This post is one of a series about 10 Most Common Misperceptions About Condominium Laws And Operations, which I presented at the Maine Condo Forum and Expo in Portland, Maine, on September 25, 2010.
After thinking about unknown unknowns, reading the project documents seems pretty easy. But believing that you do not need to re-read the documents (or to read them in the first place!) is the most common error of all. I receive many questions from associations I represent which are answered in the condominium declaration or bylaws.
A note of caution. It is amazing how often Board members have out of date copies of their governing documents – sometimes I am presented with dog-eared copies of the original, unrecorded versions of the documents given out by the developer many years before. Not only are these copies sometimes changed before they are recorded in the registry of deeds, they are frequently amended after recording.
Recommendation: The association secretary should have a copy of the declaration, stamped with the Registry of Deeds stamp indicating that it is the operative document, and copies of all amendments. Same with bylaws, if they are recorded. Reread the documents occasionally. Always reread the relevant portions of the documents when deciding on a course of action.