What to do if we were served foreclosure papersby our condo association for delinquent dues?
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What to do if we were served foreclosure papersby our condo association for delinquent dues?
The papers stated that we have 20 days after we were served to respond. That date will be 04/20. What happens if we don’t respond? We are also late on our mortgage payments but have not received a foreclosure notice yet. We cannot pay what we owe on the mortgage or the home owner’s dues as we are barely holding onto our residence. We live in WA and cannot go to HI until after 05/10 as we cannot afford the airfare but a friend can send us then. We understand that we will lose the condo but we want to be able to remove our personal items.
Asked on April 4, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Hawaii
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
1) Assuming that you legitimately owe the dues and the association has the power to foreclose for nonpayment--and the latter is a safe assumption, since condo association's almost always have this as a remedy (you can check the papers or documents governing the assocation and your unit to be sure)--then if you lose the case, they can take the condo.
2) If you don't answer, you lose by default.
3) While they have to give you a chance to get your personal property out if you are foreclosed on, once you're foreclosed, you'd need to arrange with the association for an opportunity to do this; if they put your belongings in storage, you may need to pay storage charges; and they are not required to hold the belongings indefinitely. If you are not worried about the condo but only about your belongings, you may try to now, in advance, arrange for them to be stored and/or set a pick-up date.
And, of course, the bank could sue you for any money you owe on the mortgage.
You may wish to look into bankruptcy as an alternative.
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