Condo levy leaves owners staggering

There's a doorman, a covered parking garage, swank condos with terraces that overlook Coolidge Corner, and high-class appointments everywhere.

It would be easy to gaze at the two white-bricked towers on Longwood Avenue and see it as the lap of luxury.

That is, until you see the scaffolding and caution tape that keeps residents off their balconies.

To their surprise, residents of the 175 units at 50 and 60 Longwood Ave. recently learned they would have to pay a premium to hold on to their apartments -- at least $18 million, or about $100,000 per unit.

The big bill, which the building's trustees levied to pay for major structural repairs, is probably the largest such assessment per unit that condominium owners in Brookline have ever paid, said Chobee Hoy, a local realtor who has sold units in the buildings.

''I've heard of big assessments before, but I've never heard of anything bigger than that," Hoy said.

Town officials said they have no responsibility.

It is up to the trustees to make sure the building is structurally sound, and repairs up to date, said Brookline Building Commissioner James Nickerson.

Many residents are outraged -- and some have taken their complaints to court.

A group has formed and calls itself Concerned Residents of 50/60 Longwood Ave. The residents argue the assessment does not give owners enough bang for their buck and have accused the trustees of mismanagement.

To block the assessments, the group's executive committee has filed suit against the trustees in Massachusetts Land Court.

''We are completely helpless," said Aaron Korby, who has lived in the building for 15 years and is working with the residents group to avoid paying. ''It will be a breach in my finances for many years to come. If I lose my job, it will be a complete disaster."

Korby and others who have refused to pay may ultimately find themselves deeper in the red, after paying late fees and lawyers. Another longtime resident of the building, Jonathan Cohen, said: ''It is a significant financial hardship. The bottom line is, I hope I'll be able to stay here," but if it comes to paying the whole assessment, ''we might have to sell."

In court documents, the residents said they are concerned about some of the business practices of Touraj Naghieh, chairman of the trustees. Naghieh does not own units in the building (his sister does), and did not tell residents when he ran for the board, the residents said. Moreover, after being elected, he fired the management company and hired himself to ''oversee the transition," they said.

Naghieh declined to comment on the case, and other trustees did not return messages.

In other court documents, and letters to residents obtained by the Globe, trustees argued they are victims, too. Poor management, they wrote, goes back well before their term, which began in September 2004.

In another development, someone entered the building's management offices during the weekend of Jan. 15, shortly after residents said they first had a lawyer send a letter to trustees demanding more information about the assessment. The thief used a key to get in and stole a computer hard drive and 10 years of billing records, according to police reports.

In the court documents, Naghieh vehemently denied accusations of mismanagement.

''Because of several scurrilous allegations made against me personally in the complaint, I would like to inform the court that I have never misused my position as trustee regarding any of the finances of the association," he said in a sworn statement.

For the moment, the residents seem to face an uphill battle.

On July 18, a Massachusetts Land Court judge denied their motion for a preliminary injunction that would have blocked construction. The judge ruled the group had not proved the trustees did anything wrong.

The trustees have since filed motions to dismiss the suit. Their lawyer, David Hanrahan, said he expects a decision next month. He declined to comment about the case.

While the lawsuits continue, construction companies have closed the garage and have begun ripping off the water-damaged facade to replace the exterior walls on both buildings.

Residents including Ella Friedman are frustrated.

''It's impossible to fight" the assessment, she said.

The trustees told residents ''if you don't pay, we'll put a lien on your mortgage," she said.

They also hired a collection agency to go after those refusing to pay.

''We cannot undo what's already been done," Friedman said.

But the future is another matter. Elections for the board are in September, she noted.