FL: Sale Date and HOA Fees

[Gabe]

My house is finally going away after a few years. I have a sale date of mid September. I stopped paying in December of 2008 (including HOA Fees)

Recently I received notice that the HOA is coming after me for breach of contract and asking for $7000. Since the sale date is happening soon, will this go away with the Bank taking possession?

The property in question is in Florida.

[justbroke]

It may or may not go away when the bank takes possession. As you may or may not know, you are responsible for ALL HOA fees that come due after you filed. However, Florida does have a very nice statute where the bank is liable for 12 months of the HOA dues or 1%, whichever is less.

You probably don't have the $7K, otherwise you would have paid it. Be aware that it may include pre-petition amounts as well. You may want to wait for the foreclosure and see if the bank just pays off the HOA. If the bank does not pay, then you're on the hook for it all (less the 12months/1%).

(Note: while typical HOA Covenant's assessments "run with the land", most of the Covenant's also create a personal liability upon the owner, as allowed by Florida law. In other words, they can both foreclose upon the property and pursue the debtor/owner... even if the ownership changed hands.)