The Unintended Consequences Of The HOA in Short Sales!

The Unintended Consequences Of The HOA in Short Sales!

We have a notice of expectations that all our Florida short sale sellers must sign when we agree to negotiate a short sale for them and list their property.

One of the biggest deal busters there is- Past Due HOA fees.

We explain the consequences of a Florida short sale homeowner not paying their HOA fees; not keeping them current. If you choose not to pay your mortgage payment that is one thing but always pay your HOA fees. Keep your HOA dues current whether you are living in your property or not.

The HOA's are foreclosing on homeowners at an alarming rate right now in Florida. There are legislative changes that have been made and more being proposed in order to protect the Homeowner Association's financial well-being for the good of all the members of the HOAs.

Many homeowners think that they will just pay the past due amounts at closing or that their lender will pay them all for them. The short sale lenders for Florida short sales are NOT paying ALL of the amounts owed at closing for past due  HOA fees.  Each lender has their own rules about that and a lot depends on what they require to be their net proceeds.

The biggest problem we see is that homeowners are only adding up the amount of their dues and then multiplying that number over the number of months they are delinquent.

But that is just a part of the outstanding HOA fees. Once the homeowner goes delinquent, ( stop paying their HOA fees) a lot of other fees start to be incurred. They will then have late fees, attorney fees, foreclosure fees and other legal fees.  The HOA fees along with all the other penalties incurred can easily end up being doubled.

We have not had a case yet where one of our short sale listings did not close over the HOA fees but it has come close. Because even though we advise our clients to keep their HOA fees current and what could happen if they don't- there are some homeowners who stop paying anyways. We have been in some close calls. Most of the time the cash buyers we have will come in and pay the difference but that is not a given so never depend on that.

Even worse than the entire short sale being thwarted by an HOA association who refuses to make a deal; they are no longer being amiable to negotiating down their fees and the HOA can and most of the time will file foreclosure against the homeowner. This can almost double or triple what the homeowner owes at the closing!

HOA's are foreclosing on properties and they are renting the units out. There is legislative language in the house that is being proposed that if the property is vacant that the HOAs will be able to rent out the units even if the property is not foreclosed on in order to protect the community interest.

Why are they being so tough? Well, it has to do with the viability and stability of their community. Those dues go to take care of the common grounds and many other things. If they don't have the money to take care of those things, the community gets run down. That is not fair to the rest of the homeowners that live there. They pay their fees and are no longer getting a benefit. Their values go down even more. Then on top of that, if too many people stop paying their HOA fees- the state has to come in and take over the HOA in a state receivership. That is not a good thing. Then, new buyers can not get loans to buy places in that community unless they put down at least 20% and sometimes 30% .

The other homeowners in the community don't feel that they need to be paying for homeowners who choose NOT to pay their HOA fees. They are putting pressure on their boards to not make deals because it is not fair for one person to have to pay the same as another.


My next post is about the extortion type practices of some attorneys who represent these HOA's. Make sure to read it because I will show you how high some of these fees can get when a homeowner does not pay their HOA fees over an extended period of time.

Avoid Foreclosure! Call Nestor and Katerina Gasset for Short Sale Information Today- 561-753-0135

   

 

 

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