Preparing for transition

Build your professional team before you need it

A board still under declarant control can retain its own transition attorney and an independent CPA in advance, so they are ready to review records the moment turnover starts instead of starting the search that week. Near the end of developer control, engage a licensed engineer to produce a transition (turnover) study. That is a different document from a reserve study, and boards sometimes assume one covers the other.

"design, construction, or code-related issues that could impact the association's future management and financial well-being"

Source: Condominium Transition and Turnover Studies, VERTEX

A reserve study estimates useful life and replacement cost to set assessment levels. A transition study looks for construction problems and code issues in the common elements, the kind of thing that becomes a claim, not just a line item. Commissioning only one leaves a gap. See engineering transition studies for how to scope one.

Ask for records as you go, not all at once

Developers sometimes tell boards everything arrives in a single package at turnover. Waiting for that package is not required and it is not the safer choice. As contracts, permits, insurance certificates, and warranties are created during the control period, a board can request copies in writing and keep its own file. Governing documents, financial records, contracts, plans and specifications, warranties, and permits are the general categories every state's turnover statute covers in some form; the exact list your association is entitled to comes from your own state's statute and your declaration, so confirm it with counsel rather than assuming Florida's checklist or any other state's applies. See records turnover and warranties for what to track.

Track the trigger, not just the calendar

The percentage sold, the elapsed time, and the events that end declarant control all vary by state and by your declaration. Preparation means knowing your own trigger, not assuming a national number. It also means watching for involuntary events. A declarant's bankruptcy, foreclosure, or an appointed receiver can end control sooner than the scheduled percentage or date, so the professional team you lined up in step one may get called in earlier than planned. See turnover triggers for the full pattern.