Real Estate Q&A: Should monthly fee be prorated if I bought townhouse near the end of month?

by the Chimney Safety Institute of America. The CSIA website, www.csia.org, has a list of frequently asked questions for homeowners with fireplaces.

It recommends that all masonry fireplaces be swept when they reach 1/8-inch of sooty buildup, and sooner if there is any glaze (creosote) present in the system. This is considered by fire safety experts to be enough buildup to cause a chimney fire capable of damaging the chimney or spreading to the home.”

For newer fireplaces, the CSIA says, “Factory-built fireplaces should be swept when any appreciable buildup occurs. The logic here is that the deposit is quite acidic and can shorten the life of the fireplace by corroding the different components of the prefab system.”

What if I don’t have professional maintenance?

Some zero-clearance fireplaces will have a metal flue that goes through basically a wooden

Be aware of what type of flue you have.

Photo courtesy Dreamstime/TNS

box void, which is like a fake chimney, Jesberg said. Both new and traditional models can develop cracks over time from use in the stone or metal chimney.

Both models have a flue, a space or void in the chimney. Masonry or metal flues can develop cracks over time, Jesberg said.

“The cracks are made as the hot gases and smoke go up through the chimney, which typically goes up through your attic, can escape and get into attics and cause a fire,” he said. These gases can get superheated in the attic, which makes it easily combustible.

What can I put in my fireplace?

According to the Valley Air Residential Wood Smoke Reduction Program, it is illegal and hazardous to burn: • Trash • Magazines • Newspapers • Plastics • Other materials not designed to burn in fireplaces or stoves

Burning any of these materials as kindling puts heavy particulate matter into the air and can increase AQI levels, according to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. It recommends you buy Hot Wood, Duraflame or similar fire starters from the grocery store instead.

“If you’re buying a pack of firewood, usually it will come with smaller sticks or packets for fire starters,” said Maricela Velaquez, a spokeswoman for the air district.

Oak burns very hot and Duraflame logs can clean chimneys as they burn, Bartley told The Bee.

Jesberg said you should never burn construction materials or old furniture because you don’t know what they’re treated with.

“They could have paint on them or have been pressure treated. When you burn a two-byfour, for example, it can potentially stick to the walls of the fireplace, flue and chimney and it will build up and create creosote, or buildup on the inside the chimney,” he said.

The air district asks that you burn only clean, seasoned and dry wood.

What do I have to do when the fire is lit?

Be sure to use an Underwriters’ Laboratories approved covering in front of a fireplace, Jesberg said. Look for coverings made of metal mesh or any other approved devices that will contain embers that pop out from the fireplace.

Don’t sit too close if wearing flammable clothing, said Jesberg. Do not hang flammable items from the mantle.

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Real Estate Q&A:

Should monthly fee be prorated if I bought townhouse near end of month?

By Gary M. Singer

Question

I bought a townhouse last Oct. 27, and the association charged me the maintenance fee for the entire month of October, despite there being only four days left in the month. Shouldn’t the fee have been prorated?

– Deb

Answer:

Yes, but not by your new community association. People buy and sell property every day of every month, and community associations and property tax collector may not find out about the closing until days or weeks later. There is no realistic way for them to track when people are closing and prorate the fees. Also, some people pay their bills ahead of time, while others wait until the last minute.

So rather than try to keep track of this, community associations and the tax collector set their due dates monthly, quarterly, or yearly and expect the buyer and seller to work out the proration between themselves. They just expect to get paid by someone.

This all happens during the closing process. Before your closing, the closing agent does the math, crediting and debiting the appropriate parties, and lists it on the closing statement.

If you look at your closing statement, which may be called a “Closing Disclosure,” “HUD1,” or “ALTA,” depending on the details of your transaction, see these figures.

If taxes or community maintenance dues have been paid for the period, you should see a debit from the buyer and a matching credit to the seller. The funds will flow from the seller to the buyer if they have not been paid. This lets the association and tax collector be paid on their schedule while allowing the parties to the transaction to work out the proration between themselves.

For example, if your condo dues are $300 per month and the seller already paid them for the month you closed, you would pay the seller for the part of the month remaining after the closing date. If it was not yet paid, you would have to pay it in full and should have been credited funds from the seller for the part of the month they still owned the property.

Review your settlement statement, and you should see these charges and credits.

If you cannot find what you are looking for because these forms can be confusing, contact the closing agent from your transaction, who should be happy to explain it to you.

Gary M. Singer is a Florida attorney and board-certified as an expert in real estate law by the Florida Bar. He practices real estate, business litigation and contract law from his office in Sunrise, Fla. He is the chairman of the Real Estate Section of the Broward County Bar Association and is a co-host of the weekly radio show Legal News and Review. He frequently consults on general real estate matters and trends in Florida with various companies across the nation. Follow him on Twitter @GarySingerLaw. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.