Posted: 5:54 PM, August 22, 2016Updated: 6:49 PM, August 22, 2016

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A disabled military veteran and his family contacted the I-TEAM for help after learning they are just days away from being evicted from their Jacksonville home — even though they have paid their rent and have a lease.

We’ve uncovered it is part of a statewide scheme that could impact more local families, costing them tens of thousands of dollars. We found it happening right now in Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns Counties. It’s so troubling and pervasive, we alerted Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is now involved.

Each house that gets caught up this scheme can have multiple victims — whether you lose your  money, your credit or even your house practically overnight. That’s what happened to James and Tiffany McCollum’s family, who could soon be homeless.

“We just want a place to lay our head at night,” said James. “I wonder how many other families are out there in the same situation, staying up at night, wondering how they will feed their families, the stress of it, the fears.”  Read more:

By Sean Whaley

August 20, 2016

CARSON CITY — Real estate investors who took advantage of a Nevada law during the foreclosure crisis to acquire several thousand foreclosed homes at bargain prices got what could be bad news recently courtesy of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a 2-1 decision Aug. 12, a court panel said a Nevada law requiring mortgage lenders to be alerted of a foreclosure by a homeowners association only if the lender had requested notice is unconstitutional. The panel said the requirement of an “opt-in” request is a violation of the 14th Amendment requiring due process.

In the specific case, the court sent the case favoring Wells Fargo Bank and against the Bourne Valley Court Trust back to District Court for further proceedings.

The complex disputes over Nevada’s foreclosure laws date to the foreclosure crisis that began in 2008. The law was changed by the Nevada Legislature in 2015 to resolve the notice issue and other concerns.

But if the appeals court ruling is upheld, the acquisition of thousands of homes by investors who paid just a few thousand dollars to satisfy HOA-filed super-priority liens could be in jeopardy. The sales could be nullified because of the 9th Circuit ruling, restoring the status of the foreclosed homes with the mortgage lenders again holding valid liens.

Las Vegas attorney Michael Bohn, who represents the Bourne Valley Court Trust in the dispute, has asked the 9th Circuit to put the decision on hold and not formally publish the opinion to prevent it from being cited in legal proceedings in state and federal court.  Read more:

Article Courtesy of The Channel 10 News Tampa Bay

By Kendra Konlon

Published August 16, 2016

Neighbors say a local homeowners’ association is unfairly targeting homeowners. 10News WTSP uncovers more problems with a Bay area HOA.

“They’re just looking for ways to trip people up, so they can really steal their home,” says Rivercrest homeowner Joseph Matteucci.

Neighbors like Matteucci are reaching out to 10News saying the Rivercrest HOA’s fines and threats of foreclosure are out of control. The subdivision is located just east of U.S. 301 near Symmes Road in Riverview.

Last month, 10News told you about the Lopez family. They say a $150 unknowingly missed payment turned into more than $3,000. Now, they’re battling to keep their home.

The Lopez family says they’re not the only ones feeling bullied by the board.

“I asked you how do we resolve this? You said you can’t resolve this,” says Matteucci to the Rivercrest HOA.

Frustrations flared for Matteucci at a recent HOA meeting. “Let’s go back to the $1,000 you owe me,” Matteucci says.  Read more:

CCFJ.NET:  Ex-official who stole from Tamarac homeowners association gets prison sentence

Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel

By Erika Pesantes    

Published August 20, 2016

A former homeowners association president in Tamarac has been sentenced to prison for embezzling more than $180,000 from her community. 

Court records show that Michelle Changar-Coe, 46, changed her plea to guilty on a grand theft charge and was sentenced to five years in prison followed by 15 years of probation. She also was ordered to pay $192,416 in restitution during a court hearing Tuesday.  Changar-Coe was president of the Mainlands Section 7 homeowners association from January 2009 through December 2013 and forged signatures on dozens of checks she deposited into her personal bank account, authorities said. A letter filed in court in January from Maureen Utich, a Mainlands resident, spoke of her wishes for prosecution of the crime and said more than 200 people in her community had suffered from Changar-Coe’s actions. “She has caused hardship for many of her victims. Families with children, elderly on fixed incomes, laid off and unemployed people struggling to pay their bills,” she wrote. “She stole from all of us.”  Read more:

By Nathaniel M. Hood

August 16, 2016

What will happen to Homeowner’s Associations in an America with increasing suburban poverty? It will be messy.

The Atlantic went so far as to label suburbs as “the new American Poverty”:

But the suburbs of Atlanta no longer hold just the promise of good schools, clean streets, and whitewashed homes with manicured lawns proudly displaying American flags. They are increasingly home to the very poor, who find themselves stranded in suburbs without the kind of transit or assistance that they might once have found in cities’ urban cores.

The Brookings Institute estimates that since 2000, two-thirds of poverty increases have occurred in the suburbs and 56 percent of people in poverty now reside in a suburb. In places like Atlanta, that number grew by over 150 percent. In addition, most suburbs are ill-equipped to deal with these increases.

Poverty in the inner-city isn’t something we should strive for, but if you’re going to be poor anywhere, that might be a good place to do it. Advantages of urban life for the poor include access to transit, social services, and jobs. Poverty in most suburbs lacks all of these advantages.

We have no plans to deal with this. In fact, it isn’t even on our cultural radar. And it is likely that the far-reaches of suburbia are actually making people poor who might have otherwise have been middle class. We have no plan to deal with increasing suburban poverty and the dominate governing bodies of suburbia in many places – Homeowners Associations – are ill-prepared. Read more:

By CBS North Carolina

August 16, 2016

GARNER, N.C. (WNCN) — More than $500,000 may have been stolen from 29 home owners associations in Wake and Johnston counties that are managed by a company called Kornerstone Community Management, Inc, Garner Police say.

Police said Tuesday the possible embezzlement was discovered after some HOAs came to authorities about the matter last week.

Garner police said that the issue will take some time to examine because of extensive bank records involving the 29 possibly affected associations.

Kornerstone Community Management, which is located at 1300 Benson Road in Garner, is accused of fraud and embezzlement.  Read more:

By Kendall Baer

August 16, 2016

Adam L. Bendett is President and shareholder of Bendett & McHugh, P.C. He is currently the Managing Attorney for the Connecticut Foreclosure Group and oversees many of the operational functions of the firm.  He has represented lenders and mortgage servicers in mortgage default matters for over 26 years.

On April 26, 2016 the Connecticut Supreme Court issued a decision in The Neighborhood Association, Inc. v. Jill M Limberger, et al, 321 Conn. 29, which held that pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat.  §47-258(m)(1)(C), prior to any foreclosure action of an  homeowners’ association (HOA) commenced on or  after July 1, 2010,  the HOA must have either (1)  had  a vote to authorize the individual foreclosure; or (2) had a collection policy adopted as a rule, with notice to unit owners and a minimum ten day comment period as required under the Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-261(b).  If neither one of these two criteria are met, the HOA lacks subject matter jurisdiction in its foreclosure action. In  Limberger, the HOA’s foreclosure action was dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction despite the HOA having adopted a “standard collection policy” because the HOA’s Executive Board had not provided notice to the unit owners prior to adopting the policy pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-261(b).

HOW LIMBERGER AFFECTS PENDING AND FUTURE HOA FORECLOSURE ACTIONS

In Connecticut HOAs are given a super-priority lien in the amount of nine months’ worth of common charges and expenses (in addition to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs) over first and second mortgages. Accordingly, an HOA   typically names as a defendant in its foreclosure action the first and second mortgagee of record, in addition to all other subordinate lien holders.  For this reason, a mortgagee will often take title to a property through protecting its interest in the HOA action, by either bidding at the HOA foreclosure action, or more typically, redeeming the priority debt of the HOA on its assigned law date after a judgment of strict foreclosure. This firm has been in conversations with several of the major title insurance companies about how Limberger affects insurability of title for a property acquired through an HOA action.  Two of such companies have confirmed they will insure title if either (1) the HOA specifically pleads in its complaint that it has complied with Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-258(m)(1)(C) ), including, when  applicable, the notice provisions of  Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-261(b); or (2) the HOA executes an affidavit specifically setting forth its compliance with said statutes.  A third title company has responded to date that they will require the affidavit. Therefore, at this time, it is recommended that in pending HOA cases, the mortgagee obtain an affidavit from the HOA’s counsel establishing compliance with Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-258(m)(1)(C) ), including, when  applicable,  the notice provisions of  Conn. Gen. Stat. §47-261(b),  and also confirm, and if necessary, require that  compliance with these statutes are  specifically plead in the HOA complaint  as well.  Read more:

Ben Lane

August 15, 2016

Mortgage lenders and investors needn’t worry about whether a homeowners’ association super lien will be given priority over a first mortgage in the state of Nevada, at least for now.

According to an alert published Monday by Ballard Spahr, the Ninth Circuit Court Appeals ruled last week that an older version of Nevada’s laws, which previously gave super-priority status to HOA liens, is unconstitutional.

In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth Circuit overruled a 2014 decision from the Nevada Supreme Court, which held that foreclosure of a super lien for HOA assessments can extinguish a first mortgage.  Read more:

By Judy L. Thomas

August 12, 2016

Julie and Irl Copley have had some minor run-ins with their homeowners association since building their brick house on a spacious two-acre lot in Olathe 14 years ago.

But nothing like the clash over a ramp they recently built for a disabled foster child — without first getting approval from the association.

Now the Copleys and the HOA are at a standoff.

In the week since The Kansas City Star published a series on homes associations, readers — including the Copleys — have responded in full force. Hundreds of phone calls and emails have poured in from across the country as homeowners have shared stories about struggles with their HOAs.

Several activists and HOA reformers said they, too, have heard from many people seeking advice about problems they’ve encountered with their associations.

The Star’s series found that homes associations wield far more power than homeowners realize and that some actually torment the residents they’re supposed to support. HOA boards are run by volunteers who often have little training, which can lead to a lack of adequate funding, neighborhood strife and even violence, the series found.  Read more: