A Tampa Bay judge has decided that a Riverview family will not be losing their home to foreclosure after making a late $150 homeowner’s association (HOA) payment. Although the family’s yearlong battle with Rivercrest Community Association started over a small amount, with attorneys’ fees and interest that have been added to the amount, the family’s debt had grown to north of $7,000.
In an earlier ruling in May, the judge presiding over the case had told the family that they’d need to move out of the home Bay Area home they’d lived in for ten years. Although the homeowners had allegedly sent in a check for the $150 HOA fee back in 2009, its treasurer claims it was never received. The family wasn’t informed of this fact until four years later.
By the time they were contacted, what started as a $150 missed payment had already climbed to a $4,587.28 bill. That amount was alleged to cover late fees and attorneys’ costs involved in putting the home up for a foreclosure auction.
As for the HOA’s attorney, they argued that they made attempts to get the homeowners to pay their debt prior to commencing foreclosure proceedings. Ultimately, the two parties even agreed to an 18-month repayment plan. However, the family allegedly failed to make scheduled payments.
Ultimately, the foreclosure of the family’s home was rejected by the judge on a technicality that centered around the attorney not having filed the repayment plan with the court. Once this error was discovered, the HOA’s attorney quickly moved to settle with the family.
In exchange for throwing out their foreclosure, the family will now have to pay $3,500. That’s less than half of the $7.048.72 that has now become of the $150 missed payment some eight years later. As another condition of the agreement, the family is precluded from discussing the matter further publicly.
Whether you are a homeowner that is facing foreclosure at the hands of your HOA or you’re part of the leadership of an HOA and you’re looking to enforce its covenants, a Melbourne, Florida, real estate litigation attorney may be able to help.
Source: WTSP-TV, “Riverview family wins foreclosure battle with HOA,” Kendra Conlon, June 07, 2017
