By AJ Cross
This week’s column is sure to be controversial with many people on both sides of the fence, but I have decided to join with the homeowner in this instance. No offense to all of my realtor friends, but I believe that a change needs to be made.
There was a time when the phrase “get a condo in Miami” was used so often that many people looking to invest in real estate in Florida actually purchased condos instead of single family homes.
If you have some extra money (which would be rare in this economy) and decide to take advantage of the downfall of the real estate industry with all of the short sales and foreclosures, you might decide that purchasing a condo is the way to go. I have seen $150,000 condos on the market for $39,000 so there is obviously an attractive opportunity there. But like most things that are too good to be true, so is the reality of condo ownership.
The state of Florida like many states has given what seems to be over-whelming powers to Home Owners Associations (HOA) or what many call Condo Associations.
The ability for an association to change its bi-laws at will to suit Board Member interests along with laws that mandate that all fees and assessment’s be paid by the condo owners regardless of the level of satisfaction or service provided by the association creates an unbalanced owner to association relationship.
The ability for an association to actually hold liens and initiate foreclosures against your condo creates a triple threat in these hard economic times. Now you have to deal with the bank or primary lender, your second or third mortgage holder and now your evil Condo Commandos going after you.
If you have ever taken the time to look at the laws related to HOA in the state of Florida, you will find that every benefit has been afforded to the associations to not only dictate association policy, but in many cases, your very life. They are permitted to infringe upon your freedom of speech by creating a rule that you may not hang an American flag or rainbow flag outside of your door because there is a standard facade in the common area; or that you may not have biometric door handles because that is not consistent with the other door knobs in the condo complex. Almost anything that you as an “owner” would want to do must meet the scrutiny of the HOA.
It is as if you are a co-owner with the association. If that was the case, I would love it if they also paid half the mortgage payment for you.
To think that an association has the ability to actually take your home from you is incomprehensible to me. To have self-proclaimed HOA presidents that do not even live in the complex deciding the best needs of the complex is not sensible. There is very little defense in these hard economic times when it comes to a battle between you and the HOA. Almost every statute is on the side of the HOA, giving little maneuvering room for you or your attorney when it comes to battle time.
Of course, it can be said that you signed an agreement to abide by all the HOA rules and regulations when you purchased the Condo, but there was really no other choice was there? When you signed the agreement, did you know that the association could impose assessments upon you as an owner, which you may simply not be able to afford on top of your mortgage and taxes?
Imagine dealing with code enforcement and learning that unlike owning a single family dwelling, and being able to pull permits on your own, because you are a member of an HOA, you have to pay a general contractor ridiculous amounts of money to do it for you.
So with so many appealing aspects to home ownership of a condo, my recommendation is simply to buy condos as a rental property or investment property if you must, but certainly not as your primary residence. Otherwise, you may end up having someone you have never met running your life and ultimately taking your home from you – especially if this economy hits you as hard as it has hit so many.
Get a home that is yours to do what you want with, when you want to do it. At least if something happens that forces you into foreclosure, you can stand toe-to-toe with one bank instead of getting tag teamed by a bank and your HOA.
