{ home design ~ inside and out } MIDDLEFIELD POST
May 8, 2013
SPRING 2013 INSIDE & OUT
By Nancy Huth Sooner or later mowing grass on 5 acres of land gets to be a drag, along with chores such as snow plowing and outside house repairs. This was the lament I heard from fellow residents in our condo development. Most of those living here are seniors who decided to downsize after the kids were out of the house. Now they go on vacations, sit on their decks on balmy summer evenings, plant and water the posies in their small gardens, or walk and bike the safe back streets in the condo development chatting with neighbors and petting dogs. Condo living may not be for everyone, but its advantages sure are attractive the older one gets. Most of us know the word “condo” and what it implies, but when did they start being built and whose idea was it? The concept stretches back to the Napoleonic Code of 1804, which, in contrast to the English property law requiring the legal owner of the residential unit to also own the surrounding land, stipulated that properties could share a common building or plot governed by a housing collective. The airspace and floor space within the unit would still be considered privately owned. In the USA the first condominium ever constructed was Graystone Manor in Salt Lake City in 1960. Keith Romney, who came to be known as “the Father of the Condominium”, spearheaded this project. The Utah legislature passed the Condominium Act of 1960, and
Second Edition
Condominium Living the Federal Government had insured mortgages on remodeling projects and renting. Know what you’re condominiums in every state by 1969. getting into. There are, of course, pros and cons to condo A condo association is made up of the living. If you’re not comfortable living with rules homeowners, who elect a board to enforce and restrictions and living in close bylaws, handle proximity to others, condo living may maintenance and not be for you. On the other hand, deal with disputes having neighbors close by makes with developers. it easier to lock up and leave for an Depending on its extended period of time. Fellow size, the condo residents watch out for one another. association may The monthly condo fee is especially hire a management bearable when you wake up at 4 a.m. company. Monthly because of a bright light in the living condo fees room and find snowplows clearing vary. They cover the blizzard from your drive. Once Dieter and Nancy Huth reside in the Woodsong maintenance and a week, the grass cutters wave as Community, Middlefield. Post Photo/Dixie Richardson repair of common I sit on my deck sipping iced tea. In areas. There may be an occasional assessment fee to our condo development the houses are freestanding handle larger jobs such as roof repairs. and the exterior is insured. This means that your Since their arrival in the 1960s, condominiums management company will quickly attend to a continue to be an affordable form of housing for problem like a water spot on the ceiling. Condos can Americans. According to the Community Association also exist in an apartment complex or as townhouses. Institute the number of condominiums in the USA If you are considering a condo, be sure to get grew from 85,000 in 1970 to 5,078,756 in 1998. Now a copy of the developments’ handbook bylaws in let me sit back and wave to the grass cutters. (Statistics advance. Community living requires sacrifices. There were taken from www.Laws.com/real estate and www. will be restrictions on pet ownership, noise levels, LendingTree.com)
May 8, 2013 { Middlefield Post}
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