HOA evictions are the last thing that your community association wants to go through.
Unfortunately, this is sometimes necessary and it happens more often than you think. Every year, about 3.6 million eviction cases are filed in the United States.
If you are dealing with a situation like this in the Maple Valley, Washington area, keep reading to learn about three things you should know going into the HOA eviction process.
1. Owning the Property
Who owns the property is crucial in these types of situations. The reason for this is it impacts how much power an HOA has to evict a resident in the community.
Let's say that the people living in this HOA all rent. Then, the HOA itself owns all of the properties within the community. In that situation, the HOA would have the power to evict an HOA tenant.
However, if everyone in the community is a homeowner, it gets more complicated. Because the HOA does not own the property in this scenario, they do not have the power to evict someone living there.
Still, that does not mean that an HOA can't try to push them out.
2. Placing a Lien
This may be a tactic that an HOA uses to try to get a resident to play ball. That is because an HOA has the power to place a lien on a house within the community for specific reasons.
These reasons are typically financial such as failing to keep up with monthly HOA fees.
However, it does not have to stop there. HOAs typically lay out reasons that homeowners can get fined before they move in. Homeowners then sign a contract stating they understand these terms and conditions.
So, a scenario may come up where an HOA fines a homeowner for a minor violation. The homeowner may find the fine ridiculous and refuse to pay for it.
Then, they may get frustrated and try to move out of the neighborhood without paying their fines. An HOA can prevent them from doing this without first paying the fines. Here, they would place a lien on the house that forces the homeowner to pay the debt first.
3. Foreclosure
If a homeowner balks at paying for things for too long, an HOA may decide to take this a step further. Here, they could start the process of foreclosing a home in their jurisdiction.
The reasons for doing so are typically financially related as mentioned above. However, this has to go on for several months before an HOA has the legal right to move forward with this.
Learn More About HOA Evictions
While HOA evictions are technically not likely to occur, an HOA does have the power to push a homeowner out of the community. This mostly comes down to whether that person pays their monthly fees or any fines incurred.
For more help with this, you should speak to PMI Puget Sound. We are a real estate asset management company that has the legal knowledge to help with issues like this.
Message us here for help in the Maple Valley, Washington area.
