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My HOA is Suing Me

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TapDancer324
New Contributor

My HOA is Suing Me

I need some advice.  Today, I found out that my HOA is suing me for unpaid annual dues and fines for failing to pressure wash my house.Smiley Embarassed I know this because a Deputy left a business card on my front door on Friday, and I received form letters from 4 - 5 "ambulance chaser" attorneys today stating that the HOA had filed a lawsuit against me the day before.  Of course, I knew about the unpaid dues and was actually making a payment this weekend.  I had no idea that they were making an issue about the pressure washing, or that I was being fined $25.00 per day. Apparently, I missed reading that letter.  Once I received the solicitation letters today from the attorneys, I dug through my big box of papers and I DID find a letter about the fines from February! Smiley Surprised Sidenote:  Based on the balance owed listed on the website, it appears that they may have capped the fees at around $600.00.  Seems like I should have received a certified letter before they could begin fining me.  Guess not!

 

Sorry for all the detail... I have been under a tremendous amount of stress (settling parent's estate, etc.) for the last few years, and frankly, have been very distracted. Regardless, I this is my responsibility.  I want to resolve it quickly and my main concern is to NOT ruining the good credit that I have worked to establish.  Can I avoid a judgment by just paying this and asking them to dismiss the court case?  What are my options?  What are the procedures for getting "promises" in writing?  Do I need to hire an attorney?

 

Any help is appreciated.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   I


Starting Score: 534 EQ FICO: 10/11
Current Score: 727 EQ FICO; 717 TU FICO (per Lending Club) As of 6/1/14; ??? EX :
Goal Score: 700


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Message 1 of 13
12 REPLIES 12
SusieQ
Regular Contributor

Re: My HOA is Suing Me

yes, contact the HOA to pay directly, or if they won't accept, ask for the attorney name and call him.  

 

only if they receive a judgment, will it show up on your report.   if you settle before, your CRAs will stay clean.

Message 2 of 13
TapDancer324
New Contributor

Re: My HOA is Suing Me


@SusieQ wrote:

yes, contact the HOA to pay directly, or if they won't accept, ask for the attorney name and call him.  

 

only if they receive a judgment, will it show up on your report.   if you settle before, your CRAs will stay clean.


 Thanks for the reply, SusieQ.  Hopefully, they will be willing to drop the case. I will post an update.


Starting Score: 534 EQ FICO: 10/11
Current Score: 727 EQ FICO; 717 TU FICO (per Lending Club) As of 6/1/14; ??? EX :
Goal Score: 700


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Message 3 of 13
pizzadude
Credit Mentor

Re: My HOA is Suing Me

 

Is their suit filed in small claims court or other municpal court?  What is the total amount of damages they're seeking?

March2010 FICO® ~ 695 TU, 653 EQ, 697 EX
Message 4 of 13
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: My HOA is Suing Me

First, I would make sure you know the date this action is going to take place so you know the deadlines. That way if everything up to that fails and/or you cannot make the date, you have enough time to get something into the court and reschedule.

 

- Can I avoid a judgment by just paying this............... Yes, you can. They want to get paid and you want to pay them. In fact, if you worked out a payment or payment plan and for some reason they still moved forward, they would have a pretty hard time convincing a judge to issue a judgment when you are right there offering to pay. At that point I would ask the judge to set the case aside for now (anywhere from until after the next case is heard to a new court date) stating you have an agreement in principal, but just need to finalize the details. Of course, as I'm sure you know from being a member here, document everything and get it in writing.

 

- What are my options.......... You can try to negotiate with them if you think there is something wrong with the amounts due & owing. Unfortunately, by this slipping through the cracks, attorney's fees have probably been tacked on. However, some HOA's are still will to work with people and will even sidestep the attorney to do so. Otherwise you can take the approach of acknowledging the amounts owed, explain your story, that you can do A, B, & C to get this resovled as long as they stop the action against you.

 

- What are the procedures for getting "promises" in writing.............. Just ask for it. From what ever happens and whatever deal you reach, explain you are more then happy to do X, Y, and Z today once you have written confirmation. You could be proactive and once you figure out things over the phone, get the e-mail contact for whoever you were dealing with and follow it up with a e-mail. Detail your conversation & request an ackowledgement or corrections if you missed anything.

 

You would only need an attorney if all the above fails, the HOA fails to honor, etc.  If it is not managed by a professional HOA management company, most likely on of the board members or the board as a whole will make this decision. Chances are, they are some of your neighbors. Reaching out to them might be an approach as well.

 

Remember, the HOA is trying to collects it's dues. In order to stay on the FHA approved financing list,  HOA's need to maintain financial solvency so new prospective buyers can use FHA/HUD programs to purchase. That means a lot of HOA's have become agressive on suing for dues and even foreclosing homes in order to do this. I do not know what state you are in, but in almost every state, HOA's are given lein position in the property and are treated like a silent second mortgage, or a mortgage type lien. In the states when they are given priority, they can actually foreclose above a second mortage, take the house, and you would still be liable for that second.

 

So I would take it very seriously, not just for your credit, but for how crazy it could get out of control if you let it.

 

Hope this helps a bit.

 

AdCred1

Message 5 of 13
TapDancer324
New Contributor

Re: My HOA is Suing Me


@pizzadude wrote:

 

Is their suit filed in small claims court or other municpal court?  What is the total amount of damages they're seeking?


I believe the suit was filed in some other municipal court, but I will have a firm answer tomorrow after I track down the deputy and get my paperwork. 

 

The amount showing owed on the HOA/Community Mgmt website (payment portal) is about $1,600, which is at least $600 more than what I expected. No telling what the suit has added. Note: The guy who owns/runs the Community Mgmt company is also an attorney. HOA Mailings come from  "The Law Offices of ..."


Starting Score: 534 EQ FICO: 10/11
Current Score: 727 EQ FICO; 717 TU FICO (per Lending Club) As of 6/1/14; ??? EX :
Goal Score: 700


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Message 6 of 13
pizzadude
Credit Mentor

Re: My HOA is Suing Me


@TapDancer324 wrote:


I believe the suit was filed in some other municipal court, but Inwill have a firm answer tomorrow after I track down the deputy and get my paperwork. 

 

The amount showing owed on the HOA/Community Mgmt website  (payment portal) is  about $1,600, which is at least $600 more than what I expected. No telling what the suit has added. Note: The guy who  owns/runs the Community Mgmt company is also an attorney. HOA Mailings come from  "The Law Offices of ..."


Hopefully you can work something out with them prior to the court date.   You may not necessarily need an attorney for small claims but it would behoove you to seek legal advice either way.

March2010 FICO® ~ 695 TU, 653 EQ, 697 EX
Message 7 of 13
TapDancer324
New Contributor

Re: My HOA is Suing Me

AdCred1,

You also brought up very good points. The first, being that I must respond before the court's required deadline in order to avoid a judgment. Your other points were also helpful.  I picked up the complaint document and called a local attorney during my lunch break. Now, I am going to call the Community Mgmt Company/Attorney and attempt to stop this train.  Will update soon. 

 

I appreciate this board and its participants for providing a place to gather information, vent and (yes!) get a kick in the pants, if necessary. 


Starting Score: 534 EQ FICO: 10/11
Current Score: 727 EQ FICO; 717 TU FICO (per Lending Club) As of 6/1/14; ??? EX :
Goal Score: 700


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Message 8 of 13
TapDancer324
New Contributor

Re: My HOA is Suing Me

UPDATE:

 

Here's an update on where I am with this debacle... 

 

The paperwork shows that the lawsuit was filed in Magistrate Court.  The total amount owed is $1,632.00 -- $956.00 principal, $600 attorney fees and $76.00 court costs.  Looks like they decided to forgo the ridiculous "$25.00 per day" fine for not pressure washing my house in a timely manner (in the middle of winter Smiley Wink).

 

I called the Community Management Office, which is also the Attorney's Office today and told the representative that I want to resolve the matter out of court.  The lady asked me if I wanted to go on a monthly payment plan.  I told her that I wanted to pay it off within 30 days.  She stated that if I paid in full by October 15, they would dismiss the lawsuit completely, but if not they would need to make provisions through the court system.  She also advised me that I should NOT send a answer to the court, or else we would be required to show up for court. 

 

Lastly, the lady stated that she is going to mail me a document that I should complete, sign and mail back to her.  She called it a "??? Judgment" form.  She said that she would only send it in to the Court if I did not pay the debt by 10/15.  Sounds like the form is an agreement to accept a judgment... so I will read it very carefully... so as not to be bamboozled.

 

I felt a little shell-shocked when I called the office, so I did not follow through with my plan to ask her to reduce the attorney fees.  $600 sounds like a lot to me, but it is probably the norm. I may ask tomorrow... or I may just take my full butt kicking like a woman.  Lesson learned.

 

If anything in my conversation with the HOA/Attorney person sounds suspect to anyone with knowlege of these matters, let me know.


Starting Score: 534 EQ FICO: 10/11
Current Score: 727 EQ FICO; 717 TU FICO (per Lending Club) As of 6/1/14; ??? EX :
Goal Score: 700


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Message 9 of 13
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: My HOA is Suing Me

Well, since you ask.

 

They were most likely asking you to sign a Confession of Judgment for the full amount. I would NOT do this. It gives them the power to have the judgment entered against you without going through the court system. If you guys can reach an agreement out of court and can perform to the terms, there is no need for it. If you cannot on either, go to court. Handing a confession over to them without any conditions to protect you gives them WAAAAAAAAAAAAY to much power.

 

The key thing here is still knowing when the court date is. If it is 10/15, then if you do not perform, keep the date. Then they can say they tried to work with you and you didn't perform. Or if it is the other way around, you can show that you attempted to appease them but they made things unbearable or something like that. Either way a judge makes the decision then.

 

If the court date is coming up, there is no cost to move the date if both parties agree to continue to a later date. As far as not sending an answer to the court, remember she works for the HOA. Not answering will have the same affect as a default judgment. You could show up and give the best reasons in the world as to when this is such a great injustice against you; and the judge will ask where your answer to the complaint is and most likely rule against you. Since you are fully aware of the situation, you would not have the normal remedies available to you to vacate the judgment I.E. reasonable excuse and a meritorious defense. You would most likely have to appeal at that point.

 

Again, get whatever the agreement is in writing. I would even say look, I can pay this in 30 days, but by doing this I am also saving time and money for both of us and it is going to cut into my finances. Is there anything you can do about these fees? Otherwise I might just have to do this payment plan. That way, if all else fails and you do have to go to court, you have documentation from them showing how you tried to resolve things.

 

Sorry if I rambled, I sometimes repeat myself when it gets a little late.

 

AdCred1

Message 10 of 13
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