AVALANCHE OF LIENS AND FORECLOSURES?

An Opinion By Jan Bergemann

Published October 7, 2025

Many condo owners are falling behind in paying their monthly maintenance fees, not even talking about the special assessments many associations had to levy in order to pay for the necessary structural repairs. A lot of condominiums, especially the older buildings down South, have more or less no reserve funds, since the legislature allowed condo owners to vote down fully funded reserves – and many did – year for year.

Keeping the monthly maintenance fees artificially low is now coming back to haunt the condo owners who voted down fully funded reserves year for year. But not only do these owners now have to pay special assessments, but as well much higher monthly maintenance fees.

And it looks like many associations already have to deal with owners being behind in their payments again.

The big question: Will the foreclosure crisis of 2007/2008 be repeated? Remember, unpaid payments by some owners are increasing the fees for the other owners, creating an avalanche of liens and foreclosures.

Association boards should figure that into their budget they are hopefully working on for the 2026 financial year.

Some association boards, supported by a majority of owners, have already figured out the cost of repairing and maintaining their building will not be cost-effective and have decided that the best solution of the problem is to offer the property to a developer interested in tearing down the building and replacing it with a new hi-rise.

How would you solve these problems? ANY GOOD IDEAS?