A North Carolina woman says she lived through a nightmare in 2020, when a fight over a $400 homeowners association (HOA) bill caused her family to lose their home. As shocking as it sounds, the Union County woman says that the unpaid dues prompted the HOA to place a lien on her property and begin foreclosure proceedings as she worked to settle the year-old debt.
Taylor Sanders told a WSOC-TV reporter how the HOA insisted they sent multiple letters about the debt, but Sanders says she never received them. Things escalated in 2021 when the homeowner says she received a new bill for $1,200 as well as a letter that the association was going to foreclose.
According to Sanders, the entire process destroyed her family, including her children, who had to move out of their home.
Now, she’s sharing her story with others in the hope that she can prevent the same thing from happening to someone else who falls behind on their HOA dues.
The Home Was Sold for Just $49,000
In 2025, WSOC-TV reported that it was able to obtain county records for the home, which showed that the 3,300-square-foot home sold a few months after the foreclosure for $49,000. Then, just five months later, the new owner turned around and sold the property for $850,000, likely making a massive profit in the process.
“Oh my God. It’s devastating for my children,” Sanders recalled. “I don’t wish this on anyone.” In the months that followed, Sanders says she started working to teach people about HOAs and the power they have.
“I want to make sure I educate other people,” she said at the time. “I want to make sure they know about it. I want them to know their rights.”
States Like Georgia Recently Passed a Bill to Protect Homeowners from Things Like This
What happened to the Sanders family sounds devastating, but unfortunately, it’s not uncommon. HOAs have a lot of legal power, and can levy hefty fines against homeowners that could cost them their homes. But some states are fighting back. Georgia just passed a “Georgia Property Owners’ Bill of Rights Act,” which will give homeowners more protection when it comes to the foreclosure process, according to Realtor.com.
The full effects of the bill of rights won’t roll out until January 2027, but when the time comes, the new act will also limit certain fees and fines, and give clearer-cut instructions when it comes to official notices and letters.
Unfortunately, any similar laws that could’ve helped the Sanders family haven’t been signed into law in North Carolina yet.