Foreclosure Threatens 74 Orlando Foreclosure Houses

Posted in Foreclosure, December 11th, 2007 |

The allegation is that for a decade Stonebridge Landings never paid fees to the master community. As a result a huge chunk in south east Orange County is facing foreclosures sandwiched in a tussle between two house owners associations. Of the two the big brother filed a suit to nab 74 houses into the foreclosure net because of unpaid dues for as long as 10 years. $5,500 is to be contributed for the maintenance of common areas.

Both sides are slinging mud at each other. Most probably foreclosure will be avoided but 74 house owners of Stonebridge Landings 1, could be slapped with a special assessment amounting to nearly $1,000. The developer is being blamed by some for agreeing in the covenant that Stonebridge Landings would pay $5,500 annually to Stonebridge Village Homeowners Association for the maintenance of common zones like entry sign, walls etc.
The president of Sentry Management, (hired for managing assessments) Jim Hart, says that from the very beginning it knew about the fee. But a succession of Stonebridge Landing Homeowners Association boards does not agree and are demanding to see the invoices from Stonebridge Village. Hart argued that the Stonebridge Village does not have to justify matters since the figure is in the covenant.

Drake, a house owner says that had they knows about it they would have definitely paid. The irony is that if the fee had been equitably spread out then each house owner would have had to pay only $74 per year. For the first six years of his stay Drake’s annual assessment amounted to $108. This year it rose to $178 but his share of $5,500 was never included.

The Stonebridge Village association is hoping to recover about 60% of arrears after an agreement is reached at. Including interest and legal fees the amount totaled to more than $84,000 in May 2007. Olsen, their legal representative, said that none of the house owners have been served with foreclosure notice because all are optimistic about a settlement. He suggested that $945 would cover a part of the debt together with next year’s dues. The house owners would be allowed five to six months to pay. Some have already paid their share of $1,200 because of their need either to refinance or sell the unit. If the settlement reaches at a lower figure the extra amount would be refunded.