By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities
debgoonan@icloud.com
For the third year in a row, condominium owners seeking information on forced terminations and deconversions stumble upon IAC.
Apparently, many condo buyers are completely unaware of this dark side of community living.
The fact is, 75-80% of co-owners in a condo association can force remaining owners to sell their units to investors or real estate developers.
In short, while some of your neighbors are happy to cash in their equity, you might be forced to sell against your will, perhaps at a loss.
Each year, unsuspecting condo owners discover this fact the hard way.
Owners: if you want to keep your condo and sell on your own terms, you must prevent predatory real estate investors from buying units in bulk. A few aggressive investors can quickly transform your condominium into a rental community or de facto hotel.
Investors often target well-located but vulnerable condominiums. They look for financially-distressed communities with deferred maintenance.
The best way to prevent a hostile takeover of the condominium corporation is to keep your association strong.
Top 3 IAC articles on condo termination and deconversion:
Retired Chicago condo owners could soon lose their home to deconversion
Can hostile takeovers of condominium associations be prevented?
Chicago condo owners act to prevent forced condo deconversion