Chairman Solomons Confident SB 142 Will Come to the Texas House Floor
As time runs out in the legislative session, lawmakers’ promises to dampen the influence of homeowners associations may be fading.  The only HOA bill that has passed both chambers did so Thursday, leaving many dead in committees and several awaiting a spot on the agenda in the final 10 days of the session...Both West and Solomons say they’re confident they can reach a compromise on their bills, if the House can act in time.  “Obviously the clock is ticking and the House is focused on more weighty issues,” West said. “But, yes, we can still get this through.”  Solomons says he has the necessary support in the House. All he needs is time. “It’s got a better chance to pass than the budget,” he said.

Beware of HOA Payment Plan
When an expensive payment plan deal becomes a foreclosure

Current industry payment plan practices:

1.     Payment plans have become a prerequisite to foreclosure.  See HOBB Report:

    1,425%  Markup - Big Corporate Business for HOA Non-Judicial Foreclosures

2.     An elite group of HOA industry attorneys/debt collectors have captured the

   market of no-win homeowner’s payment plans as the option for HOA foreclosure
   on homesteads.

3.     The HOAs attorney business plan objectives for payment plans:

a)    Is to derive a steady stream of income for themselves as the debt collector;

while the debt continues to mount under the payment plan

b)    When a payment is missed under the plan (anticipated), the HOA attorney

posts notice for a “Non–Judicial” foreclosure again, adding more fees and  

offers another payment plan or face foreclosure.  Additionally, homeowners

may be required to sign an Agreed Judgment

c)     With 2 to-as-many-as 5 times of payment plan extensions and notice

postings, the attorney submits the Agreed Judgment for a default before

the judge under a Judicial Foreclosure 

d)    Foreclosed – THE END

Under payment plans many have paid thousands of dollars only to see their homes
taken in foreclosure over the original $150 assessment debt.

 

HOA Reform Coalition Supports CSSB 142
Priority of Payments Provision would apply payments in this order: 1) any delinquent assessments; 2) any current assessment; 3) any attorney fees or third party collection costs. Homeowners have been trying to get meaningful legislation for more than a decade. The present laws have allowed HOA abuse and tens of thousands of foreclosures across the state - devastating to both  homeowners and to property values.

Homeowners group fights Marine family’s banner
In January, following Corey Burr’s deployment to Afghanistan, Burr and her husband, Timothy, put up a large multi-colored banner with their 20-year-old son’s Marine Corps portrait and the phrase “Our son defends our freedom” in front of their south Bossier home.  The couple received a letter a month later from the Gardens of Southgate Association stating the banner was in violation of the neighborhood’s covenants. The covenants specify only real estate signs are permitted...the association’s attorney, Geoffrey Westmoreland, informed her she had 10 days to remove the sign or litigation could ensue.

HOA Reform or a Lucrative Funded Mandate 
In response to a multitude of major news reports depicting abusive actions by Home Owners Associations (HOA), boards and vendors, Texas lawmakers have seen some sixty (60)) plus reform bills filed.  Although the intent may be good, some of these bills may well enable an unrestrained funded mandate to siphon more money from homeowner for the benefit of builders, developers and management companies.

Texas Bexar County  Interactive HOA Foreclosure Postings 

Ripoff Report: WHY IN THE HECK ARE RESALE CERTIFICATES AND TRANSFER FEES SO EXPENSIVE WHEN YOU SELL A HOME IN THE STATE OF TEXAS?
The truth of the matter is that the information in a Resale Certificate takes minutes to issue and deliver by an AGENT. Normally the Resale Certificate is sent to the title company in a form of a PDF file. There is NO copying, there is NO assembling and delivery is a mere click of a mouse. Keep in mind many AGENTS are charging $300.00-$500.00 for this service. How much is your AGENT charging?  In a nutshell, agents are doing everything wrong. Agents think that once they are hired to manage a HOA that they have inherent authority to: 1) Charge homeowners directly for fees related to resale-certificate and transfer, 2) Set the fee amount (whatever they want to charge) for the resale certificate and transfer 3) Collect the fees for their own account. 4) As a result, the respective fees have been increasing to unreasonable amounts. All of which are absolutely wrong on several levels!

Former HOA treasurer arrested
The former treasurer of a Brookhaven homeowners association has been arrested and charged with stealing $123,000 from the group’s reserve account. William Blake, 68, lived at the Bluffs of Nancy Creek, a development of about 80 homes. He was arrested April 12 on a charge of theft by taking and released the same day on $100,000 bond, according to information on the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office website.

HOA Attorney Fees: An Unconscionable Racket
 HOAs have a close relationship with private attorneys that result in homeowners getting fleeced.  HOA management companies sign up attorneys eager to sue, and charge homeowners thousands when the amount in dispute is a few hundred dollars.  HOAs love the money the attorneys collect and turn a blind eye to the fact that the attorney fees dwarf the amount the homeowner is behind.  HOA boards may not even realize their management companies and attorneys intentionally design a system to make more money with installment agreements with extra fees and charges added each month.  To make matters worse some HOA attorneys pad their bills by charging attorney time when a legal secretary or paralegal merely changes a few names on form lawsuits these HOA attorneys file regularly in court.

HOA legislation builds debate during session
During this legislative session, people across the state are asking lawmakers to limit the power of HOAs. In 2004, Evelyn Garcia bought a four bedroom, three bathroom house in Hutto with her husband. Unfortunately, her excitement didn't last long. Garcia thought joining her HOA was optional, and when she didn't pay the first year's dues, roughly $360, she learned attorneys were involved. Now, Garcia is stuck paying the attorneys’ fees, which total more than $12,000.