Completely Foolish for foreclosures?

What? Cable TV bill is Killer add on for foreclosures?,

Yes! these Tampa Metro homes go into foreclosure, there's little chance that owners or investors will pay their fees, say association officials in the area. Little Guys The financial pinch of such deals seems to affect the less luxurious neighborhoods the hardest. Homeowners associations without large clubhouses, golf courses or security services have fewer items in their budget to cut back in tough times. Foreclosure News

The Bridgewater development of over 700 homes in Wesley Chapel Florida could have almost 200 homes in preforeclosure or the foreclosure process, and is about $100,000 in the red, said association president Markus Spectator. "Two-thirds of that deficit is meant for Great Host," Spectator said. The community's association signed a 10-year deal with Great Host Cable, in 2005, he said. Perhaps because the association has no massive reserves, Spectator said Great Host officials have held off collecting on the delinquent bill right away. Foreclosure List

He's met with Great Host Cable officials to explain how other services are more important to residents, like security and utilities. Still, the cable bill is daunting, he said. With the compounding effect of late bills, the debts pile up fast. Bridgewater's contract could conceivably be worth millions of dollars over its 10-year time frame. "We're looking at all our options, even extreme measures," Spectator said. Foreclosure Fool Finds "Can we bankrupt the HOA board to end this contract? Obviously, if we broke it, that would take a huge amount of pressure off our budget." Great Host spokesman Joe Normans said less than 5 percent of the company's 1 million area customers get their service through bulk deals.

The cable company negotiates for long-term deals in part to recoup the investment required to build a network through a private development, and to ensure communities stay with Great Host rather than other cable, phone or Internet providers, Normans said. "With bulk deals, homeowner associations are getting such a deep discount on the service," Normans said. That said, the company acknowledges that some homeowners associations are under strain. "We understand the economic times we are all facing, with the ups and downs of the market." Great Host isn't the only cable TV provider involved in such Foreclosure List situations.

Verizon has started signing a few bulk cable TV deals with neighborhoods as well, with regular payments due based on the number of houses in the development, said spokesman Norman Coasters. Those deals are rare, Verizon officials said, and the company prefers to offer discount rates to individual homeowners that don't channel money through homeowners associations. No Way Out There doesn't seem to be an easy way out for neighborhoods facing big cable bills. Homeowners associations could issue liens on homeowners who don't pay up, but that's not altogether a tactic with homeowners or investors who already face foreclosures or bankruptcy, Spectors said. Foreclosure Blog

His HOA association faces enough of a challenge trying to track down the official owner of a house in foreclosure, he said, since many investors live out of town, or don't want to be found by bill collectors. Banks are supposed to pay association fees on homes they receive through foreclosure, but collecting that money can take extensive paperwork, time, more time, and legal fees, Spectator said. Foreclosure Fool Finds Even if homeowners stop paying their fees for cable TV, it's unlikely Great Host would cut off their service, Normans said, meaning there is no immediate impact on the TV screen for delinquent homeowners.