The title should be The Illegitimate, Targeted, Farmed,
Combed, Framed Homeowner, Fraudulent Foreclosure Crisis in America: Innocent
Homeowners Who Stumble Over A Board's Criminality, or Simply Ask a Question of
A Board, or A Board Member Up To No Good, and/or The Carrying Out of Personal
Vendettas Fraudclosure!
Homeowners Associations: The New Foreclosure
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Published: Thursday, 15 Jul 2010 | 11:44 AM ET
By: Diana Olick | CNBC
Real Estate Reporter
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Photo: Jeff Turner
Foreclosure
"I had no idea that they could foreclose," Tony Goodman tells me. Neither did I, but Goodman's homeowners association did just that in April because he owed $769 in back dues.
"I owed the HOA very little money in comparison to what I owed my mortgage company and my mortgage company, which is Chase , bent over backwards to help me," Goodman adds. Even as he was working on a loan modification, Goodman's HOA, Lookout Canyon Creek in San Antonio, TXtook title to his home on the steps of the Bexar County Courthouse. They purchased the home for $2,019, about the amount of the dues plus attorneys fees.
Apparently this is not at all uncommon these days, as struggling borrowers let the dues slide, thinking it's more important to throw all their cash into their mortgage payments.
Thirty-four states allow for judicial foreclosures by HOAs, although the rules and redemption periods differ. The redemption period is the amount of time that a homeowner has to pay up all the dues and fees after the HOA has officially taken title to the home.
Texas has a 180 day redemption period.
Florida's is just 10 days.
"People don't understand that by failing to pay the association dues they can lose their home and be put in the street," says Florida attorney Robert Tankel. He represents HOAs in Florida and his business is positively booming.
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"I hear the words Nazi and Communist used interchangeably probably
twice a week," he adds, but he's gone from a staff of one paralegal and a
receptionist just a few years ago to 17 paralegals and a much larger support
staff. Tankel makes no apologies for what he does. "The associations and their boards of directors have a duty to the people who pay and the duty is to collect the assessments."
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Home owners associations are being hit hard by the housing
crisis, with CNBC's Diana Olick.
He does have a point, cruel though it sounds, when you know Tony Goodman's
story. But the fact is that there are plenty of homeowners who pay extra to be in these communities specifically for the amenities they offer.
It's not just about mowing the lawns and shoveling the snow, these communities are often safer and cleaner and appreciate in value faster because of that.
Andrew Fortin of the Community Associations Institutemakes a compelling argument, saying that in some cases now, where HOA's are having serious delinquency problems with dues, new buyers are having trouble getting mortgages. Apparently big banks want to see healthy HOAs. Also, the HOAs have to pay their own bills to the service providers in the community. If they don't get the dues, then they fall behind as well.
This is not to say that Tony Goodman hasn't been going through hell, trying to negotiate a repayment plan with the HOA. He says the attorney for the HOA doesn't return calls, and he's unsure, even if he is able to pay the HOA back, that he'll eventually get his house back.
Texas redemption rules favor the homeowner a bit more than in Florida. Tankel says that in Florida, with just a ten-day redemption period, HOAs can actually profit on foreclosures for a short time.
"We call that the race to the courthouse steps because if there's a first mortgage foreclosure pending and the first mortgage foreclosure beats us to the courthouse steps, then they wipe out the association's claim of lien," says Tankel
3 comments:
It is apparent that homeowner's do not understand why they have to pay homeowner fees. I am a former board member for 8 years and 3 of those years as president of our homeowner association for a condo complex in Texas.
The association manages the property on a very tight budget and if a homeowner fails to pay monthly fees then we have less money for maintenance thus causing the property to look shabby. The electric, water and gas bills continue to increase each year, giving us less funds to spend on needed maintenance. The most unpleasant happening for everyone is a monthly fee increase or an assessment.
It is in our by-laws that a homeowner has 90 days to pay delinquent fees. We only had one foreclosure on my watch and we worked with the owner for six months and could not resolve the problem. It broke my heart to know about this much less be involved.
The associations have to do what they have to in order to pay their own bills. I'm thinking that all associations have the same issues with delinquencies and we do whatever we can to solve the problem. It is not a happy time when someone loses their home because of no money.
Sing this petition and help people get their lives back. Help give them their rights, understand that their voices must be heard. HOA's need to be regulated, they need to be for the homeowner, issues must be addressed. Your signature will help!
http://www.petition2congress.com/1940/stop-hoas-from-stealing-peoples-homes/view/-
Sign this petition! HOA rules and regulations are not being followed by the management companies and are causing mass issues throughout the US. I know personally the damage that I have suffered as a homeowner and the threats, slander are more than true. People get scared, witnesses get scared and the HOA's drag this out to make people poor. They don't want you to be able to stand up even when you are right. I had a board member tell me all the ills they had planned and to get the *%& out of my condo. It was unsafe and the board knew it, but because of financial reasons and them not wanting to go bankrupt they ignored these issues. I have been fighting for my home since 2000, after repairs were not up to code, I suffered raw sewage in a volcanic nature coming out of my kitchen sink, orange slimy water that smelled like rotten eggs, sewage in all sinks and my bathtub, dishwasher and even my washer. Then there was mold and sparks electrically, no where to get help. Threats from board members and the list goes on. The fact that they knew and that the building as a whole is not safe scares me, and I fear for people who's safety is in question, because of money. These people are sick and need to be held accountable. Pinnacle was my management company at the time and did not do anything but allow the above to happen. They transferred to Bright Realty Management and now Top Flight Management. My neighbor and pat board member told me that they wanted to make it appear that they were losing papers through this manner if later caught. The truth was that they were altering documents and pulling documents that could harm them. They are smart and dangerous. I have lost relationships, friends and family because of this and will not bow down to them.. The truth will be told and I will fight until, they are exposed. Please document everything as you go through this process and be aware this can happen, its a reality. I have attached a link for people to sign and tell there story and to help people from HOA abuse .http://www.petition2congress.com/1940/stop-hoas-from-stealing-peoples-homes/
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