Michigan Condo & HOA Law

I recently heard from a condominium board member whose association is undergoing a plethora of developer related problems with the construction at his association. The board member stated that the developer of his condominium association is attempting to divide and conquer the association by promising certain co-owners that he will fix their units. The developer is further attempting to scare the co-owners into thinking that they will expend a great deal of money in legal fees and will otherwise not be successful if they pursue him in a court of law as opposed to simply working out the differences with him face to face without lawyers.

Unfortunately, I have seen this effective tactic used by developers too many times. There are some unscrupulous developers out there that use scare tactics to intimidate co-owners who they recognize may be naïve, unsophisticated or intellectually challenged as it relates to tactics to be used in successfully pursuing a developer. This should underscore to co-owners that the developer is not operating in good faith and has something to hide or is otherwise culpable for problems which the association is experiencing.

In this case, the job of the board of directors is to convince the co-owners that good legal representation is necessary in order to adequately pursue the developer and make him or her responsible for their acts and/or omissions, and that they get only what they have paid for.

Posted by Robert Meisner at 9:38 AM | Permalink

I was recently asked by a condominium developer in Michigan if he needed to vacate his existing plat and submit a replat under the Michigan Condominium Act. My answer is that the administrative rules promulgated pursuant to the Condominium Act recognized that a proposed condominium development may overlap with a previously platted subdivision.

The Michigan Court of Appeals, in a very important decision, recently pointed out that the Condominium Act of Michigan specifically provides that the Land Division Act “shall not control divisions made for any condominium project.” The court stated that neither the statutes nor the regulations required the plat to be vacated pursuant to the Land Division act before a condominium project could be developed. It appears then that the developer may proceed with the planned condominium project, although he should, of course, obtain the appropriate local zoning approvals as well as a site plan approval.

Posted by Robert Meisner at 4:14 PM | Permalink