We’ve written articles in the past about why associations should foreclose on banks who own homes in your community. We’ve explained that banks should be treated like any other owner and that you shouldn’t sit on the delinquent account waiting for the lender to sell the home. In a recent story in CAI’s Common Ground magazine, this trend was highlighted as it is becoming more and more common throughout the country. The statistics reported in the article are very similar to what we experience – most of the delinquent accounts are brought current before the foreclosure process is finalized. What that means is that associations recover all the delinquent assessments, late fees, interest as well as all the attorney fees and costs incurred for the foreclosure. In one case as reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Deutsche Bank failed to pay assessments for 33 months after it took title to the property and ultimately paid the association $25,553 after it started a foreclosure action!!
While some associations are concerned about the costs of foreclosure when they are already strapped for cash, we do offer several alternative fee arrangements that can ease this burden. If you are interested please contact one of our attorneys at 303.432.9999.