The Star Tribune reports on the problems with condos. "As the pace of condo, loft and townhouse construction continues unabated, some buyers are discovering myriad problems with their 'carefree' homes."

"Eager for a carefree lifestyle, Sandy Obermiller proudly moved into her new condominium in St. Louis Park in 2002. She had purchased it a year earlier, before the development was even a hole in the ground, and was promised a luxury condominium for her $250,000 investment."

"What she got was a condo where she can hear neighbors talking, phones ringing next door and other people's washing machines draining. The windows and basement leak. The deck floor is failing. The building looks unfinished. 'I want what I originally bought into,' said Obermiller. 'I feel taken.'"

"Obermiller, along with other buyers at Fern Hill Place condominiums, sued the building's developer, architect, builder and subcontractors. Last month they settled for $1.85 million."

"Buyers paying a premium for lofts, condos and townhouses expect high-quality construction and quiet. But often what they get behind the gleaming surfaces and lofty ceilings is an ordinary apartment in which owners can hear the clack-clack of high heels overhead and smell cigarette smoke from five floors below and moldy odors emanating from electrical outlets."

"The building code for condos and lofts is a low standard that doesn't always translate into high-quality construction. Nor does it ensure that all units in a building will meet even minimal standards."

"'For all practical purposes, actually for all purposes, apartments and condos are constructed the same way,' said Mike Godfrey, with the Minnesota Codes and Standards Division. 'The only difference is one you own and the other one you rent.'"

"And price doesn't ensure better air sealing. Dave Bohac said that a two-year-old luxury condo building was one of the leakier ones in the study. The details of air sealing and indoor air quality aren't on developers' radar, said Marilou Cheple, a former builder and home inspector who teaches at the University of Minnesota. 'Nobody makes them do it, so my goodness, why would they?' she said.""The result is that some buyers are paying top dollar for what amounts to an apartment with cosmetic enhancements. And unlike renters, they can't just pick up and move without risking a financial hit. Some at Fern Hill Place tried, but ended up selling for less than they paid, said Andrew Marshall, the lawyer representing the owners."

"It becomes a big-stakes game: 'At one arbitration, there were 35 lawyers sitting in the room,' said Steven Orfield, a Minneapolis acoustics consultant and expert witness in several multimillion-dollar lawsuits."