Forming A Condo Association?
I was wondering what is required to form a condo association. A friend is looking into building approx 10 small houses/condos and is intrested in how to go about forming a condo association. Can a good attorney take care of this?
When you charge condo fees I assume you setup a seperate account to collect them, and disperse funds for exterior and grounds maintainence??
Thanks 
Most RE attorneys will have the answers you're looking for.
As for fees, many include not only maintenance but also water and master deed insurance.
I believe they are deposited into a condo association trust account.
Again, an RE attorney will help you establish a trust.
[addsig]
thanks
most have boiler plate "fill in the blank" association formation docs.
Forming a condo association requires filing condo declaration documents with the recorder of deeds in the county where the building is located. The most complicated part is usually hireing an engineering firm to write legal descriptions for each unit in the complex. I wouldn't go to just any attny. But its not that hard to find one either. Ask around people will know who has done a lot of this kind of work. One of the guys I use used to be a state rep. He wrote the condo law when he was in office. He's pretty good, not too expensive.
Commercialking's right: you'll need to hire an engineer/architect to draw up the master deed and designate the structural exclusive rights and common space zones.
And I'm pretty sure you'll also need to hire a surveyor for a site survey. They'll plot the land and designate zones of exclusive use (such as deeded parking spots) and areas of common use (such as walkways, etc.).
Good luck.
[addsig]
I've looked into this in detail and I have gotten an estimate of $10-25k depending on the size of the complex. Just an idea to throw around in your figures.
I agree with commercialking....you do not want just any attorney doing these docs. You need to talk to a firm that specializes in HOA and condo docs. One step you could take is to contact your local home builder's association and see if they know who a lot of their members use for legal representation. Note that condo associations can be very expensive in regards to insurance for small complexes. The larger the condo association membership the easier it is to make the numbers work. You need to find a real estate attorney that works almost exclusively with builders and developers.