//Shared Wall Communities
Condos/Townhomes
Clear answers for owners and boards.
For Communities
In a condo or townhome community, one builder’s mistake can affect dozens of units at once. We help owners and boards understand the problem, who’s responsible, and what to do next.
Where to Start
Our Four Step Process.
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Colorado Law
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Cost
No cost or obligation to find out.
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65% owner approval to file.
Shared Structures
Units and common areas.
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Timing
Deadlines keep running.
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//Why It Matters
Why Defects Spread in Condos and Townhomes.
Many responsible parties.
Several builders, subcontractors, and designers often worked on the same building.
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Association decisions.
The board and owners decide together, and Colorado requires owner approval before a claim is filed.
Shared roofs, walls, and foundations mean a single defect rarely affects just one owner, and that makes these claims more complex.
Shared walls and roofs.
Water and movement travel through shared structures, so one leak or crack can damage several units.
03
Units vs. common elements.
Defects often hide behind walls, under floors, or beneath the foundation until damage shows up.
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//Your Role
What units and boards can do.
Report issues to the association.
Take dated photos of cracks, leaks, and damage as soon as you notice them.
Track patterns across units.
Boards should keep a record of similar problems showing up in several units or buildings.
Get Advice Early.
Your declaration explains which repairs belong to owners and which belong to the association.
Know who maintains what.
Your declaration explains which repairs belong to owners and which belong to the association.
//What’s Required in Colorado
Filing A Claim As An Association.
It starts with our free Four-Step Process, which gives your board the facts before any decision is made. If the association wants to pursue a claim, Colorado law adds a few steps for communities like yours.
Four-step process.
We investigate units and common elements and give your board a clear, plain-language report.
Notify owners.
The board notifies all unit owners and the builder or developer.
Community meeting.
The board and the builder each present the facts. The builder may offer to fix the problems.
Owner vote.
At least 65% of all unit owners, not just the board, must approve the claim.
File the claim.
With owner approval, the claim moves forward, and we guide you through each stage from there.
//Questions Homeowners Ask
FAQs
Topic
Finding out if there’s a problem.
01
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Not every repair means something was built wrong. Signs that point to a defect include the same repair coming back, similar problems in several units or buildings, water moving between units, or major issues in the first several years. Our free inspection looks at both units and common elements to find out.
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It depends on where the problem starts. Your community's declaration spells out which parts of the building each owner maintains and which parts the association maintains. Leaks often start in common elements, like roofs, siding, or balconies, and show up inside a unit. Report it to your board or property manager, and we can help sort out responsibility.
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Maybe not, but timing matters. Colorado generally gives you two years from when a defect is discovered to file a claim. It also sets a final cutoff, usually six years after construction was finished, with a possible extension to eight years for problems found late in that window. For communities built in phases, the dates can be different for each phase, so it's worth asking us early.
Topic
How the claim process works.
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Often more than one party. Depending on what went wrong, responsibility can fall on the developer, the general contractor, subcontractors who did specific work, or the architects and engineers who designed the buildings. Our research in Step 2 of our process identifies who worked on your community.
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It can. Different phases may have different builders, different plans, and different deadlines. Our investigation looks at each phase so nothing is missed and every responsible party is identified.
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Not much day to day. Owners receive written notice about the potential claim, are invited to a community meeting, and vote on whether the association should move forward. After that, the board and our team handle most of the work, and we keep owners updated.
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It can. Some lenders ask whether an association is involved in a legal claim, which can make certain loans harder to get while the claim is active, and sellers may need to disclose known defects. We'll talk through what this could mean for your community so owners can plan ahead.
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Not necessarily. Many claims are resolved through negotiation or mediation, where a neutral person helps both sides reach an agreement. Some community documents require arbitration, a private process where a neutral decision-maker decides the case. A traditional trial is only one possibility.
Topic
Costs and outcomes.
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Nothing. Our Four-Step Process is free, and your board is under no obligation to hire us afterward. If you decide to move forward, we'll explain our fee agreement in writing before anything is signed. Colorado also requires that owners be told about potential costs before they vote.
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The money recovered goes to the association to pay for repairs to the common elements and, depending on your community's documents, affected units. After the case, we help your board plan the repairs with independent construction experts.
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If a claim isn't successful, the association doesn't recover money for repairs. Your fee agreement spells out who is responsible for which costs in that situation, and we'll walk your board through it before you sign. That's also why our report covers the challenges of a potential claim, not just its strengths.
//Contact
Have questions about your community?
Colorado sets deadlines for these claims, so the sooner you reach out, the more options you’ll have. Our first conversation is free and confidential.
Call us to talk it through.
Our team has decades of experience helping Colorado condo & townhome communities with construction defects.
Email us with details.
Send a message and our team will get back to you to discuss your community.