Annexing common area to expand a condo

[Lance M]

Minnesota

I am a resident of the state of MN.

My condo is located adjacent to an empty storage area and this area is defined as a common use area. The association has agreed to sell me this storage area to expand my condo.

1.) Do I need to change anything regarding my deed (county registrar) as my condo has changed to reflect the change in my property? The dimensions of the unit will be changing and I want to avoid any hassles in the future.
2.) I will be obtaining the proper permits and having inspections, etc. Is there anything else I need to do make sure that this newly acquired space is my property and is an extension of my current property? Currently this space is not taxed by the city nor does it have a unique property ID.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

Lance

 

[festival]

You and the association will need a real estate lawyer, preferably one with experience in condominiums.

The association will need to give you a deed to this area, with precisely defined boundaries, and a description/drawing by a licensed architect, licensed engineer, or licensed surveyor. The description can be similar to the description of one of your condominium units in the Declaration. Include as much detail as possible, such as who owns the door (inside and out), wallboard, studs, flooring, sub floor, paint, etc. Consider who will maintain and repair what parts of the room in case of damage such as fire – that may be used to determine the exact description of what you will own. In some condominiums, you only own the paint and the space.

You may wish to keep this area legally separate from your condo, since legally combining it with your unit may be far more trouble than it is worth.

Legally changing unit boundaries requires an amendment of the Declaration. I found this in MN law 515A.2-119 AMENDMENT OF DECLARATION. (c) "...no amendment may...change the boundaries of any unit...in the absence of unanimous written agreement of the unit owners and holders of an interest as security for an obligation." I'm not from MN, and I can't judge the applicability of this law, but it seems pretty clear.

In your association, do larger units pay a higher monthly fee, or are all units equal? This brings up issues of modifying the unit's percentage of ownership interest.

Like I say, keep it legally separate as two properties?

Your declaration probably contains a provision that the sale of common elements requires approval by a large majority of owners. The board probably does not have authority to sell common elements without this approval. You and your attorney need to read your declaration from beginning to end for anything related to this sale. The sale of common elements may also be in MN law.

Ideally, the declaration should be amended to reflect the reduction of common element area.

You also need to obtain permission in writing from the board to modify the building. Keep this paper. I would also make a copy of all of the association's votes, board minutes, letters, etc. Don't rely on the association to keep these records.

Once you get all these details worked out, it is mostly a matter of drawing up the papers and taking the appropriate vote(s) of the owners (amending the declaration, etc.).

 

[FarmerJ]

There is the chance if you do not combine the additional property you bought with your current that your total property tax bill may be more than it needs to be since for property tax purposes it will be treated as separate ( Ive known people who owned side from when homes were torn down and once they finally got around to having both parcels combined the total of what they had to pay for ptax did drop) so when you seek legal advice about this this is also something you may well want to include in that conversation.