Q: Is it worth going after an HOA for an illegal charge? I have pointed this out to them several times.
I owned 2 commercial condos.
I was going to rent one and the HOA consulted an attorney without my knowledge and wanted me to pay fees.
I sold the unit in question and have an estoppel letter from the HOA for that unit.
I am now selling my 2nd unit and they have transferred to legal fee they incurred to my second unit.
I have told them several times this is illegal and they refuse to remove the charge.
Would this fall into slander by lien with malice?
An estoppel letter was sent to the closing office with this information on it.
on estoppel it is shown as unpaid dues, for which I have canceled checks for
A: It depends on the amount of the charge and the language in the condo documents as to whether or not they can demand legal fees pre-litigation. Some documents do provide the association is entitled to pre-litigation fees. It would not be a case of slander of title unless an actual lien was filed. Depending on the amount of the charge it might be worthwhile to pay a lawyer to write a letter demanding the charge be removed and demanding a certificate of insurance, which they have 30 days to provide, citing negligence.
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