Condo complex struggling with debt

Condo fees in Temple Hills community have tripled since 2006

Diane McKenzie said she fell behind last year on payments for a one-bedroom unit she rents out when the fee doubled to $536 a month.

‘‘I’m fighting a battle of whether I’m able to keep my property,” said McKenzie, who now pays $804 a month and has a lien on her condo for the estimated $5,300 she said she owes.

But the fee increases are necessary to pay the Lynnhill Condominium Association’s many creditors and keep the complex from being condemned, property manager Monte Greenbaum said.

Utilities Pepco and Washington Gas alone are owed $105,000 and $85,000, respectively, in unpaid bills, Greenbaum said.

‘‘I absolutely feel for them,” Greenbaum said. ‘‘I apologize. But it’s the only way Lynnhill can get out of this bankruptcy, to get these creditors paid and move forward.”

Greenbaum, who has managed the two condo buildings for almost a year, said the problem started about 10 years ago, when protracted mismanagement led to inconsistent fee collection and widespread delinquency among owners.

About half of the association’s 180 condo owners have failed to pay a total of more than $1 million in fees over the years, Greenbaum said. After filing for bankruptcy in 2005, the association went through four different property managers before settling on Greenbaum’s Greentree Management.

The association filed for bankruptcy after amassing about $500,000 in unpaid bills for utilities and other costs, said Willie Moorer, president of the association’s board of directors.

‘‘There were a lot of people that owed money,” he said. ‘‘People weren’t collecting and nobody was paying.”

In 2006, fees were doubled by a court order after Washington Gas turned off gas to the complex for three weeks because of unpaid bills.

But McKenzie, who bought her unit in February 2006, and other owners have expressed frustration with the high fees and ongoing debt.

‘‘It seems to me like our debts are getting larger. It doesn’t seem like we’re paying them down. Yet we’re paying these exorbitant condo fees,” she said.

Greenbaum said the association is making progress on reducing its debt and is being transparent about how it spends fees.

But with $90,000 in monthly operating expenses, it is difficult to collect enough money to pay current bills and outstanding debt at the same time, Greenbaum said.

About 30 owners who have not paid fees are facing foreclosure proceedings, Greenbaum said. Two are in foreclosure, and one has had a unit sold.

When he became manager at Lynnhill, Greenbaum said some delinquent owners owed between $20,000 and $30,000 in fees.

He said he and debt collection attorneys have offered to negotiate payment plans for owners who want to pay, or help arrange for them to sell their property.

‘‘It’s kind of like half the people are paying for everyone,” Greenbaum said. ‘‘It’s a slow, slow process to collect legally from the others who aren’t paying.”

Greenbaum said he has sent a letter to owners saying fees will drop by next April to a rate below what they were when they doubled in 2006 to between $332 a month and $910 a month.