Foreclosures Require Strict Attention to All the Details

A Florida HOA didn’t provide an owner it was trying to foreclose on with documents required by the declaration. The result? The case is going to trial.

The HOA filed a foreclosure action against an owner, alleging that he hadn’t paid outstanding quarterly assessments and costs. It asked the court to rule in its favor before trial — in legalese, this is called summary judgment.

Essentially, the HOA argued that no trial was necessary it had already made its case by presenting copies of its declaration, demand letters sent to the owner, and an affidavit from the association president. But the owner contended that the association shouldn’t be granted summary judgment because it didn’t comply with the declaration’s notice requirements.

The declaration required the HOA to submit an annual budget to each owner, setting forth the quarterly assessments for each year and written notice with the due dates for those assessments. But the association’s evidence for summary judgment didn’t include the relevant budgets and notices or any proof that they were provided to the owner.

So the court concluded that the association’s compliance with the declaration’s requirements before imposing its lien and foreclosing remained in dispute. In other words, a trial was necessary to determine whether the association complied and could proceed with foreclosure.

Read the full article now to learn some important lessons about how to handle foreclosures:

Foreclosure Fundamentals: Follow All the Rules

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President