Condo owner questions accuracy of tax assessmentApr. 02, 2006 www.LasVegasNewspapers.com Q. I am an owner of a condominium unit located on the second floor. The first-floor units are 1,241 square feet and the second-floor ones are 1,341 square feet. The difference of 100 square feet is because of the stairway, which is considered a common area. My first question to you is: Why should I pay higher property taxes when the stairwell does not belong to me? I have an unrelated question pertaining to my door bell and intercom. The door bell works but my intercom does not. It is my understanding that the intercom is part of the building which I don't own. Is that so? A. You will need to contact the Clark County assessor's office to review their records of your unit. If you believe that you are being charged for a common area, you will need to be able to support that claim by providing to the assessor's office the specific section of the covenants that indicates that the 100 square feet belongs to the homeowners association. In addition, you will need to verify your square footage with them. The assessor's office can also provide you with the procedures for appealing your property taxes. If you review your governing documents, you will probably find that the intercom is the responsibility of the homeowner and not the association. Q. The people who live above my unit are renters. They let the tub run over, which in turn leaked into my unit. There was water damage to the ceiling. The insurance company stated that only the contents of my unit are covered and not the ceiling. They say that the association should cover the loss, but we have yet to hear from them. The owner of the rental unit will not pay and says that the renters are responsible. The renters say to call the owner. Who is responsible? A. Insurance claims are not based upon who is responsible but upon the coverage of the insurance policy. Generally speaking, a condominium association has a master insurance policy which would be responsible for such a claim. The owner should file a claim against the master association's insurance company. If the owner of the upstairs unit has an insurance policy, the master association could charge the damages to the owner's insurance policy. There are a couple of questions that must be answered, the first being who pays for the deductible. You will have to look at the governing documents. In some covenants, the association pays the deductible; in others, the homeowner who caused the damage pays. In a case where the association has the master policy, if the upstairs unit owner refused to pay for the deductible, the association would have to pay for the deductible and then assess that homeowner the deductible. Let's assume that you had to pay for the deductible. The upstairs homeowner's secondary insurance policy would be responsible for the payment of the association's deductible for the master policy. In turn, the homeowner would then only have to pay for the deductible for the secondary policy. Assuming, for example, that the association had a $1,000 deductible and the homeowner had a $250 deductible, the homeowner's insurance company would pay the $1,000 to the master insurance company and the homeowner would pay $250 toward the secondary policy. Insurance aside, the owner of a unit is responsible for any tenants, per the covenants. If the tenants caused the damage, the owner, as landlord, has recourse against the tenants. In this case, the owner of the upstairs unit should step up to the plate and take care of the damages. Barbara Holland, certified property manager, is president and co-owner of H&L Realty and Management Co. She is a member of the Institute of Real Estate Management and is the author of two books on the subject. Holland is a past president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. Questions may be sent to Association Q. & A., P.O. Box 7440, Las Vegas, NV 89125. Her fax number is 385-3759. If you are planning to relocate in the Las Vegas area, contact us for a prompt response to any questions you have about the Las Vegas real estate market. We invite you to visit our website to view updated daily listings of Las Vegas homes at Free Las Vegas Homes MLS Search |
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