Reply to Hot air blowing through vents into condo, including into dryer -- what to do?

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Reply to "Hot air blowing through vents into condo, including into dryer -- what to do?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][b]Dont call your homeowners or they can drop you.[/b]  Escalate it up to the board and demand it be fixed as its a fire hazard.[/quote]

That's what my spouse is worried about and hence is reticent to call.  The board doesn't care; we brought it up, and so have several other residents before us.  We were simultaneously told "never happened before" and that "when this happened in another unit, it was the downstairs neighbor's dryer acting up." -OP[/quote]

You have a few issues here:

1-you were sold a property with an issue that the seller might have been required to disclose. VA is a "buyer beware" state so the law is not in your favor, but my understanding is that the seller is required to disclose a defect if they are aware of it. I don't know how that works in a condo sale/situation vs. a SFH, but it's something to look into;

2-the condo board. The board is controlled by bylaws as well as state, and possibly county or city regulations. [url]https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodepopularnames/virginia-condominium-act/[/url]. I don't really know much about this except that there are rules. There are procedures. If they aren't followed, there should be remedies. You need to read the bylaws and also understand what actual laws govern the condo board. In your first post you say that a repairman won't be allowed on the roof  - what do your bylaws or regulations say about repairs to a unit? And when is code enforcement coming out?

[/quote]

Your first point is something I considered.  The prior owner moved some stuff around to put the w/d in their current space (they were previously 2-3 feet away) and, based on other issues I've seen, hired very shoddy contractors.  I don't think this would make an impact, but you're right, it's worth looking into.

As for the second point, I'll take a closer look into our board bylaws and condo docs (not that those are ever enforced; the board and staff run a little fiefdom and do as they wish).  Typically what everyone is told is that anything that takes place inside your unit is your responsibility (e.g., your w/d breaks) and anything in the walls between units or in common areas is the building's.  As for the roof, the building repairman will block access, even for a necessary repair, unless he's paid $$$ by the contractor.  The board is aware and enables him.

Re: code enforcement, if this is a code issue, my concern is where my responsibility to repair the code issue ends and the building's begins.  I'm concerned about being on the hook financially, even if it's a building issue, due to VA laws like the buyer beware one mentioned earlier.  My spouse has expressed the same concern. 
 Lots of stuff to look into for sure, and a lot of headache for a first-time purchase.  I appreciate you being helpful with this![/quote]

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