The Post and Courier: SC home sold for $3,000 over late $250 HOA fee. Supreme Court calls that ‘unconscionable’

state Supreme Court ruled in homeowners’ favor

By Jessica Holdman

December 18, 2019

COLUMBIA — They didn’t pay $250 in homeowners association fees. For that, one Midlands couple lost their home of 21 years. Unbeknownst to Devery and Tina Hale, their $128,000 house in Irmo was sold at auction for $3,000 in 2014. But Wednesday, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in the Hales’ favor, sending their case back to the court that handles foreclosures to decide whether their home was sold for too small a price. Still one justice said the new auction winner “bought it for a pittance.”

“Homeownership is the quintessential American dream. Purchasing a home is the largest investment that most South Carolinians will make,” Chief Justice Donald Beatty wrote in his opinion. “To allow the hard-earned equity to be confiscated by a bidder’s minimal investment is unconscionable. This is especially troubling when the foreclosure sale is the result of an HOA lien.”

In South Carolina, homeowners associations have the legal right to foreclose on members’ homes to collect on delinquent fees. But when the auction price has not met a particular threshold, homeowners have been able to challenge the sale in court.  Read more:   https://www.postandcourier.com/business/sc-home-sold-for-over-late-hoa-fee-supreme-court/article_d23375a4-21aa-11ea-a4af-87078b1e22fa.html