I got a bit of a kick out of the recent Boston Globe article about condominium owners suing the developers of their buildings and sometimes one another. It brought me back to my former career as a property manager of two luxury buildings. Oh, the stories I could tell!
One of the hardest things was trying to resolve some of the inevitable and unenviable issues related to community living. For many empty nesters in particular, the realities of living in close quarters in a condominium community can be a very harsh eye, ear or nose opener. Let’s face it, water flows, sound travels, odors permeate and pets are pets, yes, even in million dollar luxury units.
While a Board of Trustees will give some guidance and help make official decisions, it was often the management staff out there on the front line who had to break the news to Mrs. Jones that there is little that can be done if she can smell Mrs. O’Leary’s Friday fish fry in her unit.
Boomers fighting at the Ritz
Empty-nesters don’t shy from condo battles
By Kimberly Blanton, Globe Staff | August 4, 2007
On Beacon Hill, a dispute among townhouse condo owners that began with a $12,000 carpet in the common areas has spiraled into a five-year legal battle.
At Burroughs Wharf on the Boston waterfront, condo owners are suing a fellow resident to evict his Labrador-pit bull mix. Neighbors are afraid of the dog, which its owner keeps as a companion to help him with his depression.
And at the Ritz-Carlton condominium towers, residents are suing the developer over what they say are construction defects that, among other problems, cause delays in valet parking.
Wealthy professionals, many of them empty-nester baby boomers, are moving into the city in droves — with law yers in tow. Since 2000, this influx has helped fuel a building boom of about 9,000 condominiums in downtown neighborhoods. In addition to spending their autumn years in a cosmopolitan setting, some boomers get to rub shoulders with neighbors that include corporate chief executives and popular sports figures, such as Red Sox pitcher — and Ritz Tower resident — Josh Beckett.
