In condo complexes, the Home Owners Association, or HOA, can be a great relief: major expenses are shared; rules agreed on makes everyone's life easier.
On the other hand, a hostile HOA can be a bit like the mafia.
The following cases illustrate the power an HOA can have. This power should give anyone considering a home with an existing HOA pause, since those people making up the association may or may not be like-minded, friendly, or even reasonable.
Even with your closest neighbors, it's all business
In 2007, a Texas couple fell behind in their HOA dues. The husband had suffered traumatic brain injury at his railroad job; the wife had a skin condition causing swelling and open sores on her body. With bills piling up in every corner, HOA dues lost priority in the couple's life. But instead of taking the usual route by filing a lien on the property, meaning that Dan and Elaine Lambert would not be able to sell their home until they paid their dues, their HOA evicted them and seized their home.
Read more >>
