Condo boards bully owners

Was it irony when you printed “Condo buyers in driver’s seat” adjacent to “When fees get out of control” (Aug. 10)?

I’ve often marveled at how someone can traverse the mortgage approval process to purchase a condo, only to be held at the mercy of a homeowner association whose assessments are neither fixed nor negotiable.

It’s a shame when foreclosures occur to homeowners who cannot meet “special assessments” of immovable boards of directors without resorting to legal recourse.

Many past Associations columns in The Times have outlined near-fraudulent activities of some boards.

How much stress can a homeowner be exposed to: rising interest rates, energy costs and property taxes, coupled with unforeseen special assessments and the distinct possibility that many of these directors are their neighbors too.

Your article should be retitled “Condo buyers (think they are) in the driver’s seat.”

Paula Dresser

Burbank