Posted on 06/01/2010 9:07:42 PM PDT by Dr. Marten
Michael Clauer is a captain in the Army Reserve who commanded over 100 soldiers in Iraq. But while he was fighting for his country, a different kind of battle was brewing on the home front. Last September, Michael returned to Frisco, Texas, to find that his homeowners' association had foreclosed on his $300,000 house—and sold it for $3,500. This story illustrates the type of legal quagmire that can get out of hand while soldiers are serving abroad and their families are dealing with the stress of their deployment. And fixing the mess isn't easy.
(Excerpt) Read more at motherjones.com ...
I’m sure there’s more to this story.
First off, was the “failure to pay dues/fines” a criminal violation, or a civil one?
If it was Criminal:
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of Counsel for his defence.
If it was Civil:
Amendment VII.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
The value of the house was CERTAINLY over $20.
I just think that people who buy into HOA neighborhoods are idiots. Sorry.
Any time. That's what I'm here for.
Deadbeats hack me off, too.
I read this story and I googled it and it sounds like a big cluster. But what’s the management company to do? Really? Most communities are run by a management company and they have a series of things they do. It sounds like this one fell through the cracks. I want to know something else..was the mortgage being paid? If the guy was gone for so long and he knew his wife was in a depression, shouldn’t he have found out if bills were being paid? I know he’s in IRAQ, but they do have email and phones for God’s sake. Because he’s in Iraq, does that mean anything done at home is ok? There was no family? I’m just playing devil’s advocate here.
It sounds like a very, very sad story all around. In all honesty, I hope the wife is rescued more than I do the house.
The house we left in San Diego was bought by a couple at the height of the market. They paid a ridiculous price for it. Since they bought it, because of the strain of the costs, they have divorced, she apparently became a recluse and took to drinking and they lost the house...it just went into foreclosure. It’s a common story. Bad things happen when you don’t pay your bills.
Glanced at this:
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-txedce/case_no-4:2009cv00560/case_id-119777/
Since FR's inception, anti-HOA threads spring up periodically like crocuses in April. Always the same whining and complaining.
Has it ever occurred to you boo-birds to run for office on their boards yourselves to CHANGE what bugs you so much?
In virtually every association across the fruited plain, half a board is up for election every 24 months. That's your time to swoop if you feel tyrannized by a heedless or spendthrift board. Run for the board yourself, or get a ticket of two or three like-minded folks together and support them if you can't run yourself. Two years later, get rid of the other half of the bozos.
Get off your lazy, complaining butts. It can be done.
That's what I did. We had a board doing fishy, extra-legal and secretive things. I garnered some neighbors, challenged the incumbents, ran a good PR campaign and blew the nogoodniks right out of the box.
Quit your complaining. It's easier to run and win for the office of association board member than for Congress if you want to change something for the better.
Otherwise, go live out in the country or the fringes of town where folks put their washing machines on their front porches and park their old trailer homes in their driveways.
Now THAT'S livin'....and great for your property values, too.
Leni
“It’s like saying that if you stop making your payments on your car you car should not be repossessed.”
No, that’s a stupid analogy. Let me help. It’s like saying if you don’t pay insurance, your car should not be repossessed. The Mortgage is from a bank, the HOA is a third party. You’re welcome.
(P.S. I believe this home was paid off, rendering mortgages/payment to bank, superfluous).
HOA’s are stupid. Cut off services to people who don’t pay for them, not steal their homes, sell them for 1% off their value, for 1/3% of their value in “services.”
Agreed. Seems like there should’ve been a more even-handed resolution available.
“Otherwise, go live out in the country or the fringes of town where folks put their washing machines on their front porches and park their old trailer homes in their driveways.”
In otherwords, if you believe in personal property rights, move to the boonies...
“I want to know something else..was the mortgage being paid? If the guy was gone for so long and he knew his wife was in a depression, shouldn’t he have found out if bills were being paid?”
From another article, the house was bought and paid for by the wife’s parents, and given as a gift. No mortgage.
Texas ain't what it was.
Its now the new California.
Wow...that sucks.
Right on. Exactly!
Shark, good to see you buddy.
Thanks for posting, our Constitution! Amen. I’m sick of morons arguing for stealing a (wo_man’s home over what amounts to very little in dispute, but stealing something ov MAJOR value. Even adjusted for inflation, even the $800, is worth more a sizable amount in 18th century money. We have a right not only to property, but to defend it. Funny some will argue 2nd ammendment rights to protect one’s self, and then argue that a home can be outright stolen in order to “pay for” a tiny debt.
Such contracts would be in violation of the constitution anyway. Contracts don’t trump any right. That’s why 14 years olds can’t get cell phones/sign contracts. You have to know the consequences of signing one. Even so, many contracts people would sign into, are illegal.
Yep, it sucks.
I don’t have a problem with home owner’s associations if people know what they’re signing into. I just believe that the remedies of any such dispute should follow constitutional guidelines, such as OneWingedShark said.
This transaction should have been moved upon in civil court, or not at all. And If I recall correctly the person filed an affidavit that neither homeowner was in the service. That’s fraud.
Like the fact that the HOA tried repeatedly to contact the soldier's wife, who admitted to reporters that she didn't open the mail and ignored multiple attempts to reach her about the past due assessments.
The wife who apparently never even bothered to contact the HOA to let them know her husband was serving.
The wife who ignored being served with notice of the foreclosure sale.
And the wife who also apparently ignored the letter telling her she had 180 days to redeem the house (meaning, she could get it back if she paid the $3,500).
The reason HOA foreclosures in Texas sell for such a small amount is simple: Texas law, in many cases, allows for "right of redemption" where folks can, up to a half a year later, get their homes back by paying the foreclosure fee, attorneys fees, etc., (or, in this case, the $3,500).
The HOAs are not brokers or real estate agents, they are only asking for what is due to the association. Most potential buyers don't want HOA homes because there is a good chance the homes are redeemed and they lose interest on the money sitting around waiting for the home to pass the statutory limit.
For those who like to scream about judicial foreclosure, it would only make it more expensive for folks to get their homes back, because it raises the attorney's fees considerably.
But hey, let's knock the HOA for trying repeatedly to reach out to the soldier's family, who admitted to the news that they repeatedy ignored the HOA. Yeah, it's the mean HOA's fault...for providing the community pool, landscaping, lighting, amenities, whatever and expecting people to pay their fair share of the bill.
It's not like the HOA can "shut off" your community the way that the water service can shut off your water when you don't pay. And the time limit from the first late payment to the actual foreclosure usually runs almost a year. Try holding onto debt for a year and see how long you can pay your business' bills.
That’s your perogative. I lived in a neighborhood without one where my neighbor had the classic white trash home with cars on cement blocks and everything. I didn’t even mind that. What I did mind was the Christmas lights on for years on a crumbling shake roof. This was in San Diego where brush fires happened all the time. I had put tons of money into my home and I was scared all the time that his home would catch fire and it would jump to my prooperty.
I tried calling the city, the county...but nothing. There’s nothing we could do. So, there’s good and bad to everything.
If the original news reports are accurate, the HOA was never advised that he was serving. If they had been advised, it would have ended differently. I posted earlier in the thread with some more details (I think this is the same case), so take a look at how sad this whole thing was.
Thinking about this story more...It would interesting to see who exactly BOUGHT his home for $3,000 and then flipped it. My instincts tell me the management company has a greedy little side business going on.
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