Foreclosure as a Last Resort
Nobody wants to foreclose on a home—not a mortgage banker and certainly not a community association. Countless Americans lose their homes when lending institutions are unable to collect mortgage payments. That’s why foreclosure should always be used as a last resort, applied only when a community association has exhausted all other collection options and only when a homeowner refuses to remedy a significant debt to the association.
CAI does not support people losing their homes to foreclosure for insignificant sums of money. Even when the debt is significant, foreclosure should be considered only after other approaches have failed. In all cases, homeowners facing foreclosure deserve reasonable opportunity to appeal the issue to the leadership of the association.
Dawn Bauman, CAE, chief strategy officer at CAI and executive director of the Foundation for Community Association Research, shares the steps an association can take to collect delinquent assessments, and what an association can do if an owner files for bankruptcy.
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Laura Otto is the Senior Editor of Digital Content at CAI. A seasoned journalist, Laura previously worked for a creative, advocacy agency in Washington, D.C., where she wrote and edited content for a variety of public health clients. Prior to that, Laura served as a senior writer and editor for the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Laura is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia.