R.A. from Fairfield County writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
I was previously 3 months delinquent on my common charges with no assessments and the condo association attorneys told me that I had to pay a total of $2000 dollars in order not to go into foreclosure. It seems to me that I am being extorted for money and I am on disability. The reason the attorney said I had to pay the $2000 dollars was for title search, legal letters and other fees that I do not understand. My delinquent fees are only $690 and they are trying to tact $2000 on top of that fee. My HOA dues are $230 a month. I was also told by the management Company that I could not talk to the Board because the matter was out of their hands and I had to deal with them or their attorneys. Being an owner in a condo I know I have rights other than to do nothing. I have been paying my common charges with an extra $100 dollars to put toward the delinquent balance. I know I’m being taken advantage of, can you please help me? Thank you.
Mister Condo replies:
R.A., you most certainly do have rights as a condo owner but not paying your common fees is not one of them. I am sorry you find yourself in this position but what choice does the association have? For the three months that you were delinquent, all of the bills of the association were still paid. Your insurance, your grounds keeping, your maintenance, your unit management, all of this and more were still paid. By not paying your fees on time, you triggered a legal action against yourself. The association turned the matter over to the collections folks (the attorney) and they did what they do which is take steps to insure the association gets paid. In this case, that meant lots of legal fees. While I appreciate that you may face special challenges as a disabled person, I am sure you know there are certain expenses of owning a condo that are recurring monthly – mortgage, common fees, utilities. If you don’t pay your mortgage or utilities, what happens? The bank can take your home or the utilities will turn off your supply. It is the same with common fees. I am sure you will always pay them on time in the future so this may just be an expensive lesson in why. You should speak with the collection folks about your $100 per month repayment schedule to make sure it is acceptable. Ideally, you would just pay off what you owe and be done with it. If you feel your rights as a homeowner were violated, you should most definitely speak with an attorney. I am not a lawyer so I cannot offer you any legal advice on the matter. From what you have told me, you were treated the same as any other delinquent homeowner would be treated. Good luck!