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FORECLOSURE DEBT – A COMPLICATED ISSUE
By
Jan Bergemann
Published April 20, 2018
As Eric explained in
his blog on Monday, the Florida legislature made it quite
complicated – and the question of: Who owes what after a
foreclosure sale? .. comes up very often.
Remember: The
Florida legislature protected banks – they obviously donated a
lot more money to their campaign funds than community
associations – by limiting their debt for unpaid maintenance
fees to:
1.
The parcel’s unpaid common expenses and regular periodic
or special assessments that accrued or came due during the 12
months immediately preceding the acquisition of title and for
which payment in full has not been received by the association;
or
2. One percent of the original mortgage debt.
If the bank takes
title to the foreclosed home/unit that’s all the bank owes the
community association – no matter how long the prior owner
didn’t pay his/her maintenance fees.
But if a private
owner buys directly at the foreclosure sale – or prior to
foreclosure – the new owner is liable for all unpaid maintenance
fees, special assessment, fines, legal fees, late fees and
interest the unit/home occured.
With other words:
Buyer beware, because the debt owed to the association can be
outrageous high!
It’s important that
everybody involved is fully aware of all the Ins and Outs of
foreclosure debt liabilities – and rights!
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Jan Bergemann is president of Cyber Citizens For Justice,
Florida
's largest state-wide property owners' advocacy group.
CCFJ works on legislation to help owners living in
community
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associations. He moved to
Florida
in 1995 - hoping to retire. He moved into a HOA, where the
developer cheated the homeowners and used the association dues
for his own purposes. End of retirement!
CCFJ was born in the year 2000, when some owners met in
Tallahassee
- finding out that power is only in numbers. Bergemann was a
member of Governor Jeb Bush's HOA Task force in 2003/2004.
The organization has two websites to inform interested
Florida
homeowners and condo owners:
News Website: http://www.ccfj.net/.
Educational Website: http://www.ccfjfoundation.net/.
We think that only owners can really represent owners, since all
service providers surely have a different interest! We are
trying to create owner-friendly laws, but the best laws are
useless without enforcement. And enforcement is totally lacking
in
Florida
!
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