Higher fees are result of foreclosures

Condo and homeowner associations are boosting fees and slashing expenditures to try to cope with the wave of foreclosures in the state. A survey by Hollywood law firm Becker & Poliakoff said 53 percent of condo associations reported higher vacancy rates in their communities than 12 months ago as a result of foreclosures. Of the 1,589 property owners surveyed, 57 percent said mortgage lenders have been slow to foreclose. Attorney Yeline Goin called the survey an urgent wake-up call for state legislators and said lenders should be forced to pay assessments to avert widespread fiscal failure in condos and homeowner associations across the state.