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Oct 10, 2008 9:43 pm US/Eastern
Condo Owners Find Themselves Paying Extra Fees
SURFSIDE (CBS4) ―
Condo owners are facing a major consequence of the foreclosure crisis. Condo associations are being forced to charge unit owners thousands of dollars to make ends meet.
Like a game of Dominoes, if one owner goes into foreclosure, other owners have to step up and cover that payment. Now, plenty of people are finding themselves in trouble.
Colin Hendrick moved into Carlisle on the Ocean for the spectacular view. He certainly did not want the headache of being the Condo Association President, or the pains of being responsible for the building's bills.
"I have a constant battle every month to pay a light bill, a phone bill, just the operational costs of the condominium," Hendrick told CBS4 Reporter Carey Codd. That's not to mention the $1,200 a month insurance bill for the building.
Hendrick says the foreclosure crisis has forced the association to raise monthly fees for unit owners by about 35 percent. On top of that, they've charged thousands in special assessments to make repairs, like fixing the elevators.
"The silent majority of good citizens out there that are not being hurt by the irresponsible lending policies of the banking industry… they are very angry, very upset," Hendrick said.
He says 60 percent of the unit owners are being forced to pay 100 percent of the fees. And there's another problem: getting the banks to pay up.
Hendrick and the association have been forced to file liens against the banks, who are supposed to pay six months of condo fees if a unit owner falls into foreclosure. "The banks, who created the problem, are the biggest defaulters on paying condo fees and they are just making what was a bad situation a nightmare."
State representative Julio Robaina, who is keeping tabs on condos and homeowners associations, told Codd 40 percent of condos in the state of Florida are dealing with this issue. Robaina's holding a meeting on it next week.
He's pushing for a state law forcing banks to pay 6 months worth of condo fees as soon as a foreclosure action is filed.
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