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Condo Receiver Helps Collect Assessments

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Court Rules in Favor of Use Blanket Receiver to Collect Rental Income When Investment Owners Fail to Satisfy Financial Obligations to Association. The Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel both reported that the Third District Court of Appeal denied a challenge to an Order appointing a ‘blanket’ receiver to collect rental income from tenants when the unit’s owner failed to pay assessments.  The owner challenging the Order owns several units, most or all of which are in delinquency status.  The appellate Court denied a request for a Writ of Prohibition, allowing the Association to continue enforcement of the blanket order requiring rent to be paid to the receiver to satisfy outstanding assessments and other sums due. This ‘mini-receiver’ program has been very successful in South Florida.  The Order entered in the Verabella Falls Condominium Association case specifically requires the receiver to collect all rents and monies from tenants due to unit owners when the unit’s owner is subject to a foreclosure action for the failure to pay past due assessments.  It also permits the receiver to engage a property manager to offer unoccupied units for lease or rent when the unit’s owner is a defendant in foreclosure proceedings filed by the Association. Seminars will be held throughout the State to explain the success of these programs to community leaders.   Please check this site for more information regarding those seminars and other educational events.

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11 Comments
  • Robert Caruba Jr.
    July 31, 2009

    Does the “Condo receiver” order also apply to Home Owner Associations or has a similar set of facts, by an HOA, been ruled upon?

  • Jeff
    August 1, 2009

    I’m not clear on whether the ruling allows associations
    which are not in receivership (lacking a properly elected
    BOD) to collect rents directly. Or am I misinterpreting
    the term ‘receiver’?
    Thanks again for providing important information to
    those of us who are interested enough to want to learn…
    now if we could only find a way to educate those who don’t.

  • Maria Spagnuolo
    August 1, 2009

    Does the Blank receivership work for HOA’s as well?
    How would the association/mananger/board find out if tenants live in a specific unit that can be collected rent from a receivership while unit is with a collection matter (assoc.f/c) and the association docs does not incurrier for the screening approval procedure for when renters.

  • sal cannella
    August 8, 2009

    the unit is not in forecloser,can we still act on this probem of none payment from the owner.as to obtaining receivership from a court appointed.
    thanks sal cannella

  • Fran Griner
    August 27, 2009

    If our association had a duly elected board of directors, can a court appoint a Receiver to remove them and not pay the association lawyer?
    The lawyer that sued the association made the claims that the roads were unsafe. Yet after 2 years the roads are worse than ever, and he has gotten thousands of dollars in legal fees.
    How do we get rid of this Receiver???

  • Ron Nordost
    August 31, 2009

    I am the only dissenting board vote and I know we are just begging for suit. We have a nearly 200 unit condominium complex on the Gulf and have turned off the utilities on FOUR (4) units whose owners are behind, refusing or unable to pay their CAM fees. I’ve been told, no questions asked, this is illegal. One of the units is occupied by a disabled Gulf War veteran, another by a retired couple who just cannot make ends meet, both have been without WATER for several days. Of the other two, one was rented and the tenant has moved out, while the other was being rented weekly and is now empty. We gave them only a few days notice. Could we not have gone to court to get permission? Frankly, I do not want to be sued, for one we do not have enough directors insurance, but the other Board members just will not listen to reason. Is there someone who can point us to an actual ruling on this? I doubt we’re the first to so act. My son is insisting I resign immediately to help shield myself… what do I do?

  • John
    November 24, 2009

    If I am reading this correctly, the appointment of a receiver to collect rents on foreclosed properties involves an expensive and time consuming process for the association to file for the forclosure. How does the association pay for this process when the association is flat broke because most units are in some stage of a bank forclosure? If the units have already been forclosed by a bank (though not completely) and the owners are still collecting rent, how can an association put themselves in a position to ask the court for a receiver? Is there a way to force the banks to assign receivers and not only start paying maintenance fees again but, to also begin to collect on past due fees?

  • Mike Robinson
    December 24, 2009

    Our situation
    We have a delinquent homesteaded individual who has received a foreclosure judgement. our attorney has filed a lien but did not foreclose because there was an impending foreclosure… When the unit came up for sale 2 years later, the bank did not show up to the foreclosure sale.
    The bank has not taken title to the property but we are losing monthly dues. My attorney is saying that a loan modification is taking place…? My attorney has told me that all of his accounts have similar stories….
    What gives the right of one owner to outweigh the benefits of other owners? The 1% 6 months rule is not working anymore….
    Other than waiting, what options does our association have?
    Is there any way that a condo association can evict the homesteaded individual, collect rent on the property????

  • Gail
    January 17, 2011

    Since the law changed in June/July of 2010 allowing HOA’s and COA’s to garnish rents for delinquent assessments, our community has recovered a lot of money. For those tenants that refused to pay, the HOA/COA evicted the squatters. And we didn’t have to foreclose on the propertiesy although we did lien the properties.
    The only delinquent accounts that we need to address now are the abandoned properties for which the banks are not moving on. I would like to see the HOA petition the court to be the receiver for these properties so it can rent them out and collect the delinquent assessments. Has this been done to your knowledge?
    RESPONSE: I have heard of associations doing just that – asking the court to appoint a receiver for abandoned units and instructing the receiver to rent the units for the benefit if the association. While there are benefits of such action, there are substantial detriments as well that need to be discussed with counsel. The association needs to be aware of exposure to potential liability.