The High Cost of Doing Nothing

The following article was published in the August 2025 issue of Condo Media.
By Kieran Fitzgibbon

Many Boston-area condominiums – especially those built more than 50 years ago – would not be built today.

Building codes have become more stringent over the years. As a result, many properties that complied with building codes when they were built have components that would be considered inadequate based on today’s standards. Given that they’ve also aged, many need significant repairs. Some may even be unsafe.

These conditions can, at a minimum, result in limitations on the use and enjoyment of the property, while often introducing unforeseen and unanticipated costs. At their most extreme, these conditions could lead to a loss of use or even catastrophic collapse.

A Billion Dollar Settlement

Consider what happened at Champlain Towers South (CTS) in Surfside, Florida.

The 12-story beachfront condominium partially collapsed in 2021, killing 98 people. Investigation by the National Institute of Standards and Technology found nearly two dozen potential causes for the collapse, including degradation of concrete, water infiltration and corrosion of reinforcing steel.

The condo was built in 1981 and withstood Hurricane Andrew. But the construction of the neighboring 18-story Eighty Seven Park condominium is believed to have contributed to its collapse, as developers ignored warnings about vibrations and other issues from CTS residents.

Developers of Eighty Seven Park were among the defendants named in a $1.02 billion settlement. Insurance premiums for condominiums in the area increased severalfold and the Florida Legislature approved condominium reform in a special session. New regulations require condominium managers to schedule milestone safety inspections and create reserves to fund maintenance beginning this year.

Inspections of hundreds of older high-rises in southeast Florida, where management “ignored or delayed action on serious maintenance issues,” according to The New York Times, led to the discovery of numerous safety hazards. The cost of addressing delayed maintenance and creating reserves resulted in special assessments on unit owners and higher homeowners association (HOA) fees statewide.

Potential buyers are not anxious to pay assessments for maintenance that should have been completed before they considered purchasing. So, while the number of units for sale spiked by 65% in 2024, sales fell by nearly 21% in September 2024.

Avoiding Florida’s Fate

How can Massachusetts – and other states – avoid the same fate as Florida?

Working Together. We’ve written before about the need for collaboration among all parties involved in any major improvement at your property, including contractors, engineers and consultants. Management companies and condo associations also need to collaborate.

Most property managers that Statewide works with are proactive. They understand their maintenance needs and develop plans suited to the individual property. Property managers recognize that there are always capital projects to be done and that working with their building envelope consultant, they can create a scope of work and budget accordingly.

Unfortunately, all parties, including Boards of Trustees, do not always have the same perspective. Boards often delay projects to save money, but delays only increase the eventual cost for each owner. Projects may be further delayed by board elections, which take place annually. When the board membership changes, the process for approving a project starts over.

Projects may also be delayed because property managers have busy schedules. Their day-to-day duties – such as managing trash collection, landscaping, cleaning and personnel issues – leave them with little time to focus on major projects, which usually require significant planning. They also may not be on site as often as they would like, especially if their properties are spread out geographically.

Given these challenges, turnover at some properties is high; and when a property manager leaves, the new manager must start over again.

To address these obstacles, communication between the property manager, the Board of Trustees and the unit owners is vital. It is also crucial that unit owners make their concerns known. If they see moisture infiltration around a window, the ceiling in their unit or even in the parking garage, they should inform the property manager, so all parties are aware and can work to resolve the issue.

Unit owners also need to educate themselves about ongoing building maintenance and any proposed capital projects, so they can help ensure that the board acts appropriately. Owners will not want to spend money unless they understand the long-term costs and impact of delaying maintenance. Ongoing communication and education can help ensure that board members are appointed who are working in the best interest of the condominium.

It is important for everyone to act in the best interest of all stakeholders.

Don’t Procrastinate. When significant maintenance projects are delayed, the cost of repairs increases. At Statewide, we’ve resolved leaks and addressed other maintenance issues that have been ignored for years. Each year that goes by adds to the cost and the severity of damage to the condominium. The probability of a crisis, such as a collapsing roof or loose balcony rails, rises. Safety is compromised and, as was the case in Surfside, people’s lives may be endangered. Liability and lawsuits follow. The management company’s reputation may be irreparably damaged.

Managers and boards typically understand their condominiums and the maintenance needs they face, but they often delay the expensive, long-term projects and focus on the easy-to-fix issues. Replacing carpeting or painting hallways can improve the appearance of a condominium, but the building envelope is what protects the residents. And the building envelope is exposed to the elements 24 hours a day. It gets rained on, snowed on, iced over and baked by the sun.

When a building’s envelope is compromised, any leaks or associated problems will only get worse with time and more expensive to repair. Fixing the problem could cost multiples of what it would have cost to address it earlier.

Budget Realistically. Condominium boards and property managers typically include five-year reserve studies when they develop their budgets, but it is difficult to predict what the cost will be five years from now.

High inflation in recent years has made the budgeting process more difficult than ever. Recall that the price of lumber doubled during the pandemic. Inflation has continued to be above the 2% level sought by the Federal Reserve Board and tariffs could cause even greater inflation.

In addition, the extent of needed repairs often isn’t known until work begins, so it’s important to have contingency funds to cover unforeseen issues.

If the association does not have the funding to complete a project, it is often advisable to split the project into phases, rather than addressing issues haphazardly, which can result in having to repair the repairs in a few years.

When the price of a project rises, available funds may not cover the full cost. A special assessment may be necessary to cover the shortfall; in many cases, financing may not be available.

Because of financial difficulties caused by ignoring maintenance, many condos are being blacklisted by Fannie Mae. Blacklisted properties, which are deemed to need major repairs or have inadequate insurance, are “nearly impossible to sell,” according to HousingWire.

Given these issues, lenders and insurers have abandoned some markets altogether.

Seek the Best Outcome. Whatever your budget, the key is to achieve the best outcome for your money. Do what you need to do to maintain the value of your condominium. If your budget is inadequate to restore your entire building envelope, for example, your team may be able to come up with a creative solution that meets your budgetary needs.

We’ve written in the past about our efforts to identify and resolve ongoing leaks at 16 Addington Road, Brookline. The preliminary budget for restoring the building envelope was $5 million, but based on the building envelope study and the work of the design team, we were able to eliminate leaks by focusing on the top floor, which was the primary source of the leaks. The redesigned project was completed for $ 1.6million.

Similarly, an engineer recommended removing and replacing the fifth floor of 22 Fleet St., Boston, but Statewide and a structural engineer worked together to ensure that the fifth floor could be salvaged safely and reconstructed without being torn down, saving about $1 million.

Do something. While we hope you follow our advice, if nothing else we hope you choose to address your maintenance issues promptly.

The cost of doing nothing is too high to ignore.

Kieran Fitzgibbon is co-owner of Statewide RM of Brighton, Mass., which specializes in masonry restoration for condominiums. He can be reached at kfitzgibbon@statewiderm.com.