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ABC Special Report
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Call for Texas Attorney General to Investigate HOA Mess
Tuesday, 19 April 2011

HOAs taking S.A. homes now getting lawmakers' attention
Boarded up. Deserted. A court notice to vacate. The signs of foreclosures permeate the Lago Vista neighborhood. Foreclosures are nothing new in this new economy.  But when it’s your homeowner’s association doing it to a neighbor, Janet Ahmad with the Home Owners for Better Building says it gets personal.  “This is a money-maker for the industry.  It’s very lucrative,” said Ahmad.  One bill being heard this week in committee, pushed by Houston lawmaker, Rep. Harold Dutton, asks that delinquent homeowners get a written notice of the amount of attorney’s fees and costs they face BEFORE those costs are actually incurred.  Ahmad added, “That would stop attorneys from abusing their authority. And an investigation is key.”  Groups like the Home Owners for Better Building want lawmakers to request the state attorney general look into the practices of HOAs.

HOAs taking S.A. homes now getting lawmakers' attention

View Report by Joe Conger / KENS 5

SAN ANTONO --Boarded up. Deserted. A court notice to vacate. The signs of foreclosures permeate the Lago Vista neighborhood. Foreclosures are nothing new in this new economy.

But when it’s your homeowner’s association doing it to a neighbor, Janet Ahmad with the Home Owners for Better Building says it gets personal.

“This is a money-maker for the industry.  It’s very lucrative,” said Ahmad.

An annual homeowner assessment is designed to fund common landscaping, maybe a neighborhood pool. Miss a payment, and attorneys for the HOA can make it expensive.

We discovered one payment plan for a missed $240 assessment that included late fees and attorneys fees totaling nearly $6,500.
Ahmad said “And once they get behind, they can never catch up. And this attorney will get them into a payment plan they can’t afford.”
 
We found one subdivision in San Antonio with more than 20-foreclosures started by the HOA.
 
Now, there’s a move in Austin to try and give property owners a little more protection. There are reportedly dozens of reform bills filed in this session before the Texas legislature.
 
One bill being heard this week in committee, pushed by Houston lawmaker, Rep. Harold Dutton, asks that delinquent homeowners get a written notice of the amount of attorney’s fees and costs they face BEFORE those costs are actually incurred.
 
Ahmad added, “That would stop attorneys from abusing their authority. And an investigation is key.”
 
Groups like the Home Owners for Better Building want lawmakers to request the state attorney general look into the practices of HOAs.
 
The consequences are big: fall behind, and within a month your home could be on the courthouse steps.

http://www.kens5.com/news/HOAs-taking-SA-homes-a-practice-now-getting-lawmakers-attention-120239199.html
 
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