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Even so, do you think that foreclosing on a $300,000 home over an $800 bill is right? That ranks right up there with loansharking which is illegal in most states. That's why I think HOAs should be illegal in the entire nation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmarie123
Ok- now I see... go the link to work. His wife was too stressed out to open the mail, and she just ignored all the summonses, bills, late payment notices, eviction notice... ect.
It says the HOA didn't knock on their door- do they really have to do that? Notices aren't enough?
And that they HOA didn't know that her husband was deployed. I don't think I'd tell my HOA that I was deploying, I'd just count on my husband to pay the bill when we got the bill in the mail.
This is not the HOAs fault, it's his and her fault.
Stress is not a legal reason not to pay your bills.
However, looks like they are going to retroactively invoke their SCRA protections and get their house back. They are still living in the home, have not been kicked out.
Did you also catch the severe depression and the fact that in the past, the management company or HOA members would come and knock on the home owner's door to notify them of being delinquent on dues,..something they didn't do this time?
That's fine, but severe depression is not an excuse to not pay your bills.
As for the HOA not knocking on the door, is that something that's listed in their bylaws? If it's not, it's not legally their responsibility to do so. I'd have to think they would also attempt to deliver at least 1 or 2 certified letters before action would be taken.
It's a crappy situation all around, but from the headline, I assumed that maybe they never received the bills because he was deployed... when in fact she never opened any of her mail because she was depressed?
Hopefully they can work something out, but if his wife has that severe of a mental illness that she literally did not open her mail for a year, she should not be handling the families finances.
Since you couldn't access the link you should not have bothered to post your opinion. If you had bothered to read the link (which works perfectly fine) you would have known that the attorney for the management company lied in the documents stating that the home owner was not serving in active duty when he was serving in Iraq. For the life of me, I cannot under stand how people can come here to defend an HOA stealing a family's $300,000 home, sell it for $3,500, and all of that over an $800 bill for dues. You need to check your personal morals that you feel you need to defend such an organization over the rights of a homeowner.
Thanks- but I asked a question in my post, and clearly stated that I didn't know the facts, and that's why I asked... after reading the article I feel even less sorry for him.
Did the attorney lie? Or just not know the guy was deployed? How would he know that the guy was deployed? The HOA was being ignored, how would they know??? No one in the household was keeping a line of communication with the HOA open. We don't tell our HOA's everytime we go to work or vacation, or deployment, when we leave a resposible spouse at home.
It is not stealing. They agreed to the terms of the HOA when they bought the home and entered the agreement. A judge ruled in the HOAs favor! And SCRA protections are not automatic, they have to be envoked, requested, asked for, enacted.
The homeowners rights were not violated. My morals say that you have to pay your legal debts that you agree to pay, and that you can't use military service as an excuse to not pay bills. My god, can you imagine if everyone who was deployed had a family that just didn't pay their bills cuz they were too stressed to open their mail or ask for help? No one in the military would get any credit, and we'd all have bad names. I don't like when people don't meet their legal resposibilities, that they agreed to meet, and then use the military as an excuse.
If he were a contractor working in Iraq no one would be as upset, or if he'd divorced her and moved out of state and she decided not to open the mail. He is using his deployment as an excuse to not pay bills... and that's wrong.
Even so, do you think that foreclosing on a $300,000 home over an $800 bill is right? That ranks right up there with loansharking which is illegal in most states. That's why I think HOAs should be illegal in the entire nation.
No- I don't think it is logical... but it is legal. Is it ethical? I dunno. Who cares what the HOA sold it for? Even if they sold it for 1 Million dollars, that money isn't going to him or the family, it's going to the HOA.
Do I think that HOA's should be able to take houses? No. I think they should only be able to get judgements for past dues.
I do not agree that HOA's should have that power, but they DO HAVE THE POWER. We can't only follow rules that we agree with. The law is that they can do it, and they do it all the time, and people know that.
Is it stupid. Yes... but what does it have to do with the guy being in the Military?
People are acting like cuz he's in the military he should get a special excuse not to pay?
They've taken houses for less... and it's stupid... but until the law is changed, it is legal.
I think the law should be changed, but I think that he still agreed to pay, and didn't, and the family knew what the consequences could be, and whatever his job is should have no bearing on how we feel about the case....
Again, note that you can sidestep all of these issues simply by refusing to buy properties subject to an HOA.
Or buy just paying your bills... huh....what a concept.
I personally would not buy a house not in an HOA.
I know someone that lives in a neighborhood without an HOA. In the big cities in Texas, there is a lot of trash... HOA's are needed. That's why they are popular in Texas.
Property values plumment without HOAs. A lot of people won't buy in a non-HOA area.
My friend's neighbors have sheets hanging in their windows, no grass, and a car in the front yard. None of my neighbors will do that, because the HOA won't allow it.
Is it sometimes a pain in the butt? Yes, but at least my neighbor mows their grass. Actually...twice, their grass has been up to my knees... and I've called the HOA, and two days later it is cut.
I don't know what is wrong with people here, but as soon as you drive into a neighborhood you can tell when there's not an HOA cuz it looks like a ghetto, poor, warzone full of trashy people, with trash in their front yards, duck tape on their windows, fences falling down... ect.
I do think the law is too strickt, but knowing it's so strict, pay your bills people!
Should we change the laws to reasonable judgements, sure... but... the HOA has to have a means of enforcement or we'd all just ignore them.
You don't know me. I hate HOAs because they do this to everyone, not just because this guy is a veteran. I've attacked HOAs on many different message boards because they steal people's homes over little things. Sometimes it takes the entire city and surrounding area to fight an HOA in order for the home owner to keep and stay within their home. You say you don't agree with it and yet you defend their behavior. I'll make two guesses
1. you live in an HOA
2. you either are or were once on an HOA board
I know the dangers of living in an HOA so I'll NEVER buy into that facist community signing away my rights as a homeowner and have to bow and beg to a board for permission to do something to the home and land I own.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmarie123
No- I don't think it is logical... but it is legal. Is it ethical? I dunno. Who cares what the HOA sold it for? Even if they sold it for 1 Million dollars, that money isn't going to him or the family, it's going to the HOA.
Do I think that HOA's should be able to take houses? No. I think they should only be able to get judgements for past dues.
I do not agree that HOA's should have that power, but they DO HAVE THE POWER. We can't only follow rules that we agree with. The law is that they can do it, and they do it all the time, and people know that.
Is it stupid. Yes... but what does it have to do with the guy being in the Military?
People are acting like cuz he's in the military he should get a special excuse not to pay?
They've taken houses for less... and it's stupid... but until the law is changed, it is legal.
I think the law should be changed, but I think that he still agreed to pay, and didn't, and the family knew what the consequences could be, and whatever his job is should have no bearing on how we feel about the case....
It shows they owned the house free and clear. It also states that:
"The mail piled up unopened and Mrs. Clauer missed $800 in payments to her HOA. Then she missed the letters saying the association planned to foreclose.
"I ignored a lot of our bills," she said.
She apparently fell into a depression. This is very sad. Where was the military ombudsman? Don't the spouses of military watch out for each other?
The laws should be changed that would encourage the HOAs to go to small claims court as a first resort, and to file a lein as a second resort. Only after 1 year of non-payment should they be able to foreclose.
You don't know me. I hate HOAs because they do this to everyone, not just because this guy is a veteran. I've attacked HOAs on many different message boards because they steal people's homes over little things. Sometimes it takes the entire city and surrounding area to fight an HOA in order for the home owner to keep and stay within their home. You say you don't agree with it and yet you defend their behavior. I'll make two guesses
1. you live in an HOA
2. you either are or were once on an HOA board
I know the dangers of living in an HOA so I'll NEVER buy into that facist community signing away my rights as a homeowner and have to bow and beg to a board for permission to do something to the home and land I own.
Or buy just paying your bills... huh....what a concept.
I personally would not buy a house not in an HOA.
I know someone that lives in a neighborhood without an HOA. In the big cities in Texas, there is a lot of trash... HOA's are needed. That's why they are popular in Texas.
Property values plumment without HOAs. A lot of people won't buy in a non-HOA area.
My friend's neighbors have sheets hanging in their windows, no grass, and a car in the front yard. None of my neighbors will do that, because the HOA won't allow it.
Is it sometimes a pain in the butt? Yes, but at least my neighbor mows their grass. Actually...twice, their grass has been up to my knees... and I've called the HOA, and two days later it is cut.
I don't know what is wrong with people here, but as soon as you drive into a neighborhood you can tell when there's not an HOA cuz it looks like a ghetto, poor, warzone full of trashy people, with trash in their front yards, duck tape on their windows, fences falling down... ect.
I do think the law is too strickt, but knowing it's so strict, pay your bills people!
Should we change the laws to reasonable judgements, sure... but... the HOA has to have a means of enforcement or we'd all just ignore them.
And so do you watch and report your neighbors to the authroities the way the Germans did during Nazi Germany? Don't like a neighbor, nitpic their property to find or create an infraction and report them on it or get on the board and make rules to suit your desires.
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