)