The power of an HOA to foreclose is greater than that of any bank or lending institution. Homeowners move into HOA neighborhoods never realizing how unforgiving Homeowners Associations can be.
Luisa Casas, an immigrant from Colombia, moved to Atlanta, Geogia and became a U.S. citizen. But she is now learning what tens of thousands of other Americans have discovered: an HOA has the power to arbitrarily take your house and sell it at auction, even if you’re just a few cents or a few dollars behind on your dues.
Luisa admits she’s late on her HOA dues. She went through a recent bankruptcy in the current economic collapse and is trying to recover. She admits she’s $2000 behind on her dues and wants to pay it. But it’s not the late dues that are jeopardizing her position as a homeowner. It’s the fact that HOA attorneys are tacking massive legal fees onto her overdue bill. Her $2000 past-due bill has ballooned to $13,000. The HOA has refused her attempts to pay the $2000 bill. It wants the entire $13,000 or it’ll take her house. And legal fees are increasing daily. The HOA lawyers are even tacking on expenses to pay for monitoring her bankruptcy case.
Her HOA is the Cosmopolitan On Lindbergh Condominiums. HOA officials have deactivated her entry card. They’ve also towed her car away on multiple occasions. Luisa says, “It just doesn’t seem fair to me.” Luisa, welcome to America, the land of the free.
HOA officials have refused to comment.
Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association
