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One of the units for sale in our co-op belongs to a Shareholder/former board member who passed away last year. This individual was on the board for many years (even before I moved in) and used to be such a stickler for everyone following the rules, especially when it came to renovating your apartment. Now that his unit is on the market, we have learned that through the years, he has done a NUMBER of renovations to his apartment -without Board or Management approval - some of which have created functional obsolescence and therefore made it extremely difficult for his daughter to sell.
The unit also violates the stipulation in the Proprietary lease that 80% of the unit must be carpeted. His daughter finally found a buyer whom we have to interview. My question is, in addition to putting down the required carpet, can we require either the buyer or the seller to correct some of the issues with the unit (like modifying the kitchen so that it can once again accomodate a full sized refrigerator; either removing the wall that was erected in the dining room - or requiring them to get a certificate of occupancy from the town?)
And if the buyer decides to walk away from the sale, can this man's daughter bring an action against us for causing her to lose the sale of the apartment?
Non-structural changes do not need Dept. of Buildings approval. However, I'm afraid the daughter almost certainly WILL have to produce documentation saying that the board approved the renovation.
I gather permission was never even applied for, let alone exists, so most likely the daughter will have to return the apartment to its previous state.
But that might work out for the best. It sounds as if this apartment would need at least a modest renovation to be in any sort of shape to be sold. She might not get much for it in this condition -- so, as some other buildings have done, perhaps the board should buy it, renovate it and flip it at what could be a windfall profit.
I think being realistic is important, after all, the unit is sold in "as is".
I do not know what you mean by functional obsolescence. I would say that if a small refrigeerator is a problem to the potential shareholder, this is not the co-op's problem. The new shareholder may wish to do renovations and will then apply to for alterations as per policy in place. If an interior non-bearing wall was taken down to make a closet smaller or larger, the new shareholder will have to re-evaluate the space according to need.
I would only be concerned as a co-op as far as violation to code. If none were made such as making a room without appropriate ventilation or adding plumbing where nothing existed w/o board approval or making a full electrical upgrade, it would be pointless to make life miserable to daughter and buyer. As a co-op you may demand inspecting the unit in order to note deviation from original as you may only wish to maintain as a co-op those areas that were original to the building v. those that were added that could change the responsibility of co-op /shareholder.
Selling a unit without carpet is not a sin nor anyone demand it. Just make sure the new shareholder installs one when it moves in or escrow at closing the money to install one.
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The board can and should seek counsel from their building's attorney. They can demand that the building be put back to it's original layout, unless the current owner can produce permits thats the work was approved by the Department of buildings. Usually when you have a board member who is hell bent on everyone following the rules, they usually are the ones who break them and seem to think that everyone else is also breaking the rules.
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