Many residential properties in Florida are in homeowners association (HOA) communities. The HOA establishes certain standards for property maintenance and resident conduct. They may provide community amenities, ranging from a gym to swimming pools and playgrounds. The HOA enforces the community’s standards by communicating with non-compliant owners, assessing fees and even taking legal action.
Homeowners within the community typically need to pay HOA fees monthly in addition to their mortgages. Those fees are usually hundreds of dollars, and they help the community provide amenities and maintain shared spaces.
People who experience financial hardship, possibly caused by job loss, might fall behind on their HOA fees. They might prioritize paying their mortgages because they don’t want to lose their homes. Unfortunately, what they may not realize is that the HOA can also potentially foreclose on the property over unpaid fees.
Each HOA has different standards
There are limited state regulations that apply to HOA foreclosures. For example, Florida state law does not impose a minimum amount of past-due fees for an HOA foreclosure. People don’t have to accumulate thousands of dollars in unpaid fees over the course of a year or more. A single missed payment could be enough to prompt the HOA to foreclose on a property in some cases.
In fact, HOAs can foreclose over fines imposed for property maintenance issues, not just monthly fees. Forgetting to mow or parking too many vehicles in a driveway could result in fines that the homeowner must pay. Failing to do so, possibly as a form of protest about strict property use rules, can lead to major consequences.
Homeowners need to be very careful when managing their finances and responding to invoices from their HOAs. Otherwise, their ownership rights could be at risk. The good news is that property owners can sometimes successfully defend against HOA foreclosures in court. They may also be able to resolve the issue before foreclosure hearings if they retain legal representation and communicate with their HOA about their options.
Learning about when an HOA can potentially seek to terminate an owner’s property rights can help people protect themselves from a financially devastating situation. HOA foreclosures are a serious concern and require appropriate responses from affected homeowners.
