As prospective buyers run towards the purchase of less expensive condominiums in the Naples area – their attention has not been to the financial stability of the association. In other words they are running into condominium complexes that could be facing a financial distress situation. Warnings regarding the apartment to condominium complexes and their potential financial distress situations have taken place over several months, starting with the doubling of quarterly association fees of a North Naples condominium complex. Such a situation has come to light recently in an article found on the Marco Island News on December 7, 2009.
Liens by the homeowners association halted an auction for 55 condominiums at Granada Lakes Villas in eastern Collier County.
An auction advertised for Dec. 6 never happened and interested buyers have been put on hold. Some contracts were signed in the weeks leading up to the public event.
The liens were filed after the auction was heavily advertised.
“We had a lot of properties under contract. We were ready to start closing. This came up,” said Eric Chavarria, a Realtor with Real Estate Empire in Miami, which was handling the auction.
Granada Lakes Villas went from apartments to condos a few years ago but it was a late comer in the conversion craze that hit Southwest Florida back in 2004. Granada Lakes Villas has been plagued by foreclosure actions.
Analysis showed more than 100 default notices filed against owners in the community, which is the first step in foreclosure.
On the developer owned units, the average lien is about $10,000 for unpaid maintenance fees. It’s almost half a million dollars in past dues.
Source: Marco Island News