Otter
Nothing to see here
COPPEROPOLIS -- A retired couple's dispute with their homeowners association has spiraled out of control in this Calaveras County community -- and now they have lost their home less than a year after failing to pay $120 in annual dues.
Anita Radcliff, who owns the home with her husband, Thomas, said she had little hope of winning back the house, which the association's collection firm sold at a foreclosure auction in December for $70,000.
"One of the unfortunate things about people is when you get a little power, it goes to their heads," said Anita Radcliff, 61. "The homeowners association has a lot of power."
Michael Woodbury, attorney for the Copper Cove at Lake Tulloch Owners' Association, said the association aggressively pursued the debt because unpaid dues increase the financial burden on other homeowners.
"It's also important to understand the association is nothing more than all of their neighbors combined together," Woodbury said. "Somebody has to make up that difference when the association doesn't get paid."
Marjorie Murray, a lobbyist for the Congress of California Seniors on housing issues who is advising the Radcliffs, disputed that notion.
"Copper Cove is not going to go out of business because someone owes them $120," she said. "That is one of the classic arguments that debt collectors use."
The tussle began last January when the Radcliffs didn't have enough cash to make the annual dues payment. Anita Radcliff said she became distracted over the following months by a series of ailments that struck her husband, now age 64. He had a knee replaced and then was bitten by a spider, which required months of recuperation.
Radcliff said she didn't realize the importance of staying current on the bill.
"It just did not occur to me that it would go to that extreme as soon as it did," she said.
Throughout 2003, the association and its collection firm, Coast Assessment Service Co. of Garden Grove, said they made nearly a dozen attempts to collect the amount due, which has increased to $1,952 with late charges and collections fees.
The Radcliffs said they received few of these notices and didn't know their home had been auctioned off until they received a notice to vacate the property on Jan. 7, which they haven't done.
Their case is a reminder that associations have the power to foreclose for past-due bills, regardless of the amount. State Sen. Rico Oller, R-San Andreas, said Thursday that he plans to author legislation this year that would take away the rights of associations to foreclose.
"It was $120, and they're going to take away his house. That should never happen in America," Oller said. "This is a case of an association exercising what is arguably their right, but in a totally unreasonable and extreme way."
Oller, who once lived in the Copper Cove subdivision, said he is working to return the property to the Radcliffs, but that may be difficult.
The Radcliffs can receive about $60,000 from the sale of their house after paying off the homeowners association and a lien for past-due income taxes. All expect the home's current owner to demand much more than the $70,000 he paid for the house to sell it back to the Rad-cliffs.
"I doubt if that would be a viable option. He's going to look for profit," said Don Morger, the senior vice president of Coast Assessment Service.
The new owner could not be reached for comment.
A week ago, the Radcliffs were notified that the property's new owner was suing them to leave the home or pay a $43 daily rental, as of Jan. 11. They can stay at the property until a court hearing is held, likely in about a month.
But their Sonora lawyer, Mick Macomber, did not sound optimistic when asked whether the Radcliffs have a chance of winning their house back.
"We're hoping," he said. "Ask 50 lawyers, they'd probably all answer in different ways."
The episode is particularly jarring for the Radcliffs because they just finished building the home themselves last year. Thomas Radcliff is a retired construction worker and his three sons are carpenters and painters. A week of publicity surrounding their plight, including an appearance on CNN, has been draining on Thomas Radcliff, who his family said was bedridden this week with dangerously high blood pressure.
The Radcliffs bought the three-acre lot in 1999 for $30,000. When the two-bedroom, 1,728-square-foot home was completed last March, it was appraised at $258,000, the family said.
There are 2,400 lots in the Copper Cove subdivision, most of them still vacant. Some of the developed properties include mobile homes and similar small homes, while others are larger. An upscale equestrian community is being built in one part of the subdivision. All residents have access to a large softball complex, clubhouse and boat facility maintained by the association.
On Thursday, Carolyn Rad-cliff, the Radcliffs' daughter-in-law, looked down the hill in front of the house.
"It's hard to believe it's not theirs anymore," she said.
Anita Radcliff, who owns the home with her husband, Thomas, said she had little hope of winning back the house, which the association's collection firm sold at a foreclosure auction in December for $70,000.
"One of the unfortunate things about people is when you get a little power, it goes to their heads," said Anita Radcliff, 61. "The homeowners association has a lot of power."
Michael Woodbury, attorney for the Copper Cove at Lake Tulloch Owners' Association, said the association aggressively pursued the debt because unpaid dues increase the financial burden on other homeowners.
"It's also important to understand the association is nothing more than all of their neighbors combined together," Woodbury said. "Somebody has to make up that difference when the association doesn't get paid."
Marjorie Murray, a lobbyist for the Congress of California Seniors on housing issues who is advising the Radcliffs, disputed that notion.
"Copper Cove is not going to go out of business because someone owes them $120," she said. "That is one of the classic arguments that debt collectors use."
The tussle began last January when the Radcliffs didn't have enough cash to make the annual dues payment. Anita Radcliff said she became distracted over the following months by a series of ailments that struck her husband, now age 64. He had a knee replaced and then was bitten by a spider, which required months of recuperation.
Radcliff said she didn't realize the importance of staying current on the bill.
"It just did not occur to me that it would go to that extreme as soon as it did," she said.
Throughout 2003, the association and its collection firm, Coast Assessment Service Co. of Garden Grove, said they made nearly a dozen attempts to collect the amount due, which has increased to $1,952 with late charges and collections fees.
The Radcliffs said they received few of these notices and didn't know their home had been auctioned off until they received a notice to vacate the property on Jan. 7, which they haven't done.
Their case is a reminder that associations have the power to foreclose for past-due bills, regardless of the amount. State Sen. Rico Oller, R-San Andreas, said Thursday that he plans to author legislation this year that would take away the rights of associations to foreclose.
"It was $120, and they're going to take away his house. That should never happen in America," Oller said. "This is a case of an association exercising what is arguably their right, but in a totally unreasonable and extreme way."
Oller, who once lived in the Copper Cove subdivision, said he is working to return the property to the Radcliffs, but that may be difficult.
The Radcliffs can receive about $60,000 from the sale of their house after paying off the homeowners association and a lien for past-due income taxes. All expect the home's current owner to demand much more than the $70,000 he paid for the house to sell it back to the Rad-cliffs.
"I doubt if that would be a viable option. He's going to look for profit," said Don Morger, the senior vice president of Coast Assessment Service.
The new owner could not be reached for comment.
A week ago, the Radcliffs were notified that the property's new owner was suing them to leave the home or pay a $43 daily rental, as of Jan. 11. They can stay at the property until a court hearing is held, likely in about a month.
But their Sonora lawyer, Mick Macomber, did not sound optimistic when asked whether the Radcliffs have a chance of winning their house back.
"We're hoping," he said. "Ask 50 lawyers, they'd probably all answer in different ways."
The episode is particularly jarring for the Radcliffs because they just finished building the home themselves last year. Thomas Radcliff is a retired construction worker and his three sons are carpenters and painters. A week of publicity surrounding their plight, including an appearance on CNN, has been draining on Thomas Radcliff, who his family said was bedridden this week with dangerously high blood pressure.
The Radcliffs bought the three-acre lot in 1999 for $30,000. When the two-bedroom, 1,728-square-foot home was completed last March, it was appraised at $258,000, the family said.
There are 2,400 lots in the Copper Cove subdivision, most of them still vacant. Some of the developed properties include mobile homes and similar small homes, while others are larger. An upscale equestrian community is being built in one part of the subdivision. All residents have access to a large softball complex, clubhouse and boat facility maintained by the association.
On Thursday, Carolyn Rad-cliff, the Radcliffs' daughter-in-law, looked down the hill in front of the house.
"It's hard to believe it's not theirs anymore," she said.
HOA's don't have the authority to foreclose on a home - the only one that can do that is the bank that holds their mortgage. There's more to this story than what the "reporter" is letting on.
