Discharging HOA Fees?

Filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Stuart, Port St. Lucie or Jupiter, Florida.

Many of the neighborhoods in Stuart, Port St. Lucie and Jupiter Florida have homeowners associations (HOA’s). HOA fees and assessments are attached to the owner of the property. If you file for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and decide to surrender your home, you are surrendering your financial obligations under the note and mortgage. You are not surrendering the title to the property. The financial obligations you have to the HOA continue to accrue after you file for bankruptcy up and until the property is deeded out of your name through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu. The Chapter 7 Bankruptcy discharge does not discharge future obligations to the HOA.

It is easy to see how this can be confusing. When you closed on your property, you received a deed which was secured by the mortgage and the promise to pay (the note). When you discharge your financial obligation to make the payments through a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, the title is still in your name until the security interest is exercised through foreclosing on the mortgage. The foreclosure process is not an overnight process. While your property is going through the foreclosure process, the HOA fees are still your responsibility. When you file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and live in an HOA keep this in mind. If possible, attempt to contact your lender and see if they would be willing to accept a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure in order to mitigate these fees.

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