My wife and I made the decision to walk away from our house in Arizona last year, and it was supposed to go to auction on 2/14/13. The sale hasn’t been recorded by Maricopa County’s assessor’s office yet, and we just got another bill from the HOA of the complex it’s in.
Is there anything to lose by calling the attorney who handled the auction/trustee’s sale on behalf of the bank to see if it did sell on the date it was supposed to?
What do you care about getting another bill? I take it by “we walked away” you mean you have been ignoring them for some time.
Not the HOA bills. In Arizona, they can put you in collections separate from the mortgage. We’ve been paying the $215/month still, as my wife only wanted to foreclose on the house, not declare bankruptcy.
Have you reached out to HOA or the management company yet? I’m on the board of a condo here in Chicago, and the same thing came up just a couple of weeks ago - it was just a matter of the association not having been notified of the changeover. In our case we took away the charge - it’s now the responsibility of the bank. The bank will probably notify the association soon of this, but they’re not always diligent on this - considering the foreclosure situation in Arizona, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are taking longer than they do in Chicago.
EDIT: Since you have the contact info for the lawyer for the bank, it wouldn’t hurt to call him, or provide his info to the association so they can verify the situation.
In that case you should pay the bill as the house was not sold until halfway thru the month, you owe the month.
The HOA fees are by the month instead of annually? And they come to $2580 a year? Just curious as that seems relatively high.
No, this is the March assessment.
lieu, they’re monthly. They’re that high to cover the water, trash, and gas bills for all of the units.
I guess I’ll give the attorney a call.
My mom just went through this with a rental property. The bank bought it back at the auction in December; however, they have until June to actually own the condo. They say they may release her in May. Until then, she is still paying the association fee, as they could pursue her in collections for that money due. I agree - call the attorney.
You need to do something. If your name remains on the property’s title (and some banks do decide not to bother with a sale or screw up the recording), you’re on the hook for HOA fees, back taxes, housing-code violations, etc. Google “zombie title” for more information.
Well, my wife just called the attorney. The house was bid on, but the sale isn’t finalized yet. He said to call back Monday, because everything was supposed to be taking place today.