Condominiums, condos for short, a units within a building, that are owned instead of rented. Each condo community has a condo association or a management association. This is an agency that is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the condo.

Their salaries, the salaries of the maintenance staff, attendants and the expense of maintaining the condo and all of its' common areas come from the condominium fees/dues. Condominium fees/dues are a monthly charge paid by all unit owners in the building, based on the square footage of the unit. The money goes into an operating fund. Money is deducted from the fund as needed. What is left over goes into a cash reserve account to offset the cost of major or unexpected repairs.

The condo fee/dues covers repairs to the physical building, the pool, tennis courts, surface lots, walkways, centralized laundry facilities, lobbies, elevators, the roof and any other part of the building that is "common" to all.

The unit itself is owned by the condo owner. The unit' is the interior walls, the floors, ceilings and fixtures within the unit including wiring and plumbing. Any repairs to items within the area such as dishwasher, garbage disposal, washer, leaky sinks are the responsibility of the owner. They are the owners property just as if the owner were in a house.

It sounds simple but it can get tricky. For example. If your air conditioner does not work and maintenance determines there is something wrong with your unit, it is your cost. If however, your air conditioner is not working because there is a problem with the system, it is a condo association cost.

The light attached to the living room wall, interior to the hall exterior wall won't come on. The wiring is shared wiring between your unit and an electrical outlet in the hall. Who pays? It depends on the source of the defect. If the building wiring leading to the shared junction is faulty, the condo association will pay. (If it's the former the hall plug won't work! If the hall plug works.yeah! your cost)

It's like calling the phone company repair line. They tell you we are only responsible to the building. If the problem is in the line in the building.you need to call an electrical company'! That's basically how it works with condo wiring.! Your unit is "in the building", the condo association is "outside the building", i.e. outside of your unit.

Garages can be purchased with the unit, in which case repair is your cost. However, most condos share garage space due to limited availability. In this case the garage structure(s) is common to all so maintenance would come from the condo fee.

Condo associations are required to give owners a detailed statement of all items that are covered or not covered for repair by the condo association. Refer to this list if unsure. Rule of thumb: if it's within your unit it's your cost.

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