Florida Forclosure

Started by NealS3 • 18 replies • 2187 views

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NealS3 (Florida)
Posts: 1

Posted:

An attached villa in our community is vacant and being forclosed on by a bank. Our problem is the electric has been turned off and our fear is that mold will form during the summer without the AC being on. If mold does appear and moves to the attached units who is responsible? Can't get the bank to respond to our letters. Any ideas?

JaniceM1 (Georgia)
Posts: 27

Posted:

Try going to communitiesonline.org/law
They have Acts, Laws and Statues for every state (or nearly) and association type.

RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164

Posted:

Neal,
First, try and be a little specific when you post, saves time and trouble. Who is "Our problem".
Got to know that first. If you are talking Board, does your association have a lien against this property? Can't imagine, one day alol is fine, the next day forecloure sign. Someone knew this was coming down the line, certainly the Board should. How much money is owed the association?

Can really address that until we find out who "Our" is.

If you are a concerned owner, go to board. If you are board, wqalk into bank and demand to see the President. Your association has a vested right in this propety by virtue of membership in you associations and it is a legally binding interest, don't let the bank walk on you.

As far as solving a mold problem that don't exist, prepare for the worse and hope for the best. Have a plan, that is all you can do now. Who is responsible, the owner of origin; and you know how far that is going to get you.

CarolF (Florida)
Posts: 435

Posted:

Neal - This IS a very real problem in FL. The banks here are not taking care of properties that they have foreclosed on, and they are also letting the forclosure process drag on & on prior to actually taking title. One of the townhouse communities (718 condo law) here just took posession of a unit because the bank did not even show up for the auction, even though there was a mortgage outstanding of over $200,000. The electricity had been turned off by the owner when she left, and after over 6 months empty, I've been told the place is a moldy nightmare. I'd advise you to get online or go to the county clerks office and get the contact information as to who is the attorney for the bank, what bank is holding the mortgage, and the status of the foreclosure. Have your board & property manager (if you have one) start being very proactive.

RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164

Posted:

CarolF,
Thank you for posting this info. I see you haven't posted much and people like you, that are at ground zero (so to speak), can provide a fresh input into the current problems.
If you would Carol, post the area you are from. This could really give some guidence to folks around you. We are so spread out and a lot of times these things are specific to certain areas. For instance, you said the Banks seem to be developing a practice, etc, etc.
You advice was good and well said, and conveyed the potential seriousness of this probllem.

CarolF (Florida)
Posts: 435

Posted:

I live in Central FL on the East Coast. I read that the problems are even more acute in South Fl and on the West Coast of FL. You might want to read an article by Dick Hogan on April 11, 2009 at news-press.com about the situation in Ft. Myers.I always find a lot of good information by clicking on the Community Associations Network link here, and then checking the FL state info on the left state specific pull down menu.

CarolF (Florida)
Posts: 435

Posted:

Robert - here is another article that is now on the CAN website I just mentioned. "Law May Force Banks to Clean Up Condo Messes" - http://cbs4.com/CBS4yourmoney/New.Condo.Association.2.996962.html

RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164

Posted:

Thank you Carol,
Can anyone tell me how widespread this Florida requirement is? Do other states require a bank to pay six months back assessments at foreclosure?

It seems this new bill will require the Banks to do more. At least as proposed. In SC, I am not sure there is any state laws that deal with this kind of thing. That may be good or bad I suppose. Which asks the question, would an association lien on the property fit into any of these laws.

I again suspect, it is a crap shoot and the property goes before a Master in Iniquity or Judge(In SC,)for resolution and that is that.

And also, does this apply just to banks, how about other financial institutions.

AnneH2 (Florida)
Posts: 82

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By RobertR1 on 04/30/2009 11:44 AM
Neal,
First, try and be a little specific when you post, saves time and trouble. Who is "Our problem".
Got to know that first. If you are talking Board, does your association have a lien against this property? Can't imagine, one day alol is fine, the next day forecloure sign. Someone knew this was coming down the line, certainly the Board should. How much money is owed the association?

Can really address that until we find out who "Our" is.

If you are a concerned owner, go to board. If you are board, wqalk into bank and demand to see the President. Your association has a vested right in this propety by virtue of membership in you associations and it is a legally binding interest, don't let the bank walk on you.

As far as solving a mold problem that don't exist, prepare for the worse and hope for the best. Have a plan, that is all you can do now. Who is responsible, the owner of origin; and you know how far that is going to get you.

Robert-

Black mold is a very serious issue in FL. The Assn. having a lien on the property has nothing to do with it.

To the OP:

The owner of the property should be contacted via certified mail by the Board (PM), stating the problem with no electric/mold growth (put them on notice)and giving them a set amount of time to remedy the problem and letting them know that if the power has not been restored and mold removed (if mold has formed), the Assn. would take all necessary steps to remedy the situation and the owner would be responsible for reimbursing the assn. I have a letter that was vetted by an HOA attorney and will send it if you provide me with your e-mail address.

If it has already been foreclosed, this notice would go to the lender. If it is not taken care of, the Assn. may have to deal with it and then (try to) get reimbursement. Hopefully it is already bank/lender-owned, as they have deeper pockets.

A condo that I managed was faced with this situation and we had to pay thousands to have an entire unit gutted, with air filters, etc. It was bank-owned and they were unresponsive. The unit was so bad that an adjacent unit had to be vacated until the remediation was done. This cost the owner of the adjacent unit money, as he lost his tenants.

If there is no mold yet, having the HOA pay the electric bill would be money well spent, IMO. I can't tell you how bad the unit I was dealing with got. And while the board was going back and forth on how to deal with it, it got so bad that they paid ten times more to have the work done. When I left, the adjacent owner was talking about legal action against the HOA for being so slow to respond and causing his tenants to move out (damages).

I also know a great, state-wide company that does mnold remediation. Will send you their contact info if you'd like.

CarolF (Florida)
Posts: 435

Posted:

Here is another current (04/26/09) article about this issue-"Should banks clean up vacant homes?"
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/time-money/home/sfl-banks-foreclosure-042209,0,7160839.story

RobertR1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 5,164

Posted:

Anne,
Thanks, I would like to have a copy of that letter to keep on file.
[email protected].

JamesM14 (Delaware)
Posts: 17

Posted:

The Delaware Uniform Common Interest Owners Act which becomes effective July 1, 2009 has a "Super Lien" provision in paragraph 81-316(b).

It says that the Association has a priority for unpaid assessments up to about 6 months of unpaid assessments and ahead of the first mortgage. What happens is the Association contacts the bank, the bank doesn't want to see the unit foreclosed and have their mortgage lowered in priority, the bank advances the unpaid assessments and deals with its delinquent borrower by adding it to the mortgage.

Other states which have adopted the Uniform Common Interest Owners Act probably have the same provision.

DwightT (Idaho)
Posts: 664

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By AnneH2 on 04/30/2009 4:31 PM

I have a letter that was vetted by an HOA attorney and will send it if you provide me with your e-mail address.

Anne - Could you possibley remove identifying info and post it here as an attachment? It might serve as a good template that would be of help to many people here.

JohnM3 (Florida)
Posts: 288

Posted:

AnneH2 My email addreess is [email protected]
Please send me a list as I have 12 townhouses that are very near that point but fpl is leaveing the power on as they all are for sale and the real estate folks are showing them

Jack

EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148

Posted:

Carol,

Good idea and what about contacting the board of health? I'd hate to depend on our property manager being proactive.

BarbaraD6 (Florida)
Posts: 347

Posted:

I had posted a thread on this topic about a month ago. The townhouse next to me has been empty for over 2yrs. I'm in the Tampa area of Florida although I can't see in the townhouse I'm guessing their is mold. I called the Health Dept and they said they can't do anything.
Barbara

AnnaD2 (Florida)
Posts: 960

Posted:

Barbara, I'm in Pinellas County and the Health Department here won't do anything about that, either. We had a condo unit sit empty for two years, also. (The owner was moved to a nursing home.) When she passed away and someone eventually bought it there was no mold inside; but there WAS a dead rat in the toilet. UGH!

Here is another twist. We had an owner who lived in his unit for four years and not once did he ever turn on his air conditioner!!! When HE sold it the new owners had to gut the place because of the extensive mold in every room and walls. We can't make someone turn on their air. So you never know...........

MicheleD (Kentucky)
Posts: 4,491

Posted:

Wow, Anna.

Wonder what his cognitive skills were like by the time he moved?

SteveP5 (Florida)
Posts: 50

Posted:

Our by-laws state that the BOD has entry right to any property to make repairs.... prevent damage to other units ........so on and so forth.

It might be to your advantage to see if the HOA can turn the electricity on in the unit and then simply switch the AC on and attempt to maintain 78 degrees in the unit.

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