Condo Association Management Blog

When the upgrades were planned, didn't they have to get a permit? (imo) The city or town office that issued the permit(s) would or should have a copy of the plans, . .

if plans are not on file any longer with the local municipality suggest looking in the POS (Master Deed / By Laws) for copy of the site plan; or any exhibits that may contain engineering information. Most likely you will find the name of the architect (in small print) and be able to track them down for plans. You also may consider askingthe town for a copy of the delevopers agreement filed with the planning board. This document may also contain the information (name of planners, architects, engineers, etc.) that built the community.  
 
 
 
If you hit a wall,send me an email (efrank@arthuredwardsinc.com) and I may be able to assit further.  
 
 
 
Good luck!

Another source for information may be the original deed for this unit. If the pricing was higher than other units, this will support the possibility that the first purchaser did have upgrades installed by the developer/builder.  
This issue is also found in Maryland which has similar language in the Condo Act. However State Farm in MD is covering all upgrades in the Master Policy. Otherwise the HO-6 insurance steps in to assist the current owner. For those condos that have original owners, the board should interview them to establish a base line. Again, purchase prices then will provide some substance to the database that should be established.  
If the State (or even an owner) has a copy of the Public Offering Statement, that should identify the sales staff. Sometimes, this was not a builder employee, rather it was a Real Estate Agent. The local agency who handled resales ma have a person with good memory. Another source would be advertising placed in local papers in 1983. Also, try to id the original insurance agent, management agent, etc., who may have good memories. 
Local governments often only keep plans for 7-10 years. (Hint for newer condos - obtain as much of these items as possible for historic information.  
 
Good luck.  

We were searching for our plans and drawings for two years with the various property management companies we had in the past. None of them had it, but one of them must of lost it. We were lucky enough to find them with the city planning & development. 
 
After we paid a nice fee to get them, we had an engineer scan them and now we have an electronic version for future board on our site. Hope you're as lucky as we were!