Homeowner Evicted for Not Paying HOA Dues: Can This Happen to You?

Who knew? Even if you pay your mortgage on time every month, your home can still be foreclosed on and sold from under your feet. That, at least, is what Triss McQuiston from Tomball, TX, learned recently when she was notified that she’d have to vacate her place. Why? It turns out she was evicted for not paying her HOA dues.

According to ABC13, McQuiston admits that she was guilty of procrastinating on paying her HOA fees to the Canyon Gate at Northpointe Owners Association in 2014 and 2015. Because she was opening a new business, her HOA bills slipped through the cracks, for a grand total of $1,800 in unpaid dues.

An attorney for the HOA claims that since March 2014, they’d sent McQuiston 12 notices by first-class certified mail to collect these assessments, warning her what would happen if she didn’t. When they received no response, they proceeded with the foreclosure, and sold the home at auction back in September.

Yet McQuiston argues that she’d received no warnings, and was made aware of her dire straits only when she received an eviction notice on her doorstep on May 20. She has since hired an attorney to help fight the case and remain in her home.

“I would never have thought in my wildest dreams that an HOA … would go to these lengths and they’d have this much power,” McQuiston told ABC13.

If this story has you viewing HOAs in a harsh (and terrifying) new light, we don’t blame you. And while the laws vary by state, it turns out that in most cases, HOAs really do have the power to foreclose on your home for unpaid dues, as do condo owners associations.

“Contrary to common perceptions, even if a person is current on a mortgage, the HOA or COA may foreclose,” says Bob Tankel, a Florida attorney specializing in HOA law. “What’s the moral of the story? Pay your assessments. These are not huge amounts. People apparently think that just because assessments are small there’s nothing bad that can happen. But that’s not true.”

To know specifically how your HOA or COA handles late payments, homeowners should “check the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs),” says David Reiss, research director at the Center for Urban Business Entrepreneurship at Brooklyn Law School. You should check not only what constitutes a late payment, but also how you’ll be penalized; additional fees could include late charges, fines, interest, as well as attorneys’ fees.

It’s also smart to check what rights and recourse you have in your state if you end up unable to pay these assessments. “Some states have enacted some procedural protections for homeowners,” says Reiss. “It’s worth figuring those out if you are not able to pay off your HOA right away.”

The bright side? Given HOA fees are fairly small compared with a mortgage, they should be fairly easy to manage with some belt-tightening. In fact, Tankel suggests, “Move payment of assessments to the top of the list of things to pay. If you can’t, you can cancel your high-speed internet or cable TV or stop eating out. None of those services are worth keeping if you can’t pay assessments.”

Take it from McQuiston, who could still stand to lose her home for a mere $1,800. She admits, “I had the money the whole time. That’s the sad part about it. I would have gladly taken care of it.”

Source: Realtor.com, Judy Dutton
http://www.realtor.com/news/trends/evicted-for-not-paying-hoa-dues/?iid=rdc_news_hp_carousel_theLatest

HOA Fees Now May Affect Credit Scores

A major credit reporting agency says it will soon take into account homeowner association fees. Home owners who are late on payments may soon see the effect on their credit score.

Sperlonga, a credit data aggregator, is the first company to provide HOA payment and account status data to Equifax, which is one of the three major credit-reporting agencies. A full rollout of the new HOA reporting to Equifax will go live in October.

Homeowner associations and property management companies collect about $70 billion in HOA payments yearly among at least 333,000 community associations, according to the Community Association Institute.

“Until now, HOA payments have gone largely unreported to the national credit-reporting agencies,” says Matt Martin, chairman and founder of Sperlonga. “Our service will help elevate association payments to the same level of importance as the consumer’s other financial obligations like residential mortgages, auto loans, and credit card payments. Property owners that pay HOA fees on time should begin to see the similar impact [on] their credit reports as they would with other payment obligations traditionally found in a credit report.”

For property owners who are late or delinquent on their HOA payments, they will likely see a negative effect on their credit score, just as if they had missed a mortgage payment.

“Introducing new sources of data beyond what has traditionally been found on credit files can provide additional insight into a consumer’s financial behavior and help deliver expanded credit access,” says Mike Gardner, senior vice president at Equifax.

Source: RealtorMag Online > Sperlonga
http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2016/05/09/hoa-fees-now-may-affect-credit-scores?om_rid=AAFmZk&om_mid=_BXMMkfB9NaK2Yp&om_ntype=RMODaily

Why You Shouldn't Hate Your Homeowners Association Dues

If you buy a house in a planned development, a subdivision or a gated community, you’ll likely have to join a homeowners association (HOA). Which means you’ll be faced with the prospect of paying annual dues, whether you like it or not. Condo owners often face these fees, too.

No one expects you to be happy about these payments, especially when they often come due right after the holidays. And it’s true that the dues can be spent for seemingly trivial events such as neighborhood parties, and that management fees for the associations can be steep.

The HOA can make and enforce rules such as what colors houses can be painted, what types and sizes of pets are approved, whether holiday decorations are allowed on properties — even what types of mailboxes are allowed. And it can enforce these rules with fines and threats of foreclosures.

These associations say their rules and methods are necessary to keep property values up and maintain or increase resale values of the homes in the community. You might question that. But the fact of the matter is that HOA dues also can benefit you greatly, in ways that you can see and in ways that you might never think about.

Visible benefits from your dues

In addition to enforcing some degree of uniformity in your housing or condo development, the best-known function of homeowners associations is taking care of the community’s common areas. That includes landscaping — mowing the grass, planting and pruning trees, and taking care of flowers, lakes and clubhouses.

HOAs also operate swimming pools, gyms, and other amenities open to residents. Most also schedule regular pest control in common areas, and some set up garbage and other services.

Seems like these are pretty useful benefits, right? And there’s more to come.

Not-so-visible benefits

You can understand easily how you benefit from landscaping and swimming pools and gyms and the rest. But one of the real advantages of paying HOA dues comes when the association uses them for insurance for the condo or housing development. Why does a housing or condo development need insurance? We’re glad you asked.

Property insurance

This protection covers residents for any physical damage that happens to the common areas — particularly those clubhouses and other amenities mentioned earlier. Much like standard homeowners insurance, this coverage will help when there is damage from fire, wind, hail, and other covered perils.

This is particularly important in condo developments, because it also protects the buildings that house the units from the perils mentioned above. It’s up to the condo owner, however, to protect the contents of the condo.

What if the housing or condo development didn’t have any or adequate property insurance? Then the HOA would level special assessments against all the home or condo owners. Depending on the nature of the damage, that could result in you paying far more than your dues to make the development whole again.

Liability insurance

This is one of the most important parts of an HOA insurance policy, because it protects residents of a development if someone gets injured on common property. An injury could result in HOA members being sued, and legal costs and any award in the case could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, possibly more.

Why is this your concern? Because, again, the HOA could levy special assessments to raise the money to pay for the case. And remember, you’d have no alternative but to pay the assessment — otherwise, your home could be in danger.

Directors and officers insurance

Again, if someone — say, another resident — sues the leaders of the HOA, you would face the wrath of the courts just as much as the directors and officers. And again, you could be subject to a special assessment.

Employee dishonesty insurance

This would replace your — and other residents’ — HOA dues in case an employee steals money from the association.

Give your dues their due, but …

The almost-bottom line: Your dues, especially the part of them that goes toward HOA insurance, protect you from the prospect of paying larger amounts. So the dues do perform a useful function.

But here’s the real bottom line: You shouldn’t have to pay any more than is necessary. That means you should take the initiative. Make sure the HOA is spending your money wisely. Is it soliciting bids for the landscaping business? Does it seek several quotes for the insurance coverage before committing to a provider?

In other words, don’t hate the fact that you have to pay HOA dues. But don’t let your association get away with wasting that money, either. Your dues perform an important function that could save you money in the long run.

Source: Zillow Blog, Shannon Ireland
http://www.zillow.com/blog/dont-hate-hoa-dues-184748/

Incrreased Recording Fees Will Fund California Affordable Housing

The California legislator has come up with scheme to raise money for affordable housing by adding a fee for recording documents for refinance and other situations where a document needs to be recorded (such as a trust deed). It won't apply to purchases, so if you are buying a home, you don't have to worry about it, but if you are refinancing, they you will need to pay $75 per document up to $225 max per transaction. The California Association of Realtors endorses the plan and there seems to be some specific measures in place that specify exactly what percentage of the money is used for what.

Not sure how I feel about this yet, but you decide.




INCREASED RECORDING FEES WILL FUND CALIFORNIA AFFORDABLE HOUSING

It appears likely that the California legislature is about to enact a major bill that will provide a permanent source of funding to create housing for low-income individuals and households. The legislation, Assembly Bill 1335, introduced by Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D -- San Diego), is expected to raise $300 - $500 million annually. Where will all this money come from? Current and future California homeowners.

AB 1335 would impose new fees on the recording of various sorts of real estate documents. It would not raise fees on the recordings of documents pursuant to a sale transaction. So, for example, in most sales a new trust deed is created in connection with the purchase financing. The recording of that trust deed would not be subject to the fee. However, when a new trust deed is created in the course of refinancing or adding an equity line of credit, the recording of that trust deed would be subject to the fee.

The fee to be imposed is $75 per document. The documents affected include, but are not limited to, the following: grant deed, quitclaim deed, deed of trust, declaration of homestead, notice of default, mechanics lien, CC&Rs, easement, abstract of judgment, and reconveyance.

In any single transaction there is a limit of $225 that can be imposed by these fees. There is no limit to the amount of fees that can be charged over any period of time to the same entity. If, for example, you refinanced twice, you might pay $450 in fees.

The total fees collected, minus any administrative cost to the county recorder, is to be forwarded each quarter to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) where it is to be deposited into the "Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund". The Trust Fund will be administered by a Governing Board.

The legislation requires the following: "(A) Twenty percent of moneys in the fund shall be expended for affordable owner-occupied workforce housing. (B) Ten percent of the money in the fund shall be expended to address affordable homeownership and rental housing opportunities for agricultural workers and their families."

Among the purposes for which the remainder of the money could be used for are matching portions of funds placed into local or regional housing trust funds, emergency shelters and transitional housing, accessibility modifications, efforts to acquire and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant, or blighted homes, and homeownership opportunities, including but not limited to down payment assistance.

AB 1335 has garnered an unusual amount of support, much of it from specific cities and from a variety of building industry associations. 176 individuals and organizations registered support for the bill. Sixteen registered opposition, twelve of whom were county clerks, assessors, and/or recorders.

The opposition centered on two concerns: (1) the fees might discourage some people from recording documents that they really should (for their protection) record; and (2) nothing in the bill required that any of the money collected would come back to the communities where it was generated.

It came as a surprise to many that the California Association of REALTORS®(CAR) weighed in supporting the bill, as it had opposed a similar bill (SB 391) last year. But this bill differed in important respects (e.g. the $225 cap, and the 20% set aside for homeownership purposes). It probably didn't hurt, either, that the composition of the Trust Fund Governing Board is practically guaranteed to include two representatives from CAR.

Source: RealtyTimes, Bob Hunt
http://realtytimes.com/consumeradvice/buyersadvice1/item/36995-20150728-increased-recording-fees-will-fund-california-affordable-housing