Thursday, July 1, 2010

Death Threats Begin Coming In To Texas HOA That Foreclosed On Active Duty Servicemember While Away In Iraq Over Unpaid $800 Fee

In Frisco, Texas, WFAA-TV Channel 8 reports:

  • An Army officer on active duty lost his house when his homeowners' association foreclosed for back dues. It's a story first reported by News 8, and it outraged people around the world.(1)

  • Now the HOA is breaking its silence, saying the board is getting death threats — even though it did nothing wrong. [...] The [Heritage Lakes Homeowners' Association] has now hired public relations specialist David Margulies as its spokesman. He says the HOA is getting negative attention it does not deserve. "The death threats have been reported to the Addison police, and they're being investigated," Margulies said.

  • And now, other residents of Heritage Lakes, [...] are coming forward, too. They say they are embarrassed to live in a community that could foreclose on an officer's home while he is defending his country.

For more, see Frisco HOA that foreclosed on soldier getting death threats.

(1) According to the report, the Clauers owned their $300,000 home free and clear; it was a gift from family members. Capt. Michael Clauer says when he got called up, his wife May became depressed, missed two HOA payments totaling about $800, and said she did not open letters from the HOA alerting her to foreclosure proceedings, the story states. Reportedly, Select Management Company — which runs the Heritage Lakes HOA and many more in North Texas — says it is adding procedures that will keep this from happening to another family in the future, and says it will attempt to call families facing foreclosure to check on their situation, instead of relying only on certified mail, which, in the Clauers' case, was never opened.

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