Common charge defaults on the rise

Defaults on common charges in the city’s condos started increasing last fall, according to real estate lawyers. As unemployment increases, attorney Adam Leitman Bailey said the condos with the most defaults are buildings with 30- to 35-year-old professionals who bought $1 million to $2.5 million apartments, and are relying on their jobs to pay for them. In Manhattan, the number of condo liens zigzagged in 2008, with 156 in the first quarter, 186 in the second, 154 in the third and 203 in the fourth quarter. In Brooklyn, condo lien filings doubled during the second half of 2008.