Tuesday, April 6, 2010
abandoned unit
our assn has a unit abandoned in 8/2008--from public records, there is a huge outstanding $$$ amount on the unit due to penalties etc as well as what appears to be a huge $$$ borrowed/mortgaged ? , liens by utilities, our assn, etc -we do have an attorney and a real estate person working w/us but to no avail ---seems no one can pin down who holds the deed and why no foreclosure/public auction etc ---we have been advised to rent the unit which we deem an unacceptable solution ---I'm certain we are not the only ones in the village in this situation ---if anyone has a suggestion or direction to follow -we'd be grateful ---at our wits end--
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Hi Mag,
ReplyDeletePlease pass the address of the unit to me via Email:
nsasigint@comcast.net
Thanks,
Dave
Didn't I read in the blog about Reverse Foreclosures where the bank has to take back the condo? Then they have to pay the monthly fees?
ReplyDeleteThanks Grace - will check it out - found article online -and thanks Dave!
ReplyDeleteFor those interested in Reverse Foreclosures, the following Article may be instructive as follows:
ReplyDeleteReverse Foreclosure Ruling could give embattled associations relief
For more information go to www.BuyMiami.net
The days of banks delaying the foreclosure process to avoid financial responsibility for distressed residential properties may be coming to an end.
In a "reverse foreclosure," a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge has forced a bank to take title to a property from a homeowners association. The HOA had agreed to waive its rights to the property.
The association had foreclosed on the home and obtained title but couldn't sell it because of the bank's lien. The bank had foreclosed but hadn't pursued the case over a period of 2½ years, leaving the homeowner's association stuck with a home and no one paying dues.
"Their liability is capped. Plus, once they take title, they're liable for attorney fees and taxes," he said. "With all their upside-down mortgages, they don't want to take on that additional liability until they find a buyer. So they're simply not pursuing the cases they've filed."
.... they (Homeowner's Association)want a summary judgment against themselves. Then they request an immediate sale date, waiving their rights to a waiting period. .
.... The reverse foreclosure can only be filed after a homeowner is out of the picture and the home is legally the property of the homeowner's association.
"That waiting period protects the consumer, but banks are taking advantage of the judicial backlog, and then in many cases they are canceling the sale date and resetting it," he said. "What we did was tell the judge, we don't need more time."
Circuit Judge Jerald Bagley granted the homeowners' association motion, and the title was awarded to the bank the same day.
"We're not saying they need to complete a foreclosure more quickly than normal," Solomon said. "But there's no good reason why that lender has taken 2½ years to foreclose on this particular unit."
Attorneys familiar with foreclosure cases said the tactic was innovative.
... "It's basically saying, ‘Hey, they want this [house.] Give it to them.'"
"Banks understand if they take title, they have all these responsibilities, so they decide not to. ."The banks are doing this all over town."
"It's an interesting twist to file for a summary judgment against yourself," he said. "When banks delay like that, they're really avoiding their obligations. The people who are getting screwed are the condo associations. What the association has done is get the bank to pay sooner rather than later. The associations are starving right now. They need their dues paid now."
Solomon credited Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts Harvey Ruvin with helping his client get the title transferred quickly after the judge signed the order. Ruvin said his office is working on ways to limit the number of times and reasons cases can be delayed.
"One of the problems is that we're setting these cases, and we keep getting a lot of delays and resetting of dates without any basis," he said. "We're trying to tighten up the criteria for getting a reset, because those create additional costs."
"The quicker we can move these distressed properties through the process and into the hands of somebody who will pay a mortgage and pay taxes and pay their dues, the quicker we can get our economy back on track," he said.
Bill Raphan of the state condo ombudsman's office in Fort Lauderdale, said he applauded anything that helped associations struggling to deal with so many distressed properties.
"We get so many calls about these kinds of problems," he said. "Anything that would provide some kind of relief for these associations that are in such dire straits would be welcome."