Tamarac - A group of
investors got on the board of a condo association, approved
a large special assessment and said it had to be paid by
unit owners by Aug. 1. Can they do that?
Find out in tonight’s Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
Arbor Key is a nice
affordable condo complex in Tamarac.
Maria Chaux: “I’ve lived here for a long time. I like the
place.”
The 232 condos are also on a big chunk of real estate that
developers would love to have.
Patrick Fraser: “Trying to take the property away?”
Harvey Brown: “That’s right, exactly.”
Harvey came to that conclusion after four people bought
around 50 units at Arbor Key condo, got themselves elected
to the board, and in late June passed a special assessment
of over $5.1 million that the owners have to pay in a lump
sum. |
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Harvey Brown:
“Twenty-two thousand [dollars]. I’ve got to come up with
that by August 1st.”
That’s right. Each condo owner has until Aug. 1st to pay
between $20,000 and $24,000 for the assessment.
Maria Chaux: “We don’t have that money.”
That’s impossible for Maria, who struggles to survive on her
$1,100-a-month retirement.
Maria Chaux: “You see, I have very low income. It’s hard for
us.”
If they don’t pay it all by Aug. 1st, the residents were
told, they will be sent to collections.
Harvey Brown: “I said they might be crazy. That’s the only
thing come to my mind. I say these people are crazy.”
Iris Gonzalez owns two units at Arbor Key and was once on
the board.
Among the repairs: the roof, the pool, the awnings. They are
needed, she says, but it will take a couple of years to do
the work, and she says the residents should be given those
two years to pay for the assessment.
Iris Gonzalez: “Little by little with payment plans, so
people can breathe, not to choke the people, because not
everyone has the same economic position as some investors.”
Already the owners like Maria and Harvey are getting called
by a Realtor who says she represents an unnamed buyer who
wants to purchase their condo.
Ernesto, who owns a couple of units here, says he can see
what’s going on.
Ernesto Cuellar: “They want to put as many people as they
can in foreclosure. Once the property goes up to the market,
they will buy it, and they will buy it cheap.”
Good for the investors, who might even tear the condos down
and put in higher priced buildings on the acres of land.
Ernesto Cuellar: “They want to maximize their profit, and
they don’t care for who are they damaging on the way.”
Well, Howard, what can a condo owner do when a board makes
decisions that could cost them their home?
Howard Finkelstein: “The simple solution: recall the board
and throw them out along with their lump sum special
assessment. The second solution: go to court, show a judge
what you think is going on, and have the judge remove the
board and temporarily appoint someone to straighten things
out at the property.”
I started checking. Companies owned by one board member,
Benjamin Jones, own at least 40 units, paying anywhere from
$85,000 to around $115,000 per unit.
I emailed and called him. He wouldn’t respond.
Only the fifth board member would talk. Alberto Conde told
me he voted against the special assessment, that he was
resigning from the board because what is being done to the
owners is not right.
Iris Gonzalez: “Give the people a payment plan.”
It’s what the owners who are not wealthy investors want.
It’s what they need to stay in their condos.
Harvey Brown: “Every day I have sleepless nights since I got
this letter. I don’t know what to do.”
Well, he might be sleeping better soon. The 180 owners like
Harvey are fighting back and doing what Howard suggested.
They are going to try to recall the board, and they have
hired an attorney if they have to go to court.
We’re seeing this happen in a lot of condo complexes, so
we’ll let you know who wins this battle over the buildings
in case your complex is facing the same kind of takeover.