Homeowners associations are known for doing some pretty crazy things to get their dues paid and ensure their rules are followed. An HOA in Kennesaw, Georgia, is putting the pressure on one of its residents who happens to be 77 years old and living on a fixed income.
The man missed several notices that warned him, and later penalized him, for neglecting to power wash his house and to remove a bucket of water and ladder from his yard. In short order, he was facing thousands of dollars in fines and legal fees. Because of his failure to pay, the HOA has put a lien on his house and is now pursuing foreclosure.
Anastassia Olmos and Jordan Gartner reported on Watson’s story for Live 5 News. According to the report, Watson did not pressure wash his home and left out a bucket of water and ladder in his yard three years ago during the summer. Watson is a resident of the Cedarlake Townhome community and has lived there since its construction in 2001.
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The Cedarlake Townhome HOA, which is managed by Tolley Community Management, sent him warnings about the lack of pressure washing and items in his yard. Watson never received the warnings and subsequent information about the fines he was being charged because he didn’t check his mail. He said that he developed a fear of checking his mail during the pandemic and has gone for stretches of months without checking it. During that time, he accumulated $9,000 in fines and legal fees.
Watson is not able to pay this amount as he is elderly and now lives on a fixed income of approximately $20,000 a year from Social Security. He said the experience has caused him “anxiety, sleeplessness [and] depression.”
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According to documents obtained by Olmos and Gartner, Watson was charged his regular $180 monthly HOA dues with an added $50 a day for four months, plus 7% interest for his apparent violations. He has tried every negotiation tactic he can think of, but the HOA is not showing any leniency. Because of this, Watson is fighting with his HOA in court. To afford an attorney, he took out an equity loan on his home.
Mike Tolley, the CEO of Tolley Community Management, basically said that Watson’s failure to check his mail isn’t the HOA’s problem. “Someone choosing not to read their mail is not an association issue,” he said. “The covenants for the neighborhood state that the notice shall be sent by U.S. mail.”
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Cedar Management Group, an HOA management company, said that HOAs can indeed force a foreclosure on a home, even if the homeowner has been paying their mortgage. It all depends on what the state’s laws allow, though. Olmos and Gartner reported that HOA foreclosure is legal in Georgia as long as the fines involved are more than $2,000.
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While it may be legal, that doesn’t mean it’s right, as attorney Randy Williams from Williams Law Group of Georgia pointed out. Williams, who represents HOAs and homeowners, said, “You want to take their house? You probably could, but do you think that’s the human thing to do to a 70- or 80-year-old person?”
Although one could easily make the argument that Watson’s HOA is making the wrong move from a moral and ethical standpoint, everything they’re doing appears to be legal. Watson, of course, has the right to challenge the case in court, as he’s doing, but it’s very possible he could lose. That would likely leave him homeless at almost 80 years old.
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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
