The Daily Soak - April 24

Condo Associations Struggle to Pay the Bills; Maintenance Suffers

The Miami Herald looks at the problems facing a growing number of South Florida condominium associations facing growing budget shortfalls as the number of foreclosures and unoccupied units keep rising. The article focuses on new condominium developments in South Florida where 50-90% of the owners are not paying their HOA fees. The 90% example, Fountains of Tamarac, is described as an extreme example; however, the 50% number is becoming more commonplace. Anecdotally, I have a friend renting in a downtown Miami condominium which is probably 30% owner-occupied. The elevators, hallways, common facilities and amenities are all in disrepair. The photo was taken from one of the top floors of another new Brickell development with a combination of unsold units and sold/unoccupied units.


Forecast: Where Housing Prices Are The Most Likely to Fall

The Wall Street Journal ran an article that first appeared almost a year ago. At the time, the Journal forecast California as the market most likely to fall. Florida, New York and Massachusetts rounded out the Top 4 in this ranking compiled by National City Corp and Global Insight. While the prediction is a year old, National City maintains a website with more recent valuation data. Not surprisingly, the nationwide picture shows undervalued markets largely in the heartland with moderately overvalued and overvalued markets located in coastal states. According to the map, Broward and Miami-Dade are the most overvalued counties in Florida.


Anxiety Over Rising Condo Fees Leads to Hostage Standoff, Death

A 57 year-old Pompano Beach man was shot and killed yesterday by police officers after he took two women hostage at the condominium complex where he and his mother shared a unit. Patrick Delisanti was apparently distraught over the rising homeowners' fees and special assessments on his unit at the Cypress Bend Condominium. The project suffered significant damage during Hurriance Wilma in 2005 and rising costs and assessments have impacted all residents in recent years. Police opened fire on Mr. Delisanti after he released the hostages and put a gun to his head in an attempted suicide.