Posted on 09/15/2026 4:37:09 PM PDT by Libloather
An Arizona man lost the home he bought for nearly half a million dollars after falling just $977 behind on homeowners association fees — with the property ultimately selling back to the HOA for a mere $8,172.
Toby Newton purchased the four-bedroom Mesa home for $475,000 in 2022, but ran into financial trouble two years later after losing his job and being diagnosed with diabetes, according to the Mesa Tribune.
Newton fell behind on his quarterly HOA assessments, which were around $170, eventually owing $977 in fees and interest.
“I bought the house and then I got sick,” Newton told the outlet. “I got diabetes and I was out of work.”
Newton said he contacted the Superstition Springs Community Master Association in an attempt to work out a payment plan.
He initially offered to pay $50 per month toward his debt while keeping up with his regular assessments. After that was rejected, he increased his proposed payments — eventually offering $200 a month — but said the HOA rejected those offers as well.
By November 2024, the association had initiated foreclosure proceedings.
As the case dragged on, the relatively modest HOA debt ballooned.
Court filings showed that by July 2025, Newton owed $1,311 in missed assessments and late charges, along with $1,042.09 in plaintiff’s fees and $3,345 in attorney fees.
The home was ultimately sold at public auction in October 2025 to the Superstition Springs Community Master Association for just $8,172. Newton’s total debt stood at $6,579 by then.
The case unfolded as Arizona lawmakers moved to give homeowners greater protections against HOA foreclosures.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Wrong. It "sold" to the organization that foreclosed on it.
They stole his house--which is why they refused to help him with a repayment schedule.
My parents live in a neighborhood that formed an informal neighbors association a bunch of years ago. Somebody donated a couple of signs at each end of the roadway. The road was a state highway and the neighbors wanted the roadway turned over to the city to put in sidewalks and reduce speed limits. They were successful.
Why should there be a ban on any form of private contracts? No one is forced to join an HOA. The role of government is does not include restricting private contracts. Even to protect people from doing something as dumb as submitting themselves to an HOA.
There is nothing more American than entering into a constitutionally protected private contract and then crying FOUL and begging the government to bail you out.
Don’t join if you cannot or will not accept the consequences of your actions.
I am not ceding one inch of my rights to make private contracts free from government oversight and interference because of the idiots who join HOAs and then have buyers remorse.
Yes and screw the banks if a mortgage is still owed. Let the banks sue the HOA. What will ultimately stop a HOA...when everybody in the HOA as a group refuses to pay the HOA fees and the HOA leaders are hounded out of the neighborhood!
As I said before, at my age with my health issues, a Life Sentence for murder isn’t that long.
Why sue? Conspiracy. Why Federal court? Conspiracy...wire fraud...mail fraud.
Ok. They can go with that. They’ll be tossed out of federal court in record time, but they can go with that
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