Associations look to cash advance for help – Forbes.com/a>
Two years ago, Captiva Lakes Villas in suburban Miami was struggling to pay its water and garbage collection bills, and its condo association was mired in a $60,000 budget shortfall.
Like other homeowner associations around the country, Captiva Lakes Villas saw many members, some with unmanageable mortgages, stop paying fees amid a slowing economy. Cash-strapped associations took out loans, raised fees, curtailed services or even fired management companies as past-due assessments piled up.
Captiva Lakes Villas took another, more innovative route. It teamed with Miami-based Association Financial Services, which, backed by private investors, gives associations a cash advance to cover its shortfall and use for maintenance, landscaping, repairs and other responsibilities.