Do you own a condominium or a unfinished condo project?  If you do, you’re certainly not alone.  Millions of American’s do and a few banks..  Many American’s prefer condos to single family homes for many reasons.  First, they tend to be less expensive.  Secondly, there is usually little to no upkeep!  The condo association or the builder takes care of things like the upkeep of the yards, swimming pools, garbage collection and even painting the exteriors.

For many people, condos were the perfect way to maintain a second home.  You could lock the door on your way out and know everything would be taken care of and when you walk back in, you have nothing to do but enjoy your second abode.   It’s no surprise that the most popular condo markets were in places where people wanted to go for an escape- Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, San Diego and of course Las Vegas.  The construction was non-stop.  The weakest market, Miami was still building 10,000 new condos even when the real estate market dropped.  Today, many are sitting not only empty but only partially built.  Many buyers of condo’s that aren’t finished have to sue in order to get their preconstruction deposits back from builders who are now out of business.

Of course the new normal is the auction process.  Many, many condos that can’t be finished by builders are now going to the auction block.  Beverly Hills auction company Kennedy Wilson Auction Group held over 90 auctions in 2008 and expects more in 2009.   Auctions today aren’t just for unfinished units, it’s also occurring with foreclosed properties which banks and lenders now own.  One of the reasons that auctions are now so prevalent is due to the significant high amount of condo inventory now on the market.  Auctions are even moving from the traditional hotel ballrooms to online.  Larry Latham, CEO of AmeriBid recently commented “There is too much inventory on the market which is a leading indicator of the unhealthy state of the real estate market.”  He said further, “Online auctions have the potential to be the closest thing to a miracle the real estate industry will experience in 2009.”

Oftentimes foreclosed condos are going for 30-60 percent off the value of non-foreclosed condominiums so some investors are looking at these units as very attractive.  But the new speculator may be the only one gaining in the foreclosed condo marketplace.  Certainly the person who was foreclosed upon faces the biggest loss.  Not only do they lose their residence, but their credit is most likely ruined for 7 to 10 years keeping them out of the market from buying any kind of real estate during that time.  Even if the cause of their foreclosure (a lost job, a re-adjustment in their interest rate or even a divorce) is turned around, they will still be out of luck.  The neighbors of the foreclosed condo certainly aren’t happy.  The “comps” (comparative value of their condo) will also decrease potentially wiping away any or all of the equity and value of their home.  Lastly, the condo association suffers.  When condo’s are foreclosed, the association goes without (at least temporarily) the dues each condo owner pays for upkeep of common areas and important services such as garbage collection, cable television, upkeep of the grounds and even swimming pool maintenance. 

As a condo owner who is behind on mortgage payments you have several options.  First is to do nothing and let your property fall into foreclosure.  This does nothing for you except make you homeless and without any kind of credit score.  You can also try to negotiate a “short sale” with your lender allowing you to walk away with the bank taking over the property at a loss.  But that can get very complicated especially if you have a second mortgage or home equity line of credit.  Each lender would then need to sign off on the loss and that’s not terribly easy.

The best way for you to get out from under your debt could be to call experts who can help you sell your property quickly for as much money as possible.  A local Southern California company, Terra Asset Management.com is an expert in liquidation risk and work to sell your units or project, and/ or the land to interested parties.  Operating in Palm Springs, Terra Asset Managers have unique foreclosure expertise and are the leading foreclosure specialists in Southern California.  Terra Asset Management.com can cut your time of sale down.  Equally important, Terra can limit your liquidation risk and most importantly Terra has the resources and the relationships to get your property(s) sold quickly. 

The 4 step process of Terra Asset Management.com takes the worry off your shoulders and handles all aspects of selling the property.

Terra Asset Management is a full services real estate firm and has contractors,
CPA’s,  legal and other help that may be necessary for you to sell your property.

If you have a condo or condo project and you need it sold, call Terra Asset Management.com.  Charles Stewart can be reached at (760) 408-8998  or reolord@aol.com.