Need Help Desperately on How to Handle Nasty HOA Situation (renter, mortgage)

[Jake Ryan]

To tie this all back to the original poster....they decided to live in a community with an HOA and they have to now play by the rules.

If you miss dues, or have violations then you have to deal with the consequences up to and including foreclosure if it comes to that.

As we've said on here before, it's a matter of opinion whether you like HOA's or not...but nobody is forcing you to live in a governed community.

[kbrkr]

You know, if my neighbor has fallen on hard times financially and are having difficulty with their water bill (brown lawn), fall behind on dues, etc. shouldn't neighbors help and come to their aid instead of piling on penalties and interest and triggering foreclosure? Seems to me the HOA helps the well off and not ALL residents. Oh what's the use.....

[hooligan]

Originally Posted by kbrkr

You know, if my neighbor has fallen on hard times financially and are having difficulty with their water bill (brown lawn), fall behind on dues, etc. shouldn't neighbors help and come to their aid instead of piling on penalties and interest and triggering foreclosure? Seems to me the HOA helps the well off and not ALL residents. Oh what's the use.....

Do you *know* that your neighbors wouldn't react that way in your entirely hypothetical situation? No, you don't. The presence or lack of an HOA doesn't ensure one course of action or another by any given neighbor.

[SunnyKayak]

The original post did not ask how you feel about hoa REREAD THE ORIGINAL POST

GEESH!

[pink caddy]

Originally Posted by jlwrivera

Sorry this is long but please be patient as I really need help and have been searching the internet for the past 9 hours for answers and help!!

We helped friends buy a house in McDowell Place. We are on the deed and mortage until they can get their credit cleaned up to buy the house (supposedly only 3 more months to go). They have lived there for over three years happily and without incident until earlier this year.

In April I got a late notice for the HOA dues. For some reason we missed the bill in January. No big deal, I was late so I paid the first and second quarter dues with applicable late fees, along with the remainder of the years fees. So, on may 7th the Management Company cashed a check for $248.00 (4 quarters of payments plus two late charges of $20 each).

Shortly thereafter we discover that the HOA was fining the property because of an unlicensed car in the driveway. We never got the notices that there even was a violation, but as soon as we discoverd the violation, we corrected the issue with the residents in the home. We then called the Mangement Company to apologize for the miscommunication, that we did not mean to appear to be ignoring them, we immediately corrected the problem and was hoping to get the fines removed (They had gotten to $430!). Woman at the Mangement company said not to worry. Whew! Problem averted, so we thought.

Come July we get a certified letter stating that our updaid DUES AND FINES have been referred to an Attorney for Collection. I Immediately call the management company who transfers me to the attorney because they can no longer talk to me. I explained there is a mistake we paid all the dues (have cleared check), and were told not to worry about the fines. Find out that we now are delinquent on $658!!

Attorney says: did you specify the check was for the dues? - NO I never needed to do that in the past, I simply sent a check in for the full years of dues plus the late fees that I rightfully owed and at the time I was not aware of any other charges on our account, so why would I bother to note the check? Attorney asks: Well who did you speak with at the management company? I don't know, a very nice female who I thought was very helpful. Didn't think I would need to audio tape and document everything as I did not expect or anticipate these problems because we are reasonable, fairly easy to work with and take care of our responsibilites. However, I do not have an extra $658 at the moment as we are going through a financial hardship.

Well apparently the mail was being returned to the mangement company, including the certified mail (turns out our resident refused to sign for certified mail not addressed to them - so we discussed the problems this has caused and since July they have been accepting all mail from the HOA and getting it to us.) So the management company and HOA board knows we were not getting any of these notices, and we were not ignoring them on purpose, and a month earlier they got us on the phone to notify us of the violation, which we immediately resolved, so they could have gotten in touch with us if they needed.

In speaking with the attorney I indicate that I am upset it came to this, we were current and should owe nothing. We do not have the ability to pay these fees but I would like to settle to make this go away and do the best I can to come up with something. Attorney asks me to make an offer to take back to the Board. I offer to cover the attorney fees of $218 so the HOA will not have to bear that cost, as the dues for the year were already paid in full, despite the management company not applying them correctly, and my fines had been waived and the rest of the charges are simply random late fees on DUES that were NEVER LATE. The HOA is made whole, no harm no foul. Attorney says she'll take it to the HOA but doesn't think they'll accept it.

Well today it occurs to me that I haven't heard back from the attorney, so I call her to find out what the hold up is and take care of everything to put it behind me. Attorney indicates that the HOA rejected my offer and elected to move forward with foreclosure. We will be served papers and our court date is November 11! Oh yeah, and by the way we now owe $1,492! I am flabergasted. I went from being paid in advance to being delinquent with a lien on my house and owing $658 to being in foreclousre and now owing $1492. How could this happen? How can they do this? This does not seem legal. Does anyone know what my options are?

You didn't CYA, it seems to me. HOA, according to your post sent certified mail, recognized as service, whether it is accepted or not. Certaintly your attor. knows that.

It took you to call your attor. to find out your settlement was not accepted. Not a good sign as to the value of someone you hired to watch your backside.

I doubt asking the advise of members of this forum board will be your Nirvana. I will offer a suggestion. Ask for a face-to-face meeting with the board. No need for your attor. to be present b/c that might seem heavy handed.
Go well prepared with the information such as you posted here with even MORE detail and suggest in a good presentation to the board that it makes no sense to foreclose on this property and point out the benefits of a amicable settlement.

Good luck.

[CherryTwist]

Originally Posted by lumbollo

Probably the biggest reason that HOAs have issues isn't because of people not paying dues, but rather asses running down every street with a copy of the rules where they have self-appointed themselves judge jury and executioner for how every person in the neighborhood should conduct their lives. If you tried to "pounce" on me, I would twist your head until your eyes popped. Thank God you don't live in my neighborhood.

Great Post!

[vindaloo]

Originally Posted by kbrkr

You know, if my neighbor has fallen on hard times financially and are having difficulty with their water bill (brown lawn), fall behind on dues, etc. shouldn't neighbors help and come to their aid instead of piling on penalties and interest and triggering foreclosure? Seems to me the HOA helps the well off and not ALL residents. Oh what's the use.....

I certainly do not get involved in the personal financial dealings with my neighbors. That is personal. How can the HOA "help the well off and not All residents"? The HOA abides by by-laws and written rules. What are you talking about? Do you even know the purpose of an HOA?

[CouponJack]

Originally Posted by kbrkr

You know, if my neighbor has fallen on hard times financially and are having difficulty with their water bill (brown lawn), fall behind on dues, etc. shouldn't neighbors help and come to their aid instead of piling on penalties and interest and triggering foreclosure? Seems to me the HOA helps the well off and not ALL residents. Oh what's the use.....

There are a couple of options...1st thing I would do is speak to the HOA and let them know you are hurting financially and will try to keep up the property the best I can. If they are reasonable people (like 99% of people) they will understand....

communication is the key like w/anything..

[vindaloo]

Originally Posted by CherryTwist

Great Post!

There are people that should not be living around people that have standards and want a nice neighborhood. These people are often those that let their dogs crap in yards, barely cut their grass, keep messy lawns, and are generally trashy people. All of a sudden, they are told to do what the normal, ordinary, prudent person regularly does, and they cry that "The HOA is picking on me". Ninety nine percent of the time, it is not the HOA. There are no HOAs where anyone goes around harrassing people. If someone's property is really out of compliance, I approach them in a gentlemanly manner and they comply. Only an ignorant, trashy person would get upset and make threats. Many people in city communities should have stayed in the country or their trailer court.

[vindaloo]

Originally Posted by CouponJack

There are a couple of options...1st thing I would do is speak to the HOA and let them know you are hurting financially and will try to keep up the property the best I can. If they are reasonable people (like 99% of people) they will understand....

communication is the key like w/anything..

You are right Jack. I would hold off on the HOA dues as long as possible. Of course, the HOA has nothing to do with any other financial responsibilities.