Legal Remedies Lacking re Unpaid Condo Ass'n Fees
Add another issue to the list of troubles created by the subprime mortgage meltdown: unpaid condominium association fees. In Florida, half of the nearly 500 condo and homeowner associations that responded to a recent law firm survey said foreclosures have created a revenue shortfall. Meanwhile, many owners who do pay are seeing their assessments go up significantly to cover dues that others—including even banks that have taken over foreclosed properties—aren’t paying.
The big problem is, legal remedies are often inadequate to address the situation, attorneys and other experts tell the Miami Herald. For example, because of falling residential real estate values, condo associations that foreclose on a unit over past-due assessments may find themselves stuck with an expensive legal bill while collecting little or no money. Hence, it may be worthwhile to wait for the bank to foreclose on the delinquent mortgage, so it pays the legal bill, suggested Jan Bergemann of Cyber Citizens for Justice, a statewide condo owners group.
The situation likely will get even worse before it gets better, predicted Lewis Freeman, a Miami lawyer and accountant who works with financially distressed properties. ”This is going to absolutely be a catastrophe,” he said.
