Foreclosures put added burden on association-run communities [South Florida]
If you think you’re paying more to live in your condo, townhouse or gated community, consider this: It may get worse before it gets better.
Experts fear that with homes selling slowly, owners who can no longer afford payments may soon abandon them. If that happens, those left behind in communities run by associations must make up the missing share of money to maintain roofs, roads, landscaping and pools.
“We’re seeing a 100 percent increase in the number of files turned over to us [by associations] for lien and foreclosure,” said Gary Poliakoff, whose Fort Lauderdale-based law firm, Becker & Poliakoff, represents 4,200 associations in Florida.
In Broward County, his firm has more than 900 active collection files. The Palm Beach County office has 200 active cases, but those “communities are more upscale so the stresses aren’t as great as quickly as they are compared to Broward, with its higher number of retirement communities,” Poliakoff said.