The bill arrived unexpectedly by email in May. It was from her Landmark Towers condominium homeowners association.

The midtown Phoenix tower’s air-conditioning needed a major fix, and her share to pay for it was $18,000.

Francine Hardaway said she “freaked out.”

“I was horrified and frightened,” said Hardaway, founder of Phoenix-based Stealthmode Partners. “When I bought my condo in 2011, it was at the height of the recession. I bought it for cash thinking that if everything went to hell in a handbasket, I could live there.”

She rents out the condo in the iconic 17-story tower and doesn’t own another home.  Read more: