Association dues

[John]

A condo I owned was included in my bankruptcy along with asso. dues. I filed in Janurary of 95, moved out in May of 95, and the condo forclosed in Oct. of 95. I just been contacted by a lawyer for the asso. saying I owe back asso. dues from Jan. 95 to Oct. 95 plus lawyers fees totaling over $5,000.00. Am I liable for this amount? At the time the dues were only $120.00.

 

[LorettaL]

Your answer depends on state law and the CCR's of your condo. I would think that you are on the hook for condo dues from the time you stopped paying then until the date of foreclosure unless your state has some protection in place to prevent them being levied while you were in bankruptcy proceedings. (See this website's discussion of "dischargeable debts" under the bankruptcy section to get more of an idea of what I'm talking about.)

As for the attorney fees I would not be surprised to hear that the condo's CCRs provide for attorney's fees should they have to hire one to get back association dues from someone. Again, you would be liable under those terms unless this is the kind of debt that is dischargeable. I would talk to an attorney who handles bankruptcy matters or the clerk of the court that heard your bankruptcy petition to find out if these debts oare dischargeable or not.