When Fort Lauderdale forensic accountant Barry Mukamal was appointed bankruptcy trustee for a homeowners association in Miami Gardens, the group had no assets and no cash.

The Majorca Isles development was falling apart, with broken front gates, an unusable gym and an occasionally green swimming pool. Construction of the planned 681-unit community, built by the nation’s largest residential homebuilder, D.R. Horton, was halted with about half of the units done after the recession hit.