By Barry Stone
Dear Barry,
I'm selling my condo and am annoyed with the buyer's home inspector. He insists on inspecting the exterior of the property, even though the outside of a condo is maintained by the owners' association and is not included in the sale. As far as I'm concerned, the exterior has nothing to do with this transaction. Why should the common areas be included in a home inspection? - Geoff
Dear Geoff,
There are conflicting schools of thought regarding which portions of a condominium should be included in a home inspection. Some inspectors evaluate the interior only, while others also inspect the exterior. The argument against outside inspection is that the exterior is owned collectively by the owners' association and is not being purchased by the individual condo buyer.
The opposing view regards the elimination of an exterior inspection as a risky and over-reaching omission. Although the owners' association may be responsible for exterior repairs, it is still in the buyer's financial interest to be informed of exterior problems. For example, a deteriorated roof could produce water damage to the interior of the condo; substandard entry stairs could result in an injury lawsuit against the individual condo owner, as well as against the owners' association; and faulty ground drainage problems could cause rot or mold to occur within the dwelling.
Considering the direct impact exterior problems can have on the interests of individual condominium owners, and in view of the fact that each owner shares in the collective costs of the association, an exterior inspection is a reasonable part of a thorough condominium inspection.
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