CONGRESS LOOKING AT DEFERRED MAINTENANCE ASSISTANCE FOR CONDOMINIUMS

Spurred by last year’s partial collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, FL, Congress is considering two bills that may ease financing obstacles for both condominium associations and unit owners. One measure (the Rapid Financing for Critical Condo Repairs Act would allow associations to obtain 30-year, FHA-insured loans to finance critical building repairs, reducing the need for special assessments to fund those expenses. As currently proposed, the loans could be used for the “rehabilitation, alteration, repair, improvement or replacement” of an association’s common systems, infrastructure and facilities. The other measure, Securing Access to Finance Exterior Repairs (SAFER) Condos Act, would allow condo owners to obtain long-term loans to finance their share of special assessments for building repairs. Owners could combine the assessment with an existing first mortgage in a new FHA--insured loan; or they could finance the assessment alone through a 20-year FHA-insured second mortgage. FHA certification of the condominium is not required for these loans. We will continue to track these bills and will update you as they progress.