Paradise Lost: Sky-high insurance premiums, required reserve funds and major repairs has some condo associations and owners in dire financial straits
As we continue our series on South Florida’s housing crisis, tonight we focus on condos. Some of the estimated 3.5 million Floridians living in condo units face a perfect storm of financial problems, with no easy fix.
David Podein, attorney, Haber Law: “I think it is a dire situation on the horizon.”
Condo law attorneys David Podein and Jonathan Goldstein are sounding the alarm.
David Podein: “Between skyrocketing insurance costs, the huge capital needs for the structural repairs and the mandatory reserve funding, we felt that there is this confluence of factors that could create a ‘zombie condo.’”
“Zombie condos” are large buildings that are mostly empty because many of the owners couldn’t afford to live there anymore.