The wise guys in Florida are picking up some sneaky new tricks. Most homeowners who are overdue on their debts to HOAs owe less than $15,000. HOAs aren’t required to notify primary mortgage holders that the homeowner is in arrears on HOA payments.
HOA lawyers tell their clients to file for repayment in county court rather than circuit court. Circuit courts, of course, are working on huge backloads. So the HOAs can get a foreclosure in about half the time by going through county court. The major lenders suddenly discover the rug’s been whipped out from under them, and the HOA which was owed the smallest debt now gets the entire foreclosed house.
It’s slick. It’s almost foolproof. And it allowed one person to grab a one million dollar house for just $10,000. Is something wrong with this picture? Is this kind of sickness really endemic in America? What have we wrought? What have we wrought?
Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association
