Gilmar commented on February 27, 2013 at 12:26 a.m.: report abuse

"Are these things going to turn into libltaiiy sinkholes that nobody would dare enter into?.. and thus the plac will never recover even if the units sold at 80% off?"Yes, condo's and planned subdivisions will find any way to make everyone else pay for the dues on forclosures. I have a story about special assesments...A good friend's mother bought a condo in Danville (San Ramon "Country Club")back in 1997. She just retired in Dec. 07' and everything was fine, she had enough money to live on from her pension and SS...then last month every homeowner received a letter stating the brand new roofs which were done just 6 months prior were installed with the wrong building materials....the HOA says they have to REPLACE all the roofs in the entire community, AND each homeowner has to pay a $12,000 special assessment to the HOA. I assume the HOA can't go after the HOA either because it was their fault, or the contractor is out of business. What a mess!My friends mom says she cant afford to pay this -(she refi'ed to remodel her kitchen 2 years ago), which is besides the point, but anyway she's planning to put her duet home on the market very soon. The only problem is...everyone else in the community are rushing to list their places as well. This assessment has to be disclosed to a potential buyer upfront, and granted, the 12k can come off the top of the selling price during negoiating, but if I were a potential buyer, I would be scared to death there will be "more special assessments" coming down in the future. the buyers.Buyer beware.