By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities
Major news networks are starting to report more and more instances of HOA abuse of power.
Here’s one that was recently aired on Fox News Tampa.
Homeowner Joe Mosby missed two $75 assessment payments, he says, due to illness and job loss. But in a few months, with attorney fees tacked on, the debt grew to $1768.
By now, readers must realize that these cases are not as “isolated” as the HOA industry would have consumers believe.
But the twist in this report is that when Mosby put his house up for sale and received an offer, Heather Lakes HOA moved to foreclose on the home before close of sale.
This over a $150 assessment delinquency which Mosby tried to pay.
In the end, Mosby borrowed $1700 from a friend, just to make sure the sale could go through without a hitch. But if he had not come up with the money, his house would have been auctioned off to the highest bidder.
The primary beneficiary of this process was the attorney handling the lien and foreclosure, not the HOA. The HOA got $150 plus interest. The attorney got the rest.
The conclusion one draws from this report is that HOAs need to be held to strict collection standards, just as the rest of creditors.
Fox 13 investigates, HOA Attorney Fees a homeowner’s nightmare
http://www.fox13news.com/news/fox-13-investigates/77892305-story
Attorney profiteering from the HOA foreclosure world is an American scandal. Minor debts become huge burdens overnight thanks to greed and excessive fees charged by attorneys. With nearly 70 million living in USA common interest developments, the legal industry has a gold mine in their backyard.