Lawsuits Arise In Soured Condo Conversions

In Northern Florida, The Jacksonville Times-Union reports:

• "Several apartment-turned-condo complexes in the Jacksonville area are swimming in lawsuits, with complaints filed against developers, against homeowners and against condo associations. At the core are problems with aging buildings that were gussied up with paint and fancy trimmings, but never truly renovated, according to lawsuits. Most were sold as luxury condominiums at discount prices, in deals that homeowners say seemed too good to be true."

• "In the madhouse that was the real estate market a few years ago, thousands of apartments in Florida were converted into condominiums, more than 150,000 between 2004 and 2006, according to state records. With low interest rates and high construction costs, so-called conversion projects were quick, easy and profitable for investors: Renovating apartments was cheaper and faster than building from the ground up, and demand was so high that developers couldn't churn them out fast enough."

For more, see Condo Conversions Gone Bad (Hundreds of homeowners on the First Coast have found their apartment-turned-condo units have hidden and costly problems).