More On Homeowner Associations [Housing Tracker]

Homeowner Association Woes 

HOAs Squeezed By Housing Downturn.  Maryland: “In Montgomery Village’s Eastgate community, homeowners association dues delinquent more than 90 days totaled $5,661 in May, a spike 80% higher than the 443-home community has seen since the beginning of last year… In Germantown’s 684-home Cinnamon Woods community, 42% of homeowners were late with their $124 monthly HOA fees through the end of 2007. Nearly half of those were more than 90 days past due. In Silver Spring’s Glen Waye Gardens Condominiums, six of 214 units have been abandoned in the past year, saddling owners with a $15/month on their $500 condo fee… Several communities are reporting that as many as 10% of homeowners are delinquent.”  (Maryland Gazette, July 2^nd)

Crist Praised For Veto Of Flawed Bill On Homeowner Associations.  Florida: “Complications in the homeowner association bill led Gov. Charlie Crist  to veto… a major condo reform measure. Homeowner associations aren't regulated by the state and lack some of the protections that condo owners have… Roughly 1.4 million homeowners in Florida live in communities governed by homeowner associations… The rejected measure included provisions that would have let homeowner associations lien and foreclose on owners who don't pay fines of more than $1,000… Mike Leeds, a [homeowner] in Davie:  "Homeowners do need help”… including the way they are forced to pay increased maintenance to make up for those not paying because they abandon their houses or are foreclosed.”  (South Florida Sun Sentinel, July 1^st)

Condo Groups Left Holding The Trash Bag.  Arkansas: “Many owners of condominiums and town homes in Fayetteville will be paying higher monthly fees after Fayetteville scrapped its subsidies for garbage collection... For years, the city has partially reimbursed condos and town homes for the cost of their private garbage pickup… The city payments went to the homeowner associations, which collect monthly dues to pay for trash pickup, maintenance and other needs… The City Council, looking at a tight budget and wanting to boost bus funding, voted unanimously in May to end the subsidies… City officials say the move will save taxpayers more than $130,000 this year.”  (Fayettville Observer, July 1^st)

Condo Coercions, Short Shrift on Short Sales and Testing the Bath.  [After] a Reston, Virginia condominium association turned off air conditioning to owners who were not in good standing: Larry Kilbourne, of Loudoun County, a former president of a condo association [wrote]: "Our association of 280 units had a delinquency rate approaching 15%. Some members owed the association over $4,000, $5,000 or $6,000… [after] years without paying… maintenance… We... legally shut off water to the offending units… In a matter of a few months, the delinquencies were either paid up, or the owners sold and moved. Through liens, we recouped the monies owed. "Is shutting off water harsh? You bet. But it worked.”  (Washington Post, June 29^th)

Troubled Housing Market Is Causing Woes For Homeowners Associations.  Kansas: “The homeowner association at Monaco Place in Denver, is short $250,000 of its $9.3 million annual operating budget… It can’t pay for needed roof and siding repairs to homes. Potholes in the streets haven’t been filled, in order to save money to keep electricity running in common areas... In the past three years, about a third of Monaco Place’s 193 units have been foreclosed on… A growing number of homeowner and condo associations across the country are raising their fees or putting the brakes on improvements… [Even] essential services, such as building maintenance, electricity, trash removal and repairs have been cut.”  (Kansas City Star, June 28^th)

Longer Subdivision Construction Time Frames Force Shift In Expenses.  California: “Residential construction slowdowns that extend subdivision build-outs are forcing developers to absorb expenses typically turned over to homeowner associations. In some cases, experts said, developer bankruptcy or foreclosure is shifting the burden to the new homeowners or residential builders for maintenance costs - such as landscaping and care for common areas - typically borne by developers. In the best cases, solvent and surviving developers foster relationships with the fledgling associations or new homeowners until they get to the tipping point where the association can manage the communities, even when the building timeline has stretched beyond what they anticipated.”  (Oakland Business Review, June 26^th)

 

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Comments

[notsosmart:]

try your best to own your own home.keep it sized to your needs & try to pay the mortgage as soon as possible.it worked great for me & i advise my children & their friends to do the same.the interest you save,the energy you save is better than that small tax deduction.

2008 Jul 03 09:26 AM