South Florida condo
residents, especially those in older buildings, are being
hit with crushing special assessments. When they can’t pay,
they face foreclosure. It’s why residents of one building
turned to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
We met with six condo owners. But it could have been 600 or
6,000, all using the same words.
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At Help Me Howard,
emails are pouring in and phone calls coming from people who
can’t afford the special assessments.
Caller: “They continue to add assessments and his fees go
up, so he doesn’t have the funds to continue to pay more and
more and more.”
After being hit with a
special assessment two years ago, the owners at Tara West
wanted to pay the newest $8,158 assessment over several
months.
They went to the board meeting.
Eileen Hill: “The meeting lasted three minutes. I raised my
hand.”
Vicki LaRue: “We weren’t allowed to speak.”
An unsigned letter from the board said they cannot approve a
payment plan. That the money was needed for the 50 year
re-certification.
Residents say they then asked the property manager to see
all the association’s records.
Patrick Fraser? “What about the finances?”
Eileen Hill: “Well, you are not allowed to know that,
either.”
Ginnis Arcos: “So we don’t know where the money’s going. We
don’t know what the expenses are.”
Eileen is a retired attorney. She has a word for what she
sees going on.
Eileen Hill: “And I have never seen such shenanigans.”
Ginnis Arcos’ parents live here. What’s happening to them
and other condo owners being hit with assessments infuriates
her.
Ginnis Arcos: “My father is over 80 years old. You should
not be dealing with this at this stage of his life.”
So many South Florida condo owners just cannot afford these
large special assessments.
Jeanette Delegram: “OK. I have Stage 4 cancer, and so, I’m
back working again in order to pay all this. They don’t
care.”
It’s not an exaggeration to say a disaster is coming to
condo residents facing 40 and 50 year re-certifications.
Howard, legally, what can they do?
Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “The Legislature and
Gov. DeSantis approved a bill to force condos to have
reserves and do 40 year re-certification, which is a good
thing. But they didn’t realize the consequences, where
owners have to come up with all that money. Many of them are
elderly and do not have it, even if you give them time to
pay. The government bailed out banks and auto makers. The
Legislature has to come up with a way to save these people
from being foreclosed on.”
The condo president at Tara West told us the board would not
approve a loan to finance the special assessment for the
re-certification. But he would vote to allow monthly
payments for the assessment if one more member of the
three-person board agreed.
The two other board members wouldn’t return our calls,
emails and a note we left on their doors.
The deadline to pay the special assessment passed.
We were told six of the 16 owners could not pay the $8,158
in a lump sum.
Ginnis Arcos: “They put a lien on their apartment, and
they’re basically thrown on the street.”
What will happen at Tara West? What will happen across South
Florida?
Many voices are asking those questions.
Eileen Hill: “I’m alone now, and I’m 81 years old.
Ginnis Arcos: “This is not right. It’s just not right.”
Vicki LaRue: “We have to stop this, and that’s why we’re
here.”
Now, if the boards don’t spread out the special assessments
or borrow the money to let residents repay their monthly,
when they start foreclosing on owners, the value of all the
condos in the older buildings will start falling.