“You broke us. » GA lawmakers to curb aggressive HOAs after hearing horror stories about homeowners

HOA nightmares are one of the most frequent calls to the Channel 2 Action News inquiry line.

There are now new bipartisan efforts by state lawmakers to examine how to rein in homeowners associations that go too far.

Justin Gray, Channel 2 consumer researcher looked at how an HOA can take over your Georgia home.

He found that you can be current on your mortgage, never miss a loan payment, and lose your home to foreclosure by your HOA.

Each month, Karyn Gibbons sent a check for HOA dues on her Gwinnett County condo to the address provided in writing at closing.

But she said she never knew when or if the money would be collected.

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“It was just random. I mean it would be two, three, four, five months between checks being cashed,” Gibbons said.

Then, out of the blue, she received a foreclosure notice from her HOA.

With late fees and thousands of dollars in attorney fees, she owed more than $30,000.

“Did you even know you could be foreclosed by an HOA? » Gray asked Gibbons.

“No. I’ve never heard of it,” Gibbons said.

“It’s totally crazy. It’s totally insane,” said Tricia Quigley, a former homeowner in Cherokee County.

She learned that this can happen the hard way.

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When Quigley’s Cherokee County home, where she had lived for 18 years, was sold in a foreclosure on the courthouse steps for about the amount of spare change on her coffee table while Gray was interviewing.

“It cost $3.25,” Quigley said.

She admitted that she had not paid two of her semi-annual homeowners association dues, totaling $800.

She ended up paying more than $10,000 to try to resolve the issue with the HOA, but the late fees and attorney fees kept mounting.

“I kept thinking I had paid all this money; how come it doesn’t stop? » said Quigley.

Lawyer fees are one of the main reasons.

Every email, every inquiry, every attempt to dispute, repair, or even pay an overdue invoice adds to the bill.

By the time Juliet Graham finally sold her downtown Atlanta condo, her HOA bill had reached $250,000.

“You broke us. We’re broke,” Graham said.

Channel 2 Action News checked foreclosure records and found that just two metro Atlanta law firms that specialize in representing HOAs have filed 279 notices of demand for damages and foreclosure over the past three years only.

“I can’t imagine the mafia was any worse than what my experience was,” Graham said.

State Sen. Donzella James, a Democrat who represents South Fulton County, has introduced several bills this legislative session to try to reign in overly aggressive HOAs.

“People need to be protected and protected from foreclosure,” Senator James said.

“That’s where I redid everything,” said James McAdoo, a homeowner in South Fulton County.

The only way he could stop his HOA from intercepting his paycheck was to declare bankruptcy.

“They garnished my wages,” McAdoo said.

He owes $36,000, mostly because of weeds in his front yard.

They took $600 from his paycheck every two weeks until he began the bankruptcy process.

“What outcome do you see from this? » Gray asked McAdoo.

“I’m selling my house and moving out of this neighborhood,” McAdoo said.

That’s what Karyn Gibbons did earlier this year, although she still doesn’t believe she did anything wrong.

“I’ve just said enough.” I can’t take it anymore,” Gibbons said.

She paid $34,000 in fines, interest and attorney fees to end this nightmare.

“I don’t know how that’s legal,” Gibbons said.

And this doesn’t just happen to homeowners. Gray also spoke with a couple who said that just because they rented a home, they weren’t safe from an HOA.

Jasmine Latson and Jaquan Hunter said their HOA in their South Fulton neighborhood sued them over the condition of their yard.

They ended up hiring a lawn service to take care of everything. But that wasn’t enough for the HOA.

“I was like, maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m not doing well enough, I don’t know. So I went ahead and simply hired an outside resource that my neighbor used. He’s been pretty consistent and good, but the fines keep coming,” Latson said.

Last year, they received a foreclosure letter saying the home’s owners owed fines and fees of more than $23,000.

“Never, never in a million years did I think I would have to deal with this. You know? I pay my rent every month,” Latson said.

First Key Homes, Latson and Hunter’s landlord negotiated fines to around $12,000 to avoid foreclosure. But the company has now forwarded that bill to the couple, along with an eviction notice.

Latson has fired an attorney and his court date is set for Friday.

Now, these tenants are hoping state lawmakers can do something about these aggressive HOAs.

A bipartisan bill sponsored by state Sen. and Rules Committee Chairman Matt Brass, a Republican representing Newnan, passed the Gold Dome this year to create a study committee examining how to change laws to better protect owners.

Brass told Gray that the No. 1 topic on the study committee’s agenda would be HOA foreclosures, which he said rob families of generational wealth.

“For an outside group to come and take this away from me is un-American again. And we’re not going to tolerate it in this state,” Brass said.

Several states have implemented laws limiting HOA foreclosures.

This legislative study committee should begin its work probably at the end of the summer.

Brass expects potential bills for the next session to come out of committee.

As chairman of the powerful Rules Committee that decides which bills get a vote, these potential reforms have an ally in Brass.

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