[DelaWhere]

I plan to FREEP this one - anyone else? To contact the office:Tuesday to Saturday 7:30 AM to 4 PM Primary Business Address; 920 Black Creek Drive Copperopolis CA 95228 Phone: 209-785-2688 Fax: 209-785-2698 Email: ccltoa@caltel.com

[Malacoda]

So, a $120 charge turned into damn near $2,000, and the HOA isn't "really" an HOA, but a loose association of their neighbors?

Frankly, I'd rather live next door tot he Mengeles. They'd probably be more neighborly.

ANd I'm waiting to see what the HOA defenders have to say on this one.

You'd have to be NUTS to live in a development with an HOA.

[Pern]

and now they have lost their home less than a year after failing to pay $120 in annual dues.

I don't care what the reason, if anybody tried to take away my home, they'd be looking at the wrong end of my .45 ACP!

[Lazamataz]

Some HOA's are benign.

But I won't take that chance.

[sauropod]

This is unbelievable. I know some on this forum will say that the Radcliffs entered into a "voluntary contract" and hence deserve no special consideration.

Myself, I vote for common sense. I think the HOA should be sued for financial terrorism.

[the invisib1e hand]

reminds me of a true story about a rich man who was in charge of the owner's committee at an exclusive Park Ave place.

one of the owners was having a little bit of difficulty paying his maintenance -- I believe it was six figures. the committee man offered to give the owner time to get his affairs in order.

and these lowlifes wanna ruin someone's life for 120 measly dollars? that's just plain evil.

[Leroy S. Mort]

The Radcliffs can receive about $60,000 from the sale of their house after paying off the homeowners association and a lien for past-due income taxes.

Sounds like forgetting to pay their association dues wasn't the ONLY problem this couple had.

[sauropod]

There is also an allusion to a tax lien on the property.

More to the story here. Maybe the Radcliffs have Alzheimer's or something?

[ovrtaxt]

"One of the unfortunate things about people is when you get a little power, it goes to their heads," said Anita Radcliff, 61.

Welcome to the planet, Anita. If you ever vote for a proponent of big government again, you haven't learned your lesson.

[baltodog]

There has to be more to this than what we are being told.

If not, this story just added to my lack of faith in the human race....

The guy that bought the house knew exactly what he was getting into...I wouldn't be suprised if he was someone's relative.

He's just as much a culprit as anyone else.

[Riley]

HOAs can go pound sand. Bunch of unelected, unaccountable nobodies who have suddenly gained a little power, and mean to use it. I will *never* live somewhere where I have to deal with them. My ideal circumstances are a decent house out in the woods somewhere, with a lot of land around me so I don't have to look at or listen to anyone else.

I don't really do anything that would normally attract their ire, but paying them money to constantly send their petty little 'thou shalt not' edicts into my mailbox is more than I can stomach.

[AppyPappy]

I'm lost. Why didn't they pay the $120?

[alisasny]

his three sons are carpenters and painters

The sons couldnt find 120 bucks between themselves to bail out MOM and DAD.....I have issue with this more than anything....

[Johnny_Cipher]

The unhappy couple wrote a letter to their Congresscritter, Barbara Boxer, about this.

[John Jorsett]

I have a friend who's been on the boards of the HOAs of the condos she's lived in. Based on her experiences, some people are deadbeats and just won't pay. If the HOA didn't take action to collect their money, they'd never get it from those people, so they have to use the tools available to them, up to and including foreclosure. The people in this story got notice after notice and either threw them in a corner without reading them or consciously decided to ignore them. There's only so much you can do before the HOA has to either forget it (meaning they'll have increasing numbers of owners deciding not to pay, since it won't hurt them) or take it all the way.

If you don't want to be subject to HOA rules, don't live in a home where there is one. I don't like being told what to do on my own property, so I live in a house without an HOA to deal with. I can put up political yard signs, paint the house hot pink, cut the grass into a mohawk, or any other thing I please, and my neighbors might hate it but there's no HOA to make me stop.

[pabianice]

HOAs are turning people away from such housing in droves.

[PackerBoy]

It is interesting to me that this conservative forum produces so much liberal-sounding sympathy.

If the homeowners agreed to abide by the association's rules, were properly assessed $120 in charges, failed/refused to pay them, ignored a dozen collection letters, and failed to come up with the case when they were sued -- what is wrong with legal process taking its course, even if the result seems tragic? This is like saying that a $40,000 car should not stop running just because the owner failed to put $20 of gas in its tank. The owners' failure brought about this result, not a cruel HOA.

It also seems strange to me that they could not/did not manage to find $120 somewhere. They had no neighbor, friend or relative who would help them out? Very strange.

[Savage Beast]

I do not join homeowners' associations, and I do not allow any restrictions on my property if I can help it.

[wgeorge2001]

It seems that we are living in a time when the left wing liberal communist democrats have devised many ways to steal and rob both taxpayers ( subsidized teachers unions, A.C.L.U. also known by intelligent people as American Communists and Liberals United , Public Broadcasting System, Public School System, etc.) and people who have worked hard all their lives to buy property and own a home on retirement are generally their victims. The amount of incidents of H.O.A. robbing and controlling home owners rights are increasing every year and there agenda needs to be made manifest so that citizens can destroy these robbers.
These H.O.A.'s always are run by liberals whose true motives are to take power and rights guaranteed by our constitution and undermine and rule over communities of people who foolishly believe the lies these monsters use to steal and rob them blind.
The more I read about people,generally patriots and conservatives, who have been attacked by H.O.A.'s, the more I know who and what these people who run H.O.A.'s motives are. It's not about love or protection, it's a big scam to enrich the people who run and control H.O.A.'s and they are worse than man eating sharks(sharks do it for food, I belittle sharks).
H.O.A.s should have no power to even exist.

[alrea]

"One of the unfortunate things about people is when you get a little power, it goes to their heads,"

If there is anyone out there that still needs information on the corrupting influence of power, visit your local home owner's association. We all know that they do good things, as does our wonderful government. But without safeguards, you are looking down a mean barrel.

[Cowboy Bob]

...sold at a foreclosure auction in December for $70,000.

The Radcliffs bought the three-acre lot in 1999 for $30,000. When the two-bedroom, 1,728-square-foot home was completed last March, it was appraised at $258,000, the family said.

Looks like the new owner will make a killing on this deal!