HOAs foreclose on big banks
South Florida homeowner associations are foreclosing on some of the nation’s largest banks, accusing the lenders of failing to pay thousands of dollars in maintenance fees on repossessed properties.
The foreclosure filings are a growing trend as associations become more aggressive in going after delinquent fees that have crippled HOA budgets during the housing bust.
Banks owe a portion of the past-due maintenance fees and the full amount from the date they take title to the property, attorneys said. If the lenders fall behind, they’re subject to foreclosure just as an individual owner would be.
In one Broward County case, Deutsche Bank didn’t pay maintenance fees for nearly three years on a townhome it repossessed in September 2009 at the Southbridge development in Pembroke Pines, said Ben Solomon, a lawyer for the association.
The Southbridge HOA filed for foreclosure against Deutsche Bank last year. The bank finally paid $25,553 in June — and only then because it had to convey clear title to another buyer, Solomon said.
“They expect payment from their customers, but once they become our customers, they don’t want to pay us,” said Marc Lebron, treasurer of the Southbridge HOA. “It’s ironic, isn’t it?”
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That’s a difficult one for the criminals (Banksters) to defend because there is really no defense, as the banksters could not possibly have been defrauded by the HOAs unlike the borrowers being defrauded by the banksters.
HOAs are loaded with criminal activity too though, as I’ve seen Boards try to steal properties, as they try to capitalize on mine in North Olmsted, Ohio. It’s quite a crafty scheme.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX83r8ijZL4&w=420&h=315%5D
Thanks,
Jason