[sapilot]

I have been approved for a short sale that was supposed to close last Wednesday. After title search was done, was informed that there is a lien for $700+ due to a HO association dues that were 90+ days late. ($103) Delayed closing till possibly next Thursday. I already paid the fees plus interest and cleared bank as proof on July 1 even though payment was made on June 25, 2008. Called HO and they said the dues was sent to collection attorney to settle. They said they notified attorney that fees were paid but called attorney and they have no record. I did not know about this until final title search right before closing. I have not received any notices, letters, calls, nothing. HO says I should have received notice for collection. Attorney verified notice was not sent due to possible foreclosure. She said law states if possible foreclosure notice does not need to sent out. Foreclosure proceedings stopped after approval of short sale last month. Now attorney tacked on $375 for filing mortgage lien, and $175 for responding to title company's verification of debt (estopple?) I was the treasurer for three years with same HO. We never sent dues for collection until years late and for a much larger amount. I asked about when procedure changed, property manager said it was addressed at a metting in June with no quorum once again. Can they pass this change with no quorum? So, they sent it for dues of $103 which was paid already. Also, this was also the same HO that sent me a nasty letter regarding a dog attack as the owner that mauled and killed a dog. The President knows I have two young children and never owned any animals. However, I had to call and send email back to association management regarding incorrect information. It was never investigated and apparently this information was told to them by a witness who signed an affadative to Animal Control. She sald sorry about misunderstanding! Did the attorney file an illegal lien because I was never properly notified? Should I sue thr Association about slander regarding dog attck notice? I checked the minutes of meeting and the information about the dog attck and blaming it on me is all documented in the meeting minutes. Any help is appreciated. I need to close but do not want to pay illegal fees! Thanks for anything.

[cheerishables]

I wish I could help. We are in a similar situation. Our house is up for sale, but the hoa said we left our house abandoned. We moved out of state last month, and we have a for sale sign in front of the house. They sent a letter right before we moved stating that we owed $122.00 plus interest... although we were certain that we were paid up and being over billed. Then, we just received a letter stating that they will take us to small claims court if we do not make payment arrangements or provide proof of payment by 9-1-08. We immediately called to make payment and decided to look for the cancelled checks once we paid. When we called to make payment, they told us that they put a lien on our house the day after the letter was written and well before the deadline they gave us to prove we were paid in full, and they demanded legal fees to be paid over the phone. Sure enough, we found the payment from 4 years ago, but they kept applying new payments to the older years that were already paid. It was difficult to keep track of because, they never sent a bill... they always just put up doorhangers that said your hoa fees were due, and then they never kept records of what was paid. Most of the years, they didn't even put an amount due or if they fees increased until this year, however they showed in an email to us that they increased dues every year. I hope things get straightened out for you. It's terrible how they made false allegations against you and the way they extort money.

[ScottGem]

If you can prove that the attornhey was informed that the bill was paid BEFORE he field the lien, then you should be able to get that money back.

At this point in time it seems better to get the short sale through.

[smearcase]

I have been on association board and the rules and covenants and by-laws are different in every state in the union, and even vary by county, township and city.
But I don't believe an HOA had a by-law stating that we will go after non-paying residents after they are 4 years in arrears, and then hold a meeting to have the rresidents vote on cutting back to 2 years in arrears or whatever. Why would any HOA allow the residents to vote on such a rule? Quorum or no quorum.
Like it or not, most HOA's have the authority to take action (most can place a lien) if dues are not paid on time and the dues are generally payable by the same date each year. A reminder or invoice is good but it is the homeowner's responsibility to pay the dues on time. Not paying is a recipe for legal nightmares. Check the laws and by-laws before you move into an HOA community-after is too late unless you have funds for specialized lawyers to fight it.

[rockinmommy]

If you can prove that the attornhey was informed that the bill was paid BEFORE he field the lien, then you should be able to get that money back.

At this point in time it seems better to get the short sale through.

I completely agree with Scott. At this point, I would get the sale closed before something else comes along and screws up the whole sale.

THEN, I believe you would have an excellent case (if you have proof - documents, not just a verbal accounting of what happened) to take the association to small claims court. I don't know about going after the attorney - I can't see that working out very well for you. But I'd think the HOA has a duty to "call off" their attorney - especially if they were attempting collection by a method that wasn't even approved by the Association By-Laws.

But I wouldn't risk the potential sale over a few hundred dollars at this point.