Missouri Laws 448.2-118 – Termination of a condominium
1. Except in the case of a taking of all the units by eminent domain, a condominium may be terminated only by agreement of unit owners of units to which at least eighty percent of the votes in the association are allocated, or any larger percentage the declaration specifies. The declaration may specify a smaller percentage only if all of the units in the condominium are restricted exclusively to nonresidential uses.
2. An agreement to terminate shall be evidenced by the execution of a termination agreement or ratifications thereof, in the same manner as a deed, by the requisite number of unit owners. The termination agreement shall specify a date after which the agreement will be void unless it is recorded before that date. A termination agreement and all ratifications thereof shall be recorded in every county in which a portion of the condominium is situated, and is effective only upon recordation.
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 448.2-118
- Appraisal: A determination of property value.
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Tenancy in common: A type of property ownership in which two or more individuals have an undivided interest in property. At the death of one tenant in common, his (her) fractional percentage of ownership in the property passes to the decedent
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
3. In the case of a condominium containing only units having horizontal boundaries described in the declaration, a termination agreement may provide that all the common elements and units of the condominium shall be sold following termination. If, pursuant to the agreement, any real estate in the condominium is to be sold following termination, the termination agreement shall set forth the minimum terms of the sale.
4. In the case of a condominium containing any units not having horizontal boundaries described in the declaration, a termination agreement may provide for sale of the common elements, but may not require that the units be sold following termination, unless the declaration as originally recorded provided otherwise or unless all the unit owners consent to the sale.
5. The association, on behalf of the unit owners, may contract for the sale of real estate in the condominium, but the contract is not binding on the unit owners until approved pursuant to subsections 1 and 2 of this section. If any real estate in the condominium is to be sold following termination, title to that real estate, upon termination, vests in the association as trustee for the holders of all interests in the units. Thereafter, the association has all powers necessary and appropriate to effect the sale. Until the sale has been concluded and the proceeds thereof distributed, the association continues in existence with all powers it had before termination. Proceeds of the sale shall be distributed to unit owners and lienholders as their interests may appear, in proportion to the respective interests of unit owners as provided in subsection 8 of this section. Unless otherwise specified in the termination agreement, as long as the association holds title to the real estate, each unit owner and his successors in interest have an exclusive right to occupancy of the portion of the real estate which formerly constituted his unit. During the period of that occupancy, each unit owner and his successors in interest remain liable for all assessments and other obligations imposed on unit owners by sections 448.1-101 to 448.4-120 or the declaration.
6. If the real estate constituting the condominium is not to be sold following termination, title to the common elements and, in a condominium containing only units having horizontal boundaries described in the declaration, title to all the real estate in the condominium vests upon termination in the unit owners as tenants in common in proportion to their respective interests as provided in subsection 8 of this section, and liens on the units shift accordingly. While the tenancy in common exists, each unit owner and his successors in interest have an exclusive right to occupancy of the portion of the real estate which formerly constituted his unit.
7. Following termination of the condominium, the proceeds of any sale of real estate, together with the assets of the association, are held by the association as trustee for unit owners and holders of liens on the units as their interests may appear. Following termination, creditors of the association holding liens on the units, which were recorded prior to termination, may enforce such liens in the same manner as any lienholder. All other creditors of the association shall be treated as if they had perfected liens on the unit immediately prior to termination.
8. The respective interests of unit owners referred to in subsections 3, 4, and 5 of this section are as follows:
(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, the respective interests of unit owners are the fair market values of their units, limited common elements, and common element interests immediately before the termination, as determined by one or more independent appraisers selected by the association. The decision of the independent appraisers shall be distributed to the unit owners and becomes final unless disapproved within thirty days after distribution by unit owners of units to which twenty-five percent of the votes in the association are allocated. The proportion of any unit owner’s interest to that of all unit owners is determined by dividing the fair market value of that unit owner’s unit and common element interest by the total fair market values of all the units and common elements;
(2) If any unit or any limited common element is destroyed to the extent that an appraisal of the fair market value thereof prior to destruction cannot be made, the interests of all unit owners are their respective common element interests immediately before the termination.
9. Except as provided in subsection 10 of this section, foreclosure or enforcement of a lien or encumbrance against the entire condominium does not of itself terminate the condominium, and foreclosure or enforcement of a lien or encumbrance against a portion of the condominium, other than withdrawable real estate, does not withdraw that portion from the condominium. Foreclosure or enforcement of a lien or encumbrance against withdrawable real estate does not of itself withdraw that real estate from the condominium.
10. If a lien or encumbrance against a portion of the real estate comprising the condominium has priority over the declaration, and the lien or encumbrance has not been partially released, the parties foreclosing the lien or encumbrance may, upon foreclosure, record an instrument excluding the real estate subject to that lien or encumbrance from the condominium.