My Stupid Condo Dues....

[Amy26]

Ok... so, my condo dues are getting behind... :/ I sent an email to the lady at the management company asking if I could request any relief due to my situation. She said the question would be posed to the board and I would hear back. Never heard back, sent her another email... she said the board could not do anything to lower my dues bla bla... but to send a letter requesting a payment plan and explain my circumstances. So, I just wrote that letter and will mail it off today.

I haven't paid since April 2009 on my mortgage but the stupid lender is still making collection calls to me. They know I'm surrendering and they just won't get on the ball. I'm getting nervous about having to pay these condo dues.

My dues are 250 dollars a month and I just can't afford it. They were not even worked into my bankruptcy budget and I only had 163 dollars left over every month after my expenses. So, I really cannot afford to pay them.

What happens if I just don't pay them? I was going to offer to pay them 50 dollars a month for a while and then hopefully sometime next year be able to pay it off. But, I'm wondering what they could do if I just don't pay? I haven't paid them since October.... all I got last month was a late notice. Nothing since.

[limage]

I stopped paying my mortgage in Nov 08, and my condo fees of 550 in April. After 3 months, they filed a lien. In September they filed to foreclose (I'm not sure what there plan is- I'm seriously upside down) and then I filed Ch7 in October- so I have stalled them. I am surrendering the property now that they have a lien on it - so after my discharge they can do whatever. I'm moving by the end of January.

[Amy26]

Ah, thanks for your story but all your stuff is happening before your bankruptcy... mine is happening afterward... :/

[limage]

I was sharing with you what happens if you don't pay. They will file a lien and then foreclose. And your neighbors will start glaring at you.

[Amy26]

ok... so I want there to be a foreclosure... if they file a lien does that go against me? Because the dues are incurred after my discharge... I am technically responsible for those dues since they happened after my bankruptcy.

[StartingOver08]

Amy look up your state statutes for Condo fees and the remedies that your association has at their disposal.

For example, here in Fl, the Association can only file a lien against the property. There was an amendment made last year that says if the property is foreclosed by the lender (mortgage co) the new owner (lender) has to only pay up to 1% of the mortgage amount or up to 12 months of fees. BUT, from the closings I see that the banks, as a practical matter, pay the fees in full in order to deliver clear title. What I don't know is if the bank goes after the previous owner for the difference in the fees and if there is a timeline in which to do so.

Your state statues may have the answer to your question as to whether the association can only lien the property or go after you personally for fees incurred after the discharge. What does your attorney say?

[limage]

Did you surrender your condo in your bk? You will find on this forum that people will say you are responsible for dues on your condo until the bank takes over, but my attorney said that's not always the case and he was glad they had filed a lien before I filed. If you can't pay, you can't pay. Also, read your original loan papers. Mine say the lender will pay the association fees if I don't.

[Amy26]

Oh my attorney won't do anything more for me. I had been trying to get him to make the collection calls stop from the mortgage company but he didn't follow through. Last time I asked him about the status of my request he forwarded it to his assistant and said "please help me with her" then she said she would help me and then never did... so, I'm getting the cold shoulder now that everything is done.

Where would I look up those laws?

[StartingOver08]

Try this first: http://public.findlaw.com/?DCMP=KNC-...utes&HBX_OU=50

Or try this one: http://www.courts.state.va.us/courta...ibrary/va.html

[JustFileSuit]

QUOTE]What I don't know is if the bank goes after the previous owner for the difference in the fees and if there is a timeline in which to do so.

Yet remember that the bank had their claims discharged in the bankruptcy. They would not be a proper party to pursue you further. (The argument that they are buying someone else's claims, and are the new holder of those new claims, starts to look a bit thin when the only reason the additional fees are out there is because they have not taken possession by foreclosure of their interests.)

Your state statues may have the answer to your question as to whether the association can only lien the property or go after you personally for fees incurred after the discharge. What does your attorney say?

The remedy may also depend on what the condo association bylaws spell out. If the bylaws state the board shall place a lien, then there is your answer. The Board has a fiduciary obligation to pursue its remedies, to protect the other owners. In practical fact, the Board could either sue you in small-claims court, or go after you in State Court, or file against the property. If they go against you and not the property, they "eat" the legal fees. So they go against the property and the fees get tacked on to the lien. However, if the property is upside-down, then the "super-exemption" which is a function of state statute (here in Connecticut, for 6 months of fees only), is all they end up with. So as a practical matter there is not much that they do.

Let them foreclose. You want "somebody" to foreclose, and if they are that dumb (many boards really are) then Godspeed!

[JustFileSuit]

I haven't paid since April 2009 on my mortgage but the stupid lender is still making collection calls to me.

The lender is in violation of the protections offered by the bankruptcy court. they cannot make calls to you. You can collect damages. If the Judge gets sore, you could collect substantial damages.

If your attorney refuses to do anything, you could file a pro-se Motion in the case, even though it is closed out, setting forth that a lender recited in the Petition is still making collections calls to you and asking for Sanctions. You can bet the Judge is going to schedule a hearing. If you have kept a Log of their collections calls (dates and times) and present it as evidence under oath, then I rather suspect the Judge is going to be very stern with the lender, and award you a tidy sum. Would $50,000 sound nice to you right about now?

Speak to a new BK attorney about filing the Motion. You need somebody with gumption.