Proposed Changes to Rules about Condominum Assessments when Buying Foreclosures

The Illinois Condominium Property Act states what a Buyer needs to pay to the association when purchasing foreclosed property from a lender.  A blog post I wrote some years ago talks about that.  But the reality is, there's a lot of confusion out there.  A new bill introduced recently to the state House makes some proposals to help clarify the prospective buyer's obligations. Specifically:

1)  Anyone who purchases a foreclosed condominium from the mortgagee of the condominium will be responsible for up to 9 months of regular back assessments.

2)  The association can include legal fees and court costs incurred because of the non-payment of assessments, but the TOTAL bill to the new buyer cannot be greater than 9 months of regular back assessments total.

3)  Any foreclosure sale notice must specifically state that anyone who buys the property from the mortgagee may be responsible for up to 9 months of back assessments.

4)  Any proposed buyer must include a statement in his offer or his contract saying he will pay the fees required pursuant to ths new provision.

5)  The current language, which states that the buyer pays for up to 6 months of back assessments prior to an action to collect such assessments, shall be deleted. 

Most real estate attorneys agree that the act needs to be clarified, although they may not agree on what the clarifications should be.  Regardless, at this point the above clarifications are not law.  Let's see what happens!