HOA HORROR STORIES

The good, the bad and the utterly bizarre!

- Bill Hangley Jr

Jestine Wikenson thought his investment was secure. His house in Palm Beach County, Florida, was almost paid off. His family was happy. He liked his neighbors. His homeowners association (HOA) a privately managed housing development-worked well. The fees were manageable, and he didn't mind its voluminous rules. In short, he felt at home.

Then one day he looked in the mailbox and found out that his HOA was about to sell his house over a debt of $1,335.

"We have a home that's worth almost a million dollars. We've never paid our mortgage one day late," Wikenson says.

"I never imagined that they would do that to someone who was willing to pay." Wikenson had missed a quarterly dues payment in 2021 and forgotten all about it. Apparently, so had the HOA.

Wikenson says he had paid in full for 2022 and 2023, and no one mentioned the unpaid debt. But late in 2023, someone found it, and rather than bring the oversight to his attention, the HOA took legal action. The next thing he knew, he was on the hook for a hefty amount.

Between penalties and the HOA's legal fees, the bill had grown to about $5,000.

"The community we love it. Our kids love it. I would never say anything bad about the community," he says. But in this instance, it "really did not feel like a community. Like you were only as good as your dollar." Wikenson was finding out what a lot of Americans have learned the hard way: There's more to those HOA horror stories than nitpicky neighbors ("your grass is too long"; "your paint is the wrong color"). 

The fines and penalties that are part of HOA life can add up fast into big debts. Minor disputes, financial or medical setbacks that lead to missed payments, or just an honest screw-up, as in Wikenson's case, can turn quickly into costly court cases. And in the worst scenario, this could cost you your home and all its equity.