Can my HOA foreclose on my home?
Yes, it can and will if you stop paying dues. In fact, 34 states allow Homeowners Associations (HOAs) to foreclose on homes through judicial foreclosure in as few as 10 days (Florida). Of course, there are redemption periods — some as many as 180 days (Texas) — during which homeowners can bring their balances current and [...]

Yes, it can and will if you stop paying dues.

In fact, 34 states allow Homeowners Associations (HOAs) to foreclose on homes through judicial foreclosure in as few as 10 days (Florida). Of course, there are redemption periods — some as many as 180 days (Texas) — during which homeowners can bring their balances current and keep their homes.

But many simply don’t have the financial means or simply lack the desire to keep tossing precious dollars into “money pits.”

Robert Tankel, a Florida attorney, represents HOAs throughout the “Sunshine State.” He tells CNBC.com that the HOA foreclosure business is “booming.”

Here’s a snip:

“People don’t understand that by failing to pay the association dues they can lose their home and be put in the street…. The associations and their boards of directors have a duty to the people who pay and the duty is to collect the assessments.”

HOAs have bills to pay, too, which is among the many reasons they are so aggressive about collecting dues.

If an HOA falls behind on its payments to service providers, it can affect its ability to attract new homeowners to the community — “big banks want to see healthy HOAs” — and provide services for the homeowners who are paying their bills on time.

HOAs have the ability to move much quicker than overwhelmed lenders.

For example, it might take a lender a year or more to begin the process of foreclosure because of the paperwork backlog. HOAs, meanwhile, can “swoop in, take title, boot the borrower, and either rent or sell the home for a good six to twelve months before the bank comes in with the far bigger lien and forecloses again.”

So if you find yourself in a foreclosure situation, and intend to wait it out until the bank gets around to filing the official paperwork, do yourself a favor and, at the very least, continue to pay your HOA on time.