A housing developer or home association issue? Problems with newly constructed home

[ratiocinate]

I bought a newly constructed condo, located in California, about one and a half months ago. Prior to signing the purchase agreement, I was provided a copy of the CC&R's for the property, which included a floor plan of the building for my unit. In this attachment, my parking spaces are located on the corner of the upper floor of the underground garage. During the walkthrough, the refrigerator I purchased as an upgrade was not in the unit, and was listed as an item to be fixed. When I finally received my keys, I found that my parking spaces were now located on the bottom floor corner of the garage and that the refrigerator I was provided had multiple scratches, dents, and a defective freezer. On the first day I exited one of my parking spaces, which is directly in front of the exit gate, the gate closed on my car and damaged the rear view mirror prior to retracting. After this incident, I wrote both the developer and the HOA requesting my space be changed, as the space I was provided damaged my vehicle, and also wasn't the space I was told would be mine based on the floorplans attached to the CC&R's. In regards to the refrigerator, I requested a replacement be provided, as I had purchased a new one as an upgrade. I was given several service appointments instead, and told during the second appointment that I would receive a replacement the following week. Thus, I signed off on the service requests for work completed, expecting a replacement the next week. On the following week, I was then told by the same customer service representative that I would not be receiving a new refrigerator, but only repairs.

As I never had the opportunity to inspect the refrigerator on my walkthrough, and I also had purchased a new refrigerator as an upgrade, not a defective one, do I have a legal right to receive a replacement rather than continual service appointments? After five appointments, the refrigerator still has problems, and the developer is refusing to provide a replacement, insisting I can only keep calling the appliance maker for repairs.

Do I have a legal right to have my parking space changed? The CC&R's have a provision allowing for the exchange of parking spaces, but when I speak with the developer, they say that I must go through the HOA. When I speak with the HOA, they say I must go through the developer. The CC&R's state that "Decalarant's right to assign parking spaces shall terminate automatically on the 10th anniversary date of the recordation of this original Declaration..." Does this mean that the developer can no longer change my space, even if the spaces provided to me were misreppresented? When I told the developer about the CC&R's I recevied showing my spaces on the upper floor, they simply said I was given an outdated one and sent me a revised plan. Does it help my case to have my spaces changed if I was given inaccurate information about my property?

Any advice about possible avenues I can pursue is greatly appreciated!

 

[presutin]

The refrigerator is a builder problem and so are the parking spaces. If you have the paperwork that clearly states that you paid for the upgraded refrigerator and you took pictures of the damaged refrigerator you got, you can certainly make your case in small claims court. Now, regarding the parking space - when closing, if you were assigned certain parking spaces and given different ones, you must have the builder reassign those spaces to you. The HOA is responsible for what happens after the closing process (depending on their bylaws). I strongly suggest that you contact the president of the building company and state on your letter that you have been given the run around when it comes to solving these issues. Also, make clear on your letter that you will take legal action if they don't address them within a reasonable amount of time. Good Luck!

 

[ratiocinate]

Thank you for your imput, presutin! Now that I know this is a builder issue, I will definitely write a letter to the president as suggested.

For the parking spaces, I was deeded two spaces, and they were the numbers listed on the deed. The locations, however, were moved from the upper floor, away from the garage entrance, to the lower floor, directly in front of the garage entrance. When I told the builder I was given wrong information about the location of my spaces, they said that the attachment I received was outdated and sent me the updated version. Do I still have a right to change my spaces, even if the numbers are the same, but the location was misrepresented to me when I signed the purchase agreement?

Thanks once again!

 

[presutin]

The answer is yes. Good Luck!

 

[ratiocinate]

Thanks, presutin! I wrote a letter to the president of the company and am now awaiting a response. It's been about a week, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that I hear back from him with a resolution.