How many people do you know who actually hired an engineer to inspect their purchase of a condo? I don’t mean just a building inspector to make sure the appliances, plumbing and air conditioning systems are working properly, and there are no obvious leaks from an upper unit, I mean an actual engineer. Well, get ready for the age of geotechnical engineers.
Geotechnical engineering is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials using the principles of soil mechanics. In Surfside, Florida, the town sent letters to the owners of almost 40 properties that they begin safety inspections ahead of their 40-year recertification. It was stressed for those buildings on the ocean that they hire not just a structural engineer but a geotechnical engineer to analyze the foundation and subsurface soils.
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, geotechnical engineers specialize in understanding what’s beneath the ground’s surface mostly during pre-construction. However, experts can also be brought in to inspect the strength profile of the soil below an existing building to determine how much the building has settled over time.
Because of the Surfside tragedy, coastal municipalities and buyers of these properties will be taking a closer look at existing properties. Recently in Holmes Beach, a small condo building was voluntarily evacuated by the town because the balconies and stairways had cracks that required further inspection.
As a buyer of waterfront property, doing your due diligence is now more important than ever. In the frenzy of an over-heated real estate market, buyers are waiving structural inspections in order to enhance their offer. However, and I’ve said it before, this would be a very big mistake, particularly for waterfront properties on barrier islands.
Buyers are usually good at reviewing condo documents and financial records of the association they are buying into but frequently do not ask about board minutes that may include discussions regarding special assessments. To be fair, minutes from board meetings are generally only available to current owners and special assessments need only be disclosed to potential buyers once the board has voted on them. Nevertheless, an honest homeowner would indicate to a buyer who is already reviewing the association’s financials the potential of another assessment or correction of a structural problem where the funds are not yet allocated. Remember the spirit of disclosure laws, whether written or verbal, is to reveal defects in the property that could have a future effect on the value of a property.
Going forward, contracts of sale for beachfront and island properties, both single-family and condos, could contain clauses related to disclosure of any recertifications already performed or specific geotechnical testing that may have been done. Also, it’s reasonable to expect that buyers of these properties may also hire their own geotechnical engineers in addition to structural engineers and traditional home inspectors.
Twenty years ago, when I purchased a waterfront condo, I did not have a professional inspection. My husband and our friend went through the unit and determined everything looked just fine. I guess they did a good job because we’ve never had any problems with systems and certainly nothing structural. However, I look back now and wonder what were you thinking? Make sure your thinking is better than mine was; we’ve learned a lot this year, let’s put it to good use.
