Received bill for HOA after Chapter 7 Discharge

[thereshope]

2 years ago, I received a bill while in bankruptcy (chapter 7) from the HOA (over $12K). I gave it to my attorney who advised the HOA that I didn't owe them and I didn't hear anything from them. That was over 2 years ago. Today I received a letter in the mail from a law firm representing the HOA stating that I owe them $4,500 for HOA which includes late fees giving me until the end of the month to pay it. They calculate that I owe starting the day after discharge 10/2009 until the sale date 5/2010 which is about 7 months.

Until today, I hadn't received any bill from the HOA that I owed them anything. I do see on this forum that my attorney, may have erred on his advise. I wasn't responsible for any of the $12K bill that they sent as it was prior to my bk, but I appear to be on the hook after the bk, which is what they are now billing me for. My question is they waited 2 years to contact me to inform me that I owe them anything. I haven't seen this on my credit report, I usually pull it every 6 months and have started to re-build credit. Can I settle with them and keep this off of my credit report? Any suggestions?

[jst4f]

HOAs seem to have a special place in BK process. All HOA fees owed prior to BK filing are discharged, as long as you listed them. Seems your attorney took care of that for you. After filing or discharge you are again liable for HOA fees until your name is off the title. No fair if you are not living in it and the bank won't foreclose but that is the law. You owe them money whether they billed you or not. You should be able to negotiate a deal given they did not inform you (bill you) but they can come after you for the full amount. I recommend that you don't ignore this issue.

[HHM]

Yep, you owe it. sorry. HOA dues that come due after "filing" are still owed. So I guess consider it a minor victory they are giving you a pass on a few months.

HOA's rarely report to credit reports (if at all), so that shouldn't come as a surprise. Strictly speaking, I don't think an HOA should report, it is not an extension of credit. Now, if they were to sue you and get a judgment, that could to on the credit report as a public record, but the HOA account, itself, is not something that should be reported. In any event, that is largely a moot point.

You could try to negotiate a settlement. Do you still reside in the house?

[Bell30656]

This is one of the real downsides to living in a neighborhood with an HOA. Even if you no longer live in the house and have abandoned it during a bankruptcy until the bank transfers it, you are still responsible for the HOA fees. It really sucks. That is why sometimes it pays to stay in the house until they kick you out in foreclosure. When an HOA is involved it is a no win situation for the debtor.

[btbeme]

Looks like he sold 5/2010, HHM. That was the golden opportunity to settle, as most folks can get the HOA arrears attached to the sale of the property.

Agreed - best bet is try to settle or end up facing a judgement. Sorry. Praying for you. Also praying for the painful death of most HOAs in the United States.

I'd ask for a zero interest 6-12 month timeframe to pay, and only on the original amount owed.

[OneDay]

Interesting...
We had an HOA that was included in our BK and it took many months post BK for the sale of the foreclosure property to be complete. I too received a bill from the HOA post BK and just informed them that this was IIB and the property was surrendered to the bank, they never contacted me again. Maybe your HOA has a better attorney and mine was not so smart.

[HHM]

Interesting...
We had an HOA that was included in our BK and it took many months post BK for the sale of the foreclosure property to be complete. I too received a bill from the HOA post BK and just informed them that this was IIB and the property was surrendered to the bank, they never contacted me again. Maybe your HOA has a better attorney and mine was not so smart.

When a house forecloses, the lender must satisfy the HOA in some manner (how much the lender must do depends on state law, in some states the foreclosing lender must pay all HOA dues, in others it is just 6 months worth, etc etc). It also depends on state law and whether state law provides HOA's with a super priority lien (most do).

[thereshope]

You could try to negotiate a settlement. Do you still reside in the house?

I no longer live there and haven't lived since 2009.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm going to try to negotiate a lump sum settlement with the atty.

[thereshope]

Checking in to give an update. I settled with the atty for the HOA, I walked the certified check in and had them sign off that it was settled. But they ignored me for quite some time and I had to pester them. The HOA was suing almost everyone in the building and there were a lot of cases. But I'm happy it's over.