HOA being sent to collection

[boomerkae]

I have let my house go as part of my BK; and my past due HOA dues at the time of filing were included in my BK. The HOA sent me a bill for two months post, and I was planning to pay them. I didn't hear anything from them, so while I knew I still owed that amount, I thought maybe they weren't collecting anymore months dues. WRONG.

We received a letter from their attny requesting WAY more than dues. I'm pretty pissed that all this came with NO warning.

I guess I'm going to pay; but I'm trying to fight a few of the charges. Here's the charges that I'd like some advice on; they are charging me $12 from the HOA for obtaining copies of my BK! and the attny is charging $10 for research into my BK! Can they really bill me for looking at my case?

[bcohen]

They are coming after you now, less than 2 months after discharge? You don't say if the house was ever foreclosed or sold, and if not then it's possible that the bank will "drag its feet" to leave you stuck with the HOA fees rather than them! Also, you don't say if you are still living in the house.

If you are not living there, and foreclosure has not begun, I see no reason to pay the HOA anything or even acknowledge or respond to their letter. Sure, you may be technically liable for the dues which are continuing to accrue in your state, and the HOA may eventually sue when the debt gets high enough, however they may just choose to place a lien on the property. In most cases, the HOA will go after the property rather than the former owner, especially when the house was surrendered in BK. They still have to sue whomever is on the deed (the former homeowner) and get a judgement in order to place the lien in most states. (In some states, the lien exists by statute, and no further legal action on the HOA's part is needed to perfect it.)

If you just filed BK, I am assuming that your financial situation is not the greatest, and that having to pay HOA dues on a home you don't live in anymore, while also paying rent on the home you do live in would be a significant burden. Since the bank could take years to foreclose, this could lead to you being expected to pay thousands in HOA dues for a house you don't even live in anymore! It is probably in your best interest to ignore this and don't make any offers to pay anything to these people. If they think they have a case, let 'em sue. They'll probably just go after the property anyways!

[Guest123]

They are coming after you now, less than 2 months after discharge? You don't say if the house was ever foreclosed or sold, and if not then it's possible that the bank will "drag its feet" to leave you stuck with the HOA fees rather than them! Also, you don't say if you are still living in the house.

If you are not living there, and foreclosure has not begun, I see no reason to pay the HOA anything or even acknowledge or respond to their letter. Sure, you may be technically liable for the dues which are continuing to accrue in your state, and the HOA may eventually sue when the debt gets high enough, however they may just choose to place a lien on the property. In most cases, the HOA will go after the property rather than the former owner, especially when the house was surrendered in BK. They still have to sue whomever is on the deed (the former homeowner) and get a judgement in order to place the lien in most states. (In some states, the lien exists by statute, and no further legal action on the HOA's part is needed to perfect it.)

If you just filed BK, I am assuming that your financial situation is not the greatest, and that having to pay HOA dues on a home you don't live in anymore, while also paying rent on the home you do live in would be a significant burden. Since the bank could take years to foreclose, this could lead to you being expected to pay thousands in HOA dues for a house you don't even live in anymore! It is probably in your best interest to ignore this and don't make any offers to pay anything to these people. If they think they have a case, let 'em sue. They'll probably just go after the property anyways!

This is not true at all...especially in Arizona.
They do have a case and will sue you. If you are upset about $22 I would just suck it up and pay it.
You are liable for th HOA dues until the house is out of your name. You might have included those before the BK, but that doesn't save you from the others.
We have been paying HOA and maintaining the property for almost a year on a house we no longer live in. If there was a way out of it I would have found it.

[bcohen]

I do live in Arizona, and while you are right with regard to the letter of the law, the fact of the matter is that many HOA's (or their third-party management companies) prefer to lien the property rather than attempt to garnish a person who has just been adjudicated bankrupt. I have 2 friends who gave up homes in bankruptcy--one a single family house, and the other a condominium--and neither was sued personally for dues and penalties, despite the fact that in more than a year, neither was foreclosed by the bank. In fact, one of them recently got a letter from a law firm threatening to place a lien on the property.

[Guest123]

I do live in Arizona, and while you are right with regard to the letter of the law, the fact of the matter is that many HOA's (or their third-party management companies) prefer to lien the property rather than attempt to garnish a person who has just been adjudicated bankrupt. I have 2 friends who gave up homes in bankruptcy--one a single family house, and the other a condominium--and neither was sued personally for dues and penalties, despite the fact that in more than a year, neither was foreclosed by the bank. In fact, one of them recently got a letter from a law firm threatening to place a lien on the property.

This is still bad information.
You want to give out wrong information and want the OP to assume this infact will happen to them. Definately not the smartest thing to do when they are already in a BK.
I have seen it the other way and it gets ugly, even before all of this I asked a few lawyers and was told the same thing.

[deedeecfl]

I have let my house go as part of my BK; and my past due HOA dues at the time of filing were included in my BK. The HOA sent me a bill for two months post, and I was planning to pay them. I didn't hear anything from them, so while I knew I still owed that amount, I thought maybe they weren't collecting anymore months dues. WRONG.

We received a letter from their attny requesting WAY more than dues. I'm pretty pissed that all this came with NO warning.

I guess I'm going to pay; but I'm trying to fight a few of the charges. Here's the charges that I'd like some advice on; they are charging me $12 from the HOA for obtaining copies of my BK! and the attny is charging $10 for research into my BK! Can they really bill me for looking at my case?

Here in Central Florida, we were advised by our lawyer to pay any HOA fees that were not included in the Chapter 7 papers when we gave up our house. In other words, since our HOA fee is quarterly, we are responsible for anything after the filing that comes up until the foreclosure goes through. He advised us that if we don't pay the HOA and they opt to sue us rather than put a lien on the property and wait for the foreclosure, the bill will be much higher than the original HOA amount. He says that they tack a bunch of other fees on it. I know HOA members in some communities who opt to sue the owners of the house they have given up. Some others stopped paying a couple of years ago and haven't heard a word from their HOA and their property still hasn't been taken over by the bank yet.