Don’t Get Bullied into Paying the HOA After a Florida Foreclosure Auction Sale

Winning a Florida foreclosure auction can feel like the finish line, but for many investors it is only the beginning. Within days of the certificate of title being issued, a letter often arrives from the homeowners or condominium association demanding $10,000, $25,000, or far more, with a 30-day clock attached. In this Property Onion webcast, Florida attorney Wendy Brewster Maroon, whose practice centers on real estate litigation, foreclosure, and HOA and condominium disputes, joins Tony Stern and David Abalar Jr. to explain what really happens after the gavel drops. She starts with the misconceptions that cost investors the most: that an auction purchase guarantees free and clear title, that the association’s demand must be paid, and that it must be paid immediately. In truth, a buyer takes only what the foreclosing party had to give, including every mistake made along the way, and third-party purchasers hold rights that fade if they sit on them. The first year after the certificate of title is critical, because final judgments remain voidable, omitted parties can still be captured through a re-foreclosure, and legal description defects can be corrected before they become a marketable-title nightmare. Wendy walks through lien priority in plain terms, including the painful scenario of buying through an association foreclosure in the mistaken belief that the first mortgage was wiped out because the bank was named as a defendant, when a junior lien can never foreclose out a senior one. She explains the differences between Chapter 718, the Condominium Act, and Chapter 720, the Homeowners Act, the notice requirement before attorney’s fees can be added, why a new member is entitled to a free ledger rather than a paid estoppel, and how a written demand for access to official records can force a stalling association to respond before the 30-day window closes. Drawing on real cases without naming clients, including a $50,000 demand where the investor owed $1,260 and a closing-table standoff that ended with a lawsuit recovering the money plus attorney’s fees, she estimates that roughly 80% of the demands she reviews are inaccurate. The discussion closes with how to weigh these disputes commercially rather than emotionally, why the prevailing-party attorney fee provision makes close cases dangerous, the three stages of a dispute and why most never reach litigation, and what paying under protest actually means. This webcast is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice.

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Related: Fixing Liens and Title Problems After the Auction

David Abalar Jr. of EquityFixers.com covered how to reduce, eliminate, or negotiate the liens that surface after a foreclosure or tax deed sale:

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