Your Marina del Rey Condo Building Is Planning a Big Repair. Should You Sell Before the Owners Vote?

Selling before the owners vote does not usually take the project out of your sale. If the board is planning a big repair, it is almost certainly in the meeting minutes, the budget, or the reserve study, and a buyer will read those documents before closing. What timing can change is how certain the numbers are when a buyer sees them, and who ends up paying.

So the better question is not how to sell before the vote. It is which version of the story a buyer will see at the moment you list, and whether that version helps you or hurts you. Here is how I walk sellers through it.

In a California condo association, the board can approve some costs on its own and needs the owners for others. Under Civil Code section 5605, a board can levy special assessments that add up to no more than 5 percent of the association's budgeted gross expenses for that fiscal year without a vote of the owners. Above that, the owners must approve it. The approval is a majority of a quorum, and a quorum for that vote is more than 50 percent of the owners. There are exceptions for certain emergencies, such as a threat to health or safety.

A large building project, the kind that touches the roof, the plumbing, the parking structure, or the balconies, often lands above that line. That is why many associations bring big projects to an owner vote, and why owners start asking about selling first.

Once an increase is approved, Civil Code section 5615 requires the association to give each owner notice no less than 30 and no more than 60 days before the increased assessment comes due.

When you sell a condo in California, the buyer receives a package of association documents, set out in Civil Code section 4525. It includes the governing documents, the budget, the reserve information, insurance information, and any pending or approved assessments. Starting January 1, 2026, the package also includes the most recent balcony and elevated-element inspection report, which I wrote about in Has Your Marina del Rey Condo Building Had Its Balcony Inspection?

If the board has been discussing a project for months, the minutes will show it, and a careful buyer will ask to see them. And if you know about a planned project, you should expect to disclose it. A known issue that comes out after closing is a far bigger problem than one that was on the table from the start.

So there are three possible moments to list, and each one reads differently to a buyer.

The project is planned but not approved. The buyer sees a proposal, maybe a bid, and an open question about cost. Some buyers are comfortable with that. Many are not, because uncertainty is harder to price than a known number. An unknown cost often gets priced as the worst case, and that can show up in a lower offer or a request for a credit.

Listing before the vote can make sense when the project is still early and the cost is genuinely unclear, and you need to move for your own reasons. It rarely makes sense as a way to get ahead of a cost that is already obvious to anyone reading the minutes.

The assessment is approved and the amount is known. A buyer can now put a real number in their math. Your purchase contract decides who pays any installments still owed after closing, and that becomes a point of negotiation. Some sellers pay the balance or give a credit. Some buyers take it on in exchange for a lower price. Either way, a defined number is something both sides can work with.

This is often the cleanest moment to sell, because the project is no longer a question mark.

The repair is finished and paid for. The buyer is looking at a building with a newer roof, updated plumbing, or repaired balconies, depending on the project. That can be a real selling point, especially if the reserve study shows the association in better shape afterward.

The tradeoff is time and cost. You carry the assessment yourself and live with the construction. If you were planning to stay a few more years anyway, waiting can be the right call. If you need to move soon, it may not be practical.

1. Where the project stands. Discussed, bid, scheduled for a vote, or approved. The minutes tell us.
2. The likely cost per unit. If a bid exists, we know roughly what a buyer will see.
3. The reserve study and budget. Whether the association can cover part of the cost from reserves changes the story. If the board is raising regular dues instead of voting on a one-time project, the question is a little different, and I covered it in Your Playa Vista HOA Wants to Raise Dues.
4. Your own timeline. A move, a purchase, or a life change may matter more than the vote.
5. The ground lease, if there is one. If your building sits on a ground lease, buyers look at the lease term alongside the project. I explain that in What Is a Ground Lease in Marina del Rey?

With those five answers, the decision usually becomes clear. There is no single right timing for every building. There is a right timing for your unit, your building, and your plans.

The most useful step you can take this week is to request the documents a buyer will eventually see: the recent minutes, the current budget, the reserve study, and anything the board has circulated about the project. Reading them first means you know exactly what a buyer will know, and nothing surprises you in escrow.

If you would like a second set of eyes on them, I'm happy to read through them with you and lay out what each timing option looks like for your unit. I'm here when you're ready. Call or text me at 310.708.7717, or send me a note here.