New Condo Owner - Common Area Repair Agrmt

[magnacarta]

Hello everyone! I'm from Illinois.

I'm part of a small condo association and we have an unconventional problem. A few months back, an owner was in the process of selling his unit. During the inspection, the buyer discovered some problems with the roof, which is a common element. The buyer used that as leverage to get a lower price. With that being a common element, I know that it's the Condo Association's responsibility to get it repaired and all owners should share in the cost. But - the selling owner was in a bind and really needed to get the unit sold, so he took a hit to give the owner enough of a discount to take care of the whole repair, so that he could close his sale as soon as possible.


Despite his generosity, I knew as a owner that we would still need to protect ourselves with something in writing. We had a lawyer draft up a Repair Agreement which basically states the unit buyer knows of the need for roof repairs, and that he's been given credit in his purchase price to use to fully repair the roof. Now, a few months later they're trying to weasel out of the agreement and they want to use our building insurance to reimburse them. I feel like this agreement can be enforced especially given it's language, but I'm not sure how best to handle this. The lawyer that drafted the agreement no longer works for the firm that we used. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to retain a lawyer and have to spend more money fighting this if I don't have to.

Thanks much!

[JETX]

Originally Posted by magnacarta

The lawyer that drafted the agreement no longer works for the firm that we used.

Not relevant. You didn't hire the attorney, you hired the firm. Go back to them or find another local attorney.

I don't want to retain a lawyer and have to spend more money fighting this if I don't have to.

And of course, that is your risk to consider.