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NORTH CAROLINA — When the caller on the other end of the phone asked Trenita Rogers when she was moving out of her house, she thought it was a joke.
She’s owned her home in Pitt County, North Carolina, for 12 years and even paid it off. So she was shocked when a man told her that he’d bought it.
“I said, ‘I don’t know anything about that.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I bought your home in an upset bid and I need to know when you will be moving,'” Rogers remembered.
She quickly found out he wasn’t lying. At the county courthouse, she found the paper that showed that her home, which is valued at $413,000, was sold for just over $221,000.
The sale came after the property was foreclosed on — something that Rogers said also happened without her knowledge.
This all stemmed from a debt of $1,491 to an HOA that Rogers didn’t know she was a part of.
“I’ve been there for 12 years. I’ve never paid an HOA. I’ve never been invited to an HOA,” Rogers said.
The debt was an accumulation of a decade’s worth of annual HOA dues.
Rogers said she would have paid the debt if she had known. Court records show the HOA had filed liens against Rogers’ property in the past for late dues. A lien is on file for the property in 2013 and 2017; both for unpaid HOA dues. Rogers claimed she was unaware of these.
This summer, Rogers eventually got an eviction notice. She moved out of her “forever” home and is living with a friend.
“My life has become an open book,” Rogers said. But now, she is working to reverse the last chapter.
Rogers hired Chapel Hill-based attorney Jim White to fight for her home back.
“I told my daughter, I said, ‘Mom’s gonna fight for this because this is wrong,'” Rogers said.
White said Rogers did receive letters from a law office but she thought they were junk mail and the law requires more notification than that.
“The HOA never served her lawsuit papers. They just didn’t do it and that is fatal,” White said.
White explained the papers for the foreclosure hearing were sent out as certified mail but instead of getting Rogers’ signature, the mail carrier just wrote C-19 for COVID-19 in place of the signature. This practice was used at the height of the pandemic to limit carriers’ exposure to the virus. Rogers claimed she never saw the documents from the mail carrier.
“The law says you’ve got to serve somebody. You’ve got to. If you’re suing somebody, you’ve got to make sure that they’ve gotten notice,” White said. “The thought that someone could just casually move forward at someone’s home over a $1,400 debt without turning over heaven and earth to make sure that they knew just seems wrong to me.”
The lawsuit White filed on Rogers’ behalf does state that someone from the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office did try twice to deliver a notice of the hearing in-person last September, but they were “unsuccessful.”
Rogers’ HOA, Irish Creek Section 2 Owners Association, declined to comment on the issue, citing the pending lawsuit.
The attorney representing the seller who bought Rogers’ home said while Rogers never signed the official papers, the C-19 signature doesn’t mean she didn’t see them. The attorney also said his client bought the house in a competitive bidding process and has been unable to access the home.
Rogers has a court date next month where she hopes to reverse the sale and the foreclosure due to the lack of notification she received.
Unfortunately, White said he continues to hear from clients with similar stories.
He’s seen cases where associations foreclosed on a fully owned home for $250 in unpaid fees. In other instances, the HOA was sending the bills to the wrong address, which led to late fees and then foreclosures.
“We’ve had so many situations of people; these are their neighbors, they knew where they lived. Somebody could have knocked on the door. Somebody could have called and they did not do that,” White said.
White said the law surrounding notification is a big area where small legal changes could make a difference.
“I think the problem is there really is no such thing as an HOA foreclosure defense in North Carolina. The law is tilted heavily in favor of homeowners associations,” White said.
He explained HOAs have just as much power as banks in foreclosures, which means they don’t need to go in front of a judge.
While many imagine HOA boards as a group of pesky neighbors, they are often run by national management companies with no real connection to properties.
“The law is set up to protect homeowner associations, not homeowners. The laws were written by lobbyists and attorneys for homeowners associations to make it easier for them to do what they need to do,” said Jason Pickler, a senior staff attorney for the North Carolina Justice Center. “The consumer protections are not robust.”
And often when the issue with the HOA is not over a large amount of money, it can become increasingly challenging for homeowners to find a lawyer to represent them.
Pickler said additionally there is also a lack of resources and education for people facing housing issues.
“Even though your home is so important to you… and it’s your biggest asset, unfortunately, if someone is trying to take that home away from you, it’s not criminal; it’s civil,” Pickler said. “So if you don’t have the money to pay an attorney, then you’re scrambling to try to get help.”
White advised residents who do know they have HOA dues and if they know they are behind to get caught up to avoid foreclosure altogether.
But White said there are things lawmakers can do to make this process harder.
“I think the process should be a lot harder. There should be strict notice requirements and strict proof of notice,” White said.
“The law says that an HOA has this right. And then the question is, what you legally can do just versus what ethically is right,” White said. “What’s going on, it’s just not right. It’s really that simple.”
Advice for homeowners with HOAs:
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Tags: Members Articles, SFPMA Articles, SFPMA Members NewsWe recently held an educational webinar with the Brickell Homeowners Association and Siegfried Rivera to discuss why a preventive maintenance plan is a critical aspect of any association’s operation.
click on the picture below and watch the video. or click here.
Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only. You will not receive credits for watching the recording. Credits were issued only to those that attended the course.
brought to us by, Campbell Property Management
Tags: Board of DirectorsThe year is almost over, but there is still time to set your lake or pond up for success. Start the planning process now and lay the foundation for a healthy and beautiful waterbody in 2023. Whether you’re looking to create happy communities or want to learn effective shoreline management solutions, our experts are here to help. Look back at our top 5 articles of 2022 and discover everything SOLitude has to offer to help you achieve your waterbody goals.
For many, water brings peace and happiness. That is one of the many reasons maintaining a healthy waterbody is so important. Water quality issues can have a harmful effect on recreational activities, wildlife, property values, and overall quality of life. Start a proactive management plan and enjoy the benefits of a healthy waterbody all year long.
Annual management is essential to the health and well-being of any lake or pond. Proactive, eco-friendly strategies that are tailored to your unique ecosystem will make it possible to maintain a balanced and beautiful waterbody for all to enjoy. Build a custom annual lake management plan and achieve your goals for years to come.
Regular shoreline maintenance ensures that your lake or pond can withstand the test of time. Protecting your waterbody from the dangerous and unsightly effects of erosion starts with preventative management. Learn how smart solutions such as bioengineered living shorelines can repair even the most severe erosion cases.
Nutrient Remediation with Alum is one of the most effective and natural solutions for poor water quality. When water quality is healthy, algae, nuisance weeds, and toxic cyanobacteria are less likely to thrive. Restore the balance and beauty of your waterbody with Alum and other proactive solutions.
Healthy, functional lakes and ponds require oxygen. Waterbodies with poor water quality can suffer from water quality impairments like algae, toxic cyanobacteria, and aquatic weed growth. Fortunately, lake managers can utilize three solutions to increase oxygen: floating fountains, surface aerators, and submersed diffused aeration.
There’s no doubt that lakes and ponds are vital to our communities. That’s why it’s so important to maintain a healthy waterbody for everyone to enjoy. Let us help you reach your lake and pond management goals next year. Contact our professionals to get started on your 2023 management plan.
I’m already hearing stories of developers making low ball offers to owners in high rise condominium buildings, offering to buy units at bargain prices. Here’s why….. Developers knows that in building of 25 years or more on the coast or 30 years or more inland, owners are facing massive upcoming expenses.
These include but are not limited to:
It’s going to get mighty expensive to remain living in some condominiums and developers know that many owners simply won’t be able to afford it. Their strategy is to offer you some money for your unit instead of you having to come out of your pocket tens of thousands of dollars or more.
Developers may rely on simply making an agreement to buy everyone’s unit at the same time and if even one owner decides not to sell, the deal is off.
Developers may also have a strategy where they buy enough units to “terminate” the condominium form of ownership. Under the current statute the developer may wish to accumulate only 80% of all units. If so, the developer can then file a plan of “termination.”
the plan must be approved by at least 80 percent of the total voting interests of the condominium. However, if 5 percent or more of the total voting interests of the condominium have rejected the plan of termination by negative vote or by providing written objections, the plan of termination may not proceed.
If you read the foregoing statute, clearly developers would want to purchase just in excess of 95% of all units so that nobody can stop the plan of termination. However, some of you may have language in your governing documents that would require a vote of 100% of the owners in order to terminate the condominium. The question of whether the magic number is 80%, 95% 100% or some other number depends upon whether you have “Kaufman” language or “as amended from time to time” language in your governing documents. Believe me, it gets complicated.
The bottom line is that many of you will soon be approached by developers looking for a steal. When this happens, rather than have infighting among those that live and/or own in the condominium, I urge you to seek the advice of counsel on this very complicated topic.
No doubt older buildings will be toppled by developers who will put new ones in their place. It may be very unlikely that even though you lived there for decades, you won’t be able to afford the prices in the new condominium. Ladies and gentlemen, gentrification is coming to a neighborhood near you.
Every Sunday watch and listen…Ask Questions get Answers!
If your community association installs a holiday display, is that holiday display considered religious or secular? Are Christmas trees, menorahs, Nativity scenes, or the Kikombe cha Umoja (the Unity Cup used during Kwanzaa celebrations) considered religious or secular? How can you tell the difference? Why is the difference so very important to understand?
The reason it is important to understand the difference between a religious versus a secular display is that if your association does have a religious display, and a member makes a request to have a holiday display for their religion too, the association must honor the request in order to avoid a claim of religious discrimination. But, if the holiday display is secular, such obligation does not exist.
Fortunately, we have guidance from the United States Supreme Court to help associations differentiate between secular and religious symbols and displays. In the 1989 case of County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, 492 U.S. 573 (1989), the Court held that the determination of whether decorations, including those used to commemorate holidays (which are or have been religious in nature), are religious or not turns on whether viewers would perceive the decorations to be an endorsement or disapproval of their individual religious choices. The constitutionality of the object is judged according to the standard of a reasonable observer.
Thus, the Court found that a Christmas tree, by itself, is not a religious symbol; although Christmas trees once carried religious connotations, “Today they typify the secular celebration of Christmas.” The Court also noted that numerous Americans place Christmas trees in their homes without subscribing to Christian religious beliefs and that Christmas trees are widely viewed as the preeminent secular symbol of the Christmas holiday season.
In contrast, the Court stated that a menorah is a religious symbol that serves to commemorate the miracle of the oil (lasting eight days when it should have only lasted one day) as described in the Talmud. However, the Court continued that the menorah’s significance is not exclusively religious, as it is the primary visual symbol for a holiday that is both secular and religious. When placed next to a Christmas tree, the Court found that the overall effect of the display, to recognize Christmas and Chanukah as part of the same winter holiday season, has attained secular status in our society. Therefore, we can conclude that a Christmas tree and menorah, side by side, are of a secular nature.
As to the Ten Commandments, in the 1980 case of Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39 (1980), the Court held that that the Ten Commandments are undeniably religious in nature and that no “recitation of a supposed secular purpose can blind [the Court] to that fact.” The Court stated that the Ten Commandments do not confine themselves to secular matters (such as honoring one’s parents or prohibiting murder), but instead embrace the duties of religious observers.
Another important holiday decoration issue concerns whether the decoration constitutes a material alteration of the common elements or common area. Generally, unless a homeowners association’s declaration provides to the contrary, the homeowners association’s board of directors decides matters pertaining to material alterations. On the other hand, as to a condominium association, unless the terms of the declaration of condominium provide otherwise, 75 percent of the unit owners must vote to approve material alterations of the common elements.
If a member of your community wants to include their religious symbol in the association’s holiday display, remember to consider the types of symbols already being displayed by the association as compared to the member’s request. Once your community displays a religious symbol, then there is a good chance your community will need to allow other requested religious symbols to avoid a claim of religious discrimination. Use the guidance from the Supreme Court’s cases to differentiate between a secular symbol and a religious symbol. With that in mind, if an association allows a Christmas tree and menorah, the board of directors, far more likely than not, would not have to grant a member’s request to display a Nativity scene and the Ten Commandments. The rules of kindergarten work best: treat everyone fairly, and treat them as you would want to be treated.
Jeffrey Rembaum, Esq. of Kaye, Bender, Rembaum attorneys at law, legal practice consists of representation of condominium, homeowner, commercial and mobile home park associations, as well as exclusive country club communities and the developers who build them. Mr. Rembaum is a Certified Specialist in Condominium and Planned Development Law. He is the creator of ‘Rembaum’s Association Roundup’, an e-magazine devoted to the education of community association board members, managers, developers and anyone involved with Florida’s community associations. His column appears monthly in the Florida Community Association Journal. Every year since 2012, Mr. Rembaum has been selected to the Florida Super Lawyers list and was also named Legal Elite by Florida Trends Magazine. He can be reached at 561-241-4462.
Tags: Condo and HOA Law, Management News