After getting sued by her HOA for $10,000, a woman is going viral for sharing her story and urging other potential homeowners not to live in an HOA community.
In the video, Chantelle Rose (@chantellerose_), who purchased her home in Atlanta, Ga., shared the unfortunate financial situation she is now in because of her community’s homeowners association (HOA).
An HOA is an organization that oversees the management and maintenance of a residential community. It is responsible for various tasks, including ensuring that common areas (like pools and playgrounds) are maintained, noise restrictions are followed, and the community is secure.
HOAs are typically run by an elected board of directors and get their operating budget from the monthly fee residents pay.
While many people prefer HOAs because they take care of amenities and can maintain property value, they can be restrictive and expensive.
“If you plan on ever buying a home, do not, I repeat, do not ever get a home with an HOA,” Rose advises at the beginning of her video.
@chantellerose_ wish i knew this soonerrr 😭🫠
♬ original sound – Chantelle Rose
In Rose’s situation, when she purchased her home about five years back, she was originally paying about a $200 monthly HOA fee, which made sense given her community’s limited amenities.
Since buying the home, her rate has gone from $200 to $450 monthly despite no additional services being added, she says.
“Apparently they’re just allowed to do that with no rhyme or reason,” Rose adds.
Earlier this year, Rose’s HOA decided the crawl space under the homes needed to be waterproofed, tacking on an extra $500 to homeowners’ $450 fee for seven months, bringing the monthly total to $950. That’s an extra $3,500 in one year outside of Rose’s regular monthly dues.
Since Rose has her payments on autopay, she says she missed the first few payments, but when she realized it, she reached out to her HOA to share she couldn’t afford that payment.
Instead of allowing Rose to go on a payment plan, the HOA hired lawyers to sue her. On top of the $3,500 she owed and $600 in interest and fees, they’re also allegedly charging her for their lawyer fees.
“Now I owe my HOA $10,000,” Rose says with a look of panic.
She explained to the HOA that she couldn’t pay that amount and asked if they could settle for what she originally owed, but they insisted she pay their lawyer fees.
“I literally don’t have it. What you want me to do?” she pleads in the video.
At the end of the clip, Rose says she’s uncertain what will happen to her if she’s not able to pay and asks for commenters to share advice.
The video has more than 850,000 views and over 4,700 comments as of Tuesday morning.
HOA fees can go up for a variety of reasons, like a lawn car company increasing their prices or the shared clubhouse pool needing a new roof.
While the fee increase will depend on the situation, some HOAs are limited in how much they can up the fee, due to their own bylaws or state laws. In that case, the fee can usually only increase up to a certain percentage, wrote a licensed insurance agent.
In a follow-up video, Rose says she’s in talks with a pro-bono lawyer and is exploring other options for how to pay the large chunk of cash she may be responsible for.
@chantellerose_ Replying to @Kali Rei 🌻🌙 ♬ original sound – Chantelle Rose
Commenters were outraged on Rose’s behalf and shared their advice.
“Lawyer up and quick. They could take your house,” a top comment read.
“Talk to your neighbors to see if they’re also paying or anything & I’d request the books from the HOA, wouldn’t be surprised if they’re money [laundering],” a person wrote.
“You might have 6 figures in equity in the home since it’s been five years. Pull some equity, pay the hoa and sell the house. U don’t need this stress,” another said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Rose for comment via Instagram direct message.
