Just Walk Away

[roamer5]

What is the name of your state? Florida

The condo is in my name and am considering doing the following:

. stop paying the monthly condo assocation fee
. not pay the annual property tax
. discontinue the condo insurance policy
. discontinue phone service
. discontinue power service
. never return, leaving furniture, appliances, and other stuff

I realize that the property and it's contents would be auctioned off.

Do I run the risk of any lawsuits, additional expenses, or credit problems? Basically, can I just walk away and not have to think about it anymore?

 

[JETX]

If it were only that simple....

Some things that COULD happen if you do as you suggest:
1) You could get sued for any negative amounts owed (after auction sales).
2) You could have to pay the IRS for your 'unpaid' debt (since it is considered income if you don't pay).

 

[HUD-1]

Also, a foreclosure would show up on your credit report, making it difficult to obtain credit for some time to come. Why don't you have a tag sale and then sell the property?

 

[HomeGuru]

Do you have a mortgage on the property?
If not sell it for cheap or even give it away.

 

[roamer5]

I forgot to mention that there is no mortgage as the condo is paid in full. Please accept my appologies for this oversight. To anyone viewing this, when there is a mortgage, a 1099-C is issued to the party abandoning the property, hence a potential taxable event. An excellent point made in the first response to this post.

The condo requires thousands of dollars of improvements to be habitable. I just do not want to deal with it.

All the other facts remain the same. If permitted I would like to ask a followup question. If the auction sale exceeds all amounts owed (association fees, taxes, processing costs, etc.), who is entitled to the difference?

 

[HomeGuru]

What is your estimate of the market value of a similar condo unit (comps) and your own condo unit in its "as is" condition?
What is your estimate of the total renovation/repair costs to get it up to livable condition?
Since there is no mortgage, you probably have a fair amount of equity in the property which you can discount for a fast "fixer-upper as-is" sale.

 

[roamer5]

The bottom line is that I'd probably be walking away from about $40k. Sounds crazy, I know. Believe me, it's a large chuck of my net worth, but in the long run it may be the right thing for me to do.

I'm just wondering where any extra amounts from an auction sale would go to.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

The bottom line is that I'd probably be walking away from about $40k. Sounds crazy, I know. Believe me, it's a large chuck of my net worth, but in the long run it may be the right thing for me to do.

I'm just wondering where any extra amounts from an auction sale would go to.

My response:

I'm flying out to Florida. Give me your address. I don't care if the condo is in the middle of the Everglades, and there's alligators all around it. I don't care what the condition is. I don't even care if it's in a ghetto, and people like "plifter" live in the neighborhood.

I will hand you $1.00, and you will hand me a signed and dated Quit Claim Deed.

Simple.

I'll take it off your hands in a heartbeat. See you soon . . .

IAAL

 

[roamer5]

All I know is, that a while back I received some advice from this forum pertaining to property. I then paid for a consultation with a lawyer and received the same exact advice. Bottom line is that this group knows everything. I now know what to do with this property.

Thank you, thank you, and thanks again.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

All I know is, that a while back I received some advice from this forum pertaining to property. I then paid for a consultation with a lawyer and received the same exact advice. Bottom line is that this group knows everything. I now know what to do with this property.

Thank you, thank you, and thanks again.

My response:

You're welcome.

Now you see how absolutely ridiculous you sounded when you said, "The bottom line is that I'd probably be walking away from about $40k."

Anyone, including myself, would be NUTS not to take advantage of a person like you, when you say something nutty like that.

So, now you know what to do. Good for you.

Please don't delete this thread.

IAAL

 

[roamer5]

Ok. A person (her) with a life interest in this property left it three years ago. These are my notes based upon info received from this forum (so please do not quote them on this): I would have to file for partition to separate her from the life estate property rights due to her "waste" of the property. Also she has all the rights & control to the condo.

First I would have to go thru months of gathering receipts, documentation, and who knows what else. I would then have to make court appearances. Then, if I just happen to win this thing, I have to go thru the process of selling a place that is basically uninhabitable. The place needs new carpeting and new central AC, not to mention the lingering mold.

If I were a millionaire, then it would not be so nutty. If because I'm not a millionaire, that makes it nutty, then so be it.

So, now the question is this: can I issue a Quit Claim Deed of my interest to this property to someone else and walk away without owing anyone a dime and with no liability whatsoever?

 

[roamer5]

Really did not mean for this thread to get so involved. Appreciate everyones reply and realize my questions have been answered. Thanks.

Eventually (soon), I'll probably be starting another thread pertaining to what happens when a Florida condo association fee is not paid. Should be a good learning experience. Meantime, I'll just hang out in tax law and try to help out where I can.

 

[JETX]

"I'll probably be starting another thread pertaining to what happens when a Florida condo association fee is not paid."

The association will send you a few letters... then the association's lawyer will send you a few letters.... then, once the legal fees are several times the amount owed... they will foreclose on the property.