Huge grease fire caused $1.3MM in damages to Ohio condo complex

Recently our 52 unit Complex experienced a huge fire in a 12 unit building resulting in a claim of $1,300,000!

A grease fire, legally declared accidental, resulted in the death of a long time neighbor. The restoration was extensive, resulting in owners living off site for a year. We are self managed by a 5 person board of managers.

The process required a steep learning curve for these board members dealing with the owners, their insurance adjusters, our HOA Insurance adjuster & the contractor selected to restore the building. We were approached by a public adjuster, but as much as we felt the need of their knowledge, our financial position was such that we felt we could not obligate the Association to their fee.

They kept in touch in case we found ourselves overwhelmed, and occasionally offered free tidbits of info for which we were grateful. Our adjuster was excellent, as was our choice of contractor, and we made it through a year of hard work with a successful outcome.

As we entered the homestretch, we were told by our adjuster that management companies normally charge a 1-5% fee to manage the details of a large fire, based on the total cost of the claim. It is a time consuming process and time is money to them. We have a group of about 5 owners who have been against self management since it began in 2008. They made it their business to suggest upfront that we could not handle and IF WE HAD A MANAGEMENT company, they would have the necessary knowledge!

At our last meeting, the Community was told of the final closure on the fire claim and we mentioned the charge a management company would have imposed on the Community. (We called a respected management company locally beforehand to verify & were told that yes, there would be a % charge based on the size of fire claim.)

The group of opposing owners rarely attend a meeting (like to create havoc by email) so when they received the minutes from the meeting...they began their checking! We expected a negative response of some kind & today we received an e-mail stating they had contacted 2 Management companies, a real estate attorney, a realtor & an insurance company, and none were aware of any such charge.

I am a Realtor myself, and would have had no knowledge on this subject. Our fire was the largest fire ever in our city, so it seems possible those contacted would not have had the knowledge to respond with any authority.

So my question: do any of the readers on this site have first hand knowledge to add to what we have already been told? If so we would appreciate hearing from you!

Thank you, Ann

PS: It seems this is something that condo boards should be apprised of, but hopefully never have to use!