This floored me when I picked it up off Huffington Post. I didn't see that it has been diaried here and there isn't much information (I can only find a couple of articles, one in the local news and the other by Nick Baumann on Mother Jones Blog.) I would certainly be interested if anyone else has more information regarding this incident or Texas Home Owners Association laws.
The basic story is that a Texas Home Owners Association essentially stole a soldier's home while he was deployed and he is now fighting to get it back. Their excuse? $800 in overdue HOA fees.
CPT Michael Clauer, while serving in Iraq last year, as (I am assuming) a company commander, returned home to find his house had been foreclosed on by the neighborhood Home Owner's Association. The house (which the Clauers owned free of any mortgage) was appraised at $300,000 and was sold for the lofty sum of $3,500. It was then sold again to a third party and the Clauers told they would have to pay rent. Why was it foreclosed? ... Because the Clauers were behind by a grand total of $800 in their HOA dues.
CPT Clauer got reported for active duty in February 2008 and was later deployed in Iraq until September 2009. After he left, his wife, May, struggled with deep depression (as well as taking care of two young children, the youngest with a seizure disorder) and eventually withdrew to the point of not opening mail.
The mail piled up and she missed $800 in payments to the HOA. The HOA sent letters announcing their plan to foreclose on the house, which she did not open, either.
In May 2008, the HOA sold the Clauers' home for $3,500 although its appraised value was $300,000, according to court documents. The home was then resold to a third person.
Apparently the Clauers had six months to to reclaim the home, but those letters weren't opened either.
It wasn't until June 2009 that May realized what had happened. Around that time, the new owner started demanding rent from the Clauers.
She then told her husband who was unable to do much about the situation from Iraq. Luckily, his governer actually visited the next month but it doesn't sound like that went very far:
When Texas Gov. Rick Perry visited Iraq in July, Michael says he told him about the problem. According to Michael, Perry called May and put lawyers in touch with the Clauers' attorney, but couldn't do much to alleviate the situation.
The new owner sent the couple an eviction notice in August 2009. The Clauers have reached an agreement to stay in the home while they fight to have the foreclosure (and subsequent sales) overturned and declare null.
Under Texas law, there's no way for the Clauers to get their home back. But the Clauers have one last chance under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). According to Barbara Hale, the couple's lawyer, the homeowners' association's lawyer filed an affidavit wrongly claiming that neither of the Clauers was on active duty. The Clauers say it's well known in the neighborhood that Michael is in the Army Reserve.
There are several issues that I see here:
- the absolute insanity of allowing a HOA the ability to foreclose on a home with no court involvement. I am not an expert of Texas HOA laws but I am damn glad I don't live in a neighborhood where a bunch of your neighbors can take your house and sell it for 1% of what it is worth.
At no point did anyone from the HOA—which is, after all, composed of the Clauers' neighbors—appear to have tried to visit May Clauer's house to talk to her about the problem. "The HOA board members...don't live very far from me at all," Michael Clauer says. There were "neighbors owing much more than us [who] were notified in person of pending foreclosures, but my wife only received a few letters."
The HOA says homeowners are free to call them, but they do not call or visit homeowners when there's a problem. They're only required to send a certified letter."
Feel free to contact them at Heritage Lakes HOA. Or send them a certified letter.
- The question of whose side Rick Perry in on in this case. It doesn't seem like his office has been very helpful.
- The violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) (and any other laws designed to protect soldier's from having this and other similar problems happen to them. I guess it shouldn't be too surprising, since screwing over servicemen who are defending their country has a long history leading to the first such laws in during the Civil War.
Fortunately, this shouldn't be too hard to overturn due to the false affidavit the HOA lawyer used to procede with the foreclosure (stating that neither of the Clauers were on active duty). Not sure if that lawyer lied or just didn't do any research at all. In any event, the foreclosure ought to be overturned and I'll assume the title insurance company will get stuck with whatever fees they have to pay since the subsequent sales were based on a title that was not clear.
Unfortunately, I expect it will cost the Clauers more in legal fees than he made in Iraq.
says Michael, who is currently working as a production supervisor at a roofing company. "It's ridiculous how much this is costing us," he says. "I'll be taking out a mortgage on my house that was free and clear just to try to get my house back."
Well, I tried to post a diary of some substance, but really it was me venting a bit. Thanks