Condo owners are getting trapped in homes they cant sell as HOA costs and financing woes pile up

Condo owners across America are discovering that their supposedly affordable homes may come with an expensive catch: They can be extraordinarily difficult to sell.Soaring homeowners association fees, costly special assessments and insurance problems are scaring off buyers and making it harder for some to obtain mortgages — leaving existing owners stuck in properties they no longer want, MarketWatch reported.Will Hudson, 43, bought a two-bedroom condo in Golden, Colorado, sight unseen for $260,000 in July 2024, according to the outlet.The public employee had previously lived in the complex in his 20s and hoped to return to a place he remembered fondly.Instead, he now calls the purchase “the greatest mistake of my life.”Hudson told MarketWatch that recurring water shutoffs, flooding in common areas and rising HOA fees — now nearly $470 per month — left him wanting out within a year.But selling could prove just as painful.Another unit in the complex languished on the market even after its asking price was slashed from $270,000 in May 2025 to $149,000 this month.The property is now under contract, but the sale has not yet closed.Hudson estimates that selling his own condo could wipe out the $58,000 he put down — and potentially cost him even more after broker commissions and closing expenses.“I feel trapped,” he told the outlet.His predicament reflects a broader squeeze facing condo owners as buildings’ growing expenses are passed down to individual residents.Among condo buildings constructed before 2000, 8.5% imposed a special assessment in 2025, with affected owners receiving a typical bill of nearly $2,500, according to data from HOA-management platform Vantaca.Across buildings of all ages, the median special assessment has risen from $930 to $1,100 over the past four years, the data showed.The pressure may soon intensify: Some 54% of community associations plan to raise their fees to cover expenses including insurance and new reserve requirements ...