CondoWonk

01/30/2026

Sometimes the story we think we know turns out to be something different. Here's the latest from my CondoWonk blog.

After a condominium building collapsed in Surfside, FL, taking 98 lives, the Florida legislature reacted by mandating fully funded reserves. But design flaws, not low reserves, were the root of the tragedy.

09/03/2025

The average condominium unit for sale in Los Angeles is over 30 years old. Here's what to look for when buying or selling. (Guess what: houses in LA are even older!)

https://condowonk.com/10-things-about-buying-a-condo-in-an-older-building/

The great majority of condo units for sale in Los Angeles are in buildings that are more than 30 years old. They may offer nicely remodeled units with generous space, but older buildings need more maintenance. Here is helpful advice for the kind of issues buyers are likely to find in shopping for a....

07/09/2025

At a recent Moth open-mike story slam, where the topic was “dirt”, I talked about my many years as a dirt lawyer—an affectionate term real estate attorneys use to describe themselves—and how now, as president of my condominium here in Los Angeles, I found out how being condo president it a nearly impossible job.

To top it off, the information I needed to, say, plug in electric cars in a building with wiring from the 1980s, just wasn’t available online. So I created Condowonk.com, a place to share the information I was discovering.

Now CondoWonk has a page to communicate your experience with other condominium owners and board members.