We review association documents and resale certificates for clients on a regular basis. Every week we post stats and something fun or interesting.

This week it is The Bellagio, a mixed use building in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle (no, not The Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip and yes, Magnolia really is part of Seattle).

• Average Sale Price – ~$552 per sq.ft. (based on just one sale during the last 6 months)
• Currently For Sale – none
• Average Monthly Assessment – $0.37 per sq.ft. (so if your condo is 1,000 sq.ft you’d be paying ~$370/month)
• Move-in Fee – yes, $300
• Pets – 2 per unit with a 50lb weight limit (pets however are not allowed in the main lobby and must be registered with the management company)
• Rental cap – no (The Bellagio also appears to permit short term rentals)
• EQ insurance – yes (up to full building limit)
• Reserve funding – 99.80% (at least 70% is generally recommended)
• Risk of special assessment – No

Fun fact – this must be Magnolia. The Bellagio is one of the most “by the book” associations we’ve reviewed in a while. We saw the usual pet restrictions (see above), parking regulations (please park between the lines and in your own parking space), noise restrictions, provisions requiring owners to reimburse the association for the insurance deductible in the event of a claim ($5k at The Bellagio), and all the other things most condo associations have.  The Bellagio even properly files an amendment to their governing documents with King County when a parking space or a storage unit is sold from one owner to another.

And with all that “by the book” stuff, this particular association goes even a step further. You know how water heaters leak and cause floods (seems like all the time!)? The Bellagio developed and implemented a procedure for inspection and annual flushing of water heaters and hot water tanks (units have in-floor heating) that are older than six years.  The Association also cleans all dryer vents every two years (according to some, improperly maintained dryer vents are a leading cause of fires).

Fiscal responsibility is clearly evident in all documents. When there is a desire to undertake a special project that is not planned for (e.g. let’s add a fob system aka card readers), the Board proposes a special assessment instead of taking money out of the day-to-day budget or the reserve funds and hoping to make up for it later. There is a difference.

Generally speaking and with a few exceptions, the Board of Directors is the one to decide how and what to spend the association funds on. The special assessment proposal goes to the owners. If the owners see no need for a project (no, we don’t really feel we should install a fob system), special assessment is rejected and the proposal is shelved. If owners agree with the Board, everyone pitches in and the project moves forward. With this approach, everyone is on the same page, day to day expenses and obligations remain unaffected, and the money is still in the bank for that roof that will eventually require replacement. Maybe, that is one of the reasons Bellagio’s monthly assessments are at a low $0.37 per sq. ft., reserves are funded at 99.80%, and when everybody agrees on something extra, everybody pays extra to get it done.

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And of course a fancy disclosure has to follow because attorneys tell us it is a good idea – all information contained herein is based on third party records, is not guaranteed, and is subject to change. We simply review, tell you what we read in someone else’s docs, and hope whatever they have is / was correct at that time.