Thursday, May 15, 2025
Chuck Marunde, J.D., Sequim Buyer's Agent (833) 770-1365


iRealty Virtual Brokers


Buyer's Agent

Sequim Washington

SUBSCRIBE
  • Home
  • Buyer’s Agent
  • Who is Chuck Marunde?
  • Contact Us
  • Search Homes
Tetralogy
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • Buyer’s Agent
  • Who is Chuck Marunde?
  • Contact Us
  • Search Homes
No Result
View All Result
iRealty Virtual Brokers
No Result
View All Result
Home Homeowner Associations

Homeowner Associations Go After Foreclosure Victims

by
July 27, 2012
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
4

Homeowner AssociationsForeclosures have hit tens of thousands of Americans, and one can imagine the financial stress and devastation that causes a family.  The foreclosure event and its aftershocks can implode a family, resulting in divorce and separating children from parents.  As if a foreclosure isn’t bad enough, there is another threat that looms after the foreclosure.  Homeowner Associations around the country are hiring attorneys and collection agencies to threaten the foreclosed homeowners after the foreclosures.  Here is a quote from an attorney’s letter to an elderly woman who lost her home to foreclosure and has suffered from cancer and poverty:

We are a collection firm for Sabre Springs Neighborhood Homeowners Association.  Your maintenance assessment debt has been referred to us for collection.  We understand your property was foreclosed on [date], however, you are personally responsible for all association assessments up to the date of the Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale is recorded [a good writer the attorney is not].  As such, the amount due includes our charge for reviewing the documents, processing the paperwork, skip tracing costs and sending you this letter.  . . .

If we do not receive payment or a written response disputing the validity of this obligation within thirty (30) days of the date of this letter, we will assume that you agree the amount set forth above is correct.  In addition, it will also be assumed that you do not want a payment plan and that you simply are not going to pay, therefore, we will begin legal action on the thirty-first day following this letter.

This is the kind of offensive letter that has endeared attorneys to so many people.  The attorney who wrote this letter is not a nice person, regardless of what he would say is just doing his job and enforcing a contractual or legal obligation.

The front page news here is not that attorneys can be such unpleasant human beings–it is that homeowners who get foreclosed upon may also be responsible for homeowners association assessments.  That’s not a surprise if you think about it.  What is a surprise is that the homeowners associations would make a decision to go after foreclosure victims who are themselves struggling to survive.  Ninety five percent of these debts are probably uncollectable anyway.  My suggestion for the board of directors of homeowner associations is that such debts should be written off, unless the homeowner is wealthy or is otherwise very capable of paying the debt without personally being forced into poverty.

Last Updated on July 27, 2012 by Chuck Marunde

Tags: Homeowner Associationshomeowner dues
ShareTweet

Related Posts

HOA
Homeowner Associations

Homeowner Associations: Nightmare of Nightmares

September 1, 2018
271
FNMA Killing Transactions by Requiring Private Road Maintenance Agreements
Homeowner Associations

FNMA Killing Transactions by Requiring Private Road Maintenance Agreements

August 7, 2014
694
Homeowner Associations
Homeowner Associations

Sequim Homeowner Associations

February 9, 2013
312
Next Post

Port Angeles Water View Property

How to Look at Homes in Sequim and Port Angeles

Comments 4

  1. L. Howard says:
    15 years ago

    Also… Anyone who was paying attention could see the wave of foreclosures that was coming back in 2005 and 2006. Of course the assessments were going to be defaulted on when people were strapped for cash. I sold my home in Pierce County before the crash because I could not see where my home was worth anywhere near what some sucker was willing to convince the bank it was worth to them. It’s dropped at least $100K since then and the new owners will eventually bail on it because why keep paying on an asset that is constantly depreciating, further depressing prices. I will probably be able to buy it back in 4 or 5 years for less than I paid for it in 2002.

    Reply
  2. L. Howard says:
    15 years ago

    Sorry, But if she didn’t want letters like this, she shouldn’t have bought in an HOA community. The widow brought this letter on herself by buying in a development where she could end up owing money to the HOA. I think the letter is proof of why I think HOA’s are not helpful to neighborhoods, despite what many realtors might believe. She should have thought about this BEFORE she agreed to be bound by an HOA’s “rules”.

    Reply
  3. Chuck Marunde says:
    15 years ago

    Good question Mitch. If there were an easy answer for that, there would be an easy answer for who should pay for the losses that banks sustain as a result of all the foreclosures, or who should pay for losses sustained by businesses when someone files for bankruptcy. Extreme financial hardship of elderly widows (and anyone) was my emphasis here. My point is not that associations shouldn’t ask for the money from people who can pay, but that associations should not attack victims of foreclosures who cannot pay. After all, as they saying goes, “You can’t get blood from a turnip.” But my other point as you can tell is that there is a time to go after someone with an obnoxious attorney, and there is a time not to, especially when they can’t afford it, don’t have the money, and certainly when they are either a widow or widower struggling to survive. In this case, it was all of the above plus cancer. Does anyone really think the association should go after this woman like this?

    The reality is that this is a bad situation for everyone, and the remaining homeowners are not going to like getting stuck with dividing up the assessments of those who get foreclosed on and leave without being able to pay their share. It’s truly unfair to them. This is really a threat that homeowners have never had to deal with, at least at this level with so many going into default on their assessments. Who ever would have thought that we would have such a huge foreclosure nightmare around the country and so many thousands who also default on their homeowner dues as a result?

    Reply
  4. Mitch says:
    15 years ago

    This debt covers expenses. Who do you propose pay for it?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


Search 2,200 Articles by Category

Read Most Commented Articles

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Buyer and Seller

What if a Buyer and Seller Talk to Each Other?

August 5, 2022
The Sequim Blue Hole

The Sequim Blue Hole – A Map of Rainfall

December 5, 2023
Dangers of Buying a Fannie Mae Foreclosure Through Homepath

Dangers of Buying a Fannie Mae Foreclosure Through Homepath

June 12, 2014
Prorate Propane

How to Prorate Propane at Closing

August 15, 2015
10 Best Places to Retire

Why is Sequim One Of The 10 Best Places To Retire?

September 22, 2019
Home Inspection

The Home Inspection and the Form 35R Inspection Response

January 8, 2013
Port Townsend Stinks

Why Does Port Townsend Stink?

April 16, 2019

FedEx Signature Waiver

September 21, 2012
Buyer and Seller

What if a Buyer and Seller Talk to Each Other?

47
print newspapers

Print Newspapers Losing Readers to the Internet

42
FNMA Killing Transactions by Requiring Private Road Maintenance Agreements

FNMA Killing Transactions by Requiring Private Road Maintenance Agreements

31
real estate documents

What Documents Does a Buyer Need to Buy Real Estate?

24
Hollywood movies in Port Angeles

Hollywood Movies Filmed in Port Angeles

21
roller skates, rollerblades, roll skates

Composite Decking by Home Inspector Tyler Conkle

20
Sequim Wells

Community Well Agreements

19
Sunland Golf Course

Is the Sequim Sunland Golf Course Going Bankrupt?

17
Chuck Marunde and Sabrina Marunde

Living in Sequim is Wonderful

April 5, 2025
Safest Place to Live

The Safest Place to Live: Survival Preparation

July 11, 2024
Best Place to Retire

Best Place to Retire: Florida or Sequim Washington?

June 29, 2024
Sequim MLS

What is the best Sequim MLS site when searching homes for sale?

June 23, 2024
Understanding The NAR Settlement

Understanding the NAR Settlement: What Homebuyers and Sellers Need to Know

July 6, 2024
Top Real Estate Agents

What to Look for In Top Real Estate Agents

June 17, 2024
real estate crash

The Coming Real Estate Crash

June 9, 2024
NWMLS vs OLS

NWMLS vs OLS in Sequim

July 14, 2024

Popular Stories

  • Buyer and Seller

    What if a Buyer and Seller Talk to Each Other?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Sequim Blue Hole – A Map of Rainfall

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Dangers of Buying a Fannie Mae Foreclosure Through Homepath

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • How to Prorate Propane at Closing

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Why is Sequim One Of The 10 Best Places To Retire?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

"I wish I read this before selling my
home. I could have saved $50,000." Andy 

Leaving Comments   I hope you’ll join our community and leave comments from time to time. Please realize that comments, if approved, will be public, so do not use any personal information you don’t want broadcast to the world, and definitely don’t leave a phone number. Comments are not the place to ask Chuck Marunde for help in finding a home. To do that, call or text Chuck.

Neither Chuck Marunde nor iRealty Virtual Brokers offers legal advice on this site. Please Read Our Legal Disclaimer

If you’d like to view how we protect your privacy, see our Privacy Policy.

iRealty Virtual Brokers

iRealty Virtual Brokers reaches out to buyers around the United States with thousands of online articles, MLS sites, apps, real estate books, videos, and much more specifically to help buyers find all the answers to their questions.

iRealty Virtual Brokers
125 Olympic Ranch Ln
Sequim, Washington 98382
Text: (833) 770-1365

Search the MLS in Washington State:

Sequim MLS Map Search

The largest independent real estate blog in the State of Washington with over 2,200 articles totally focused on our client’s best interest, their needs and their curiosity. All free and 100% reliable. I’m here if you need me, 



© 2006-2024 iRealty Virtual Brokers and Chuck Marunde

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Buyer’s Agent
  • Who is Chuck Marunde?
  • Contact Us
  • Search Homes
  • Login
  • Sign Up

© 2006-2024 iRealty Virtual Brokers and Chuck Marunde

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.