I have a property being sold at the courthouse steps tomorrow morning, foreclosure has been on hold by the first mortgage holder PHH Mortgage, but the HOA managed to get it to sale. I have a couple of questions, the HOA is owed $22k and the first mortgage holder is at least $150K. The court appraised value was $115K. Wouldn't PHH wind up being the high bidder and just pay the HOA to be able to sell the property? Or am I missing a step or steps? I was caught off guard by the HOA sale, I haven't lived in the property since last summer. I was (and still) maintain it by running the heat and electric, in addition to stopping by once a week to check on everything. 2 weeks ago when I stopped by there was the notice of the commissioners sale on the front door. I have checked the mail since moving and had set up forwarding mail through the post office when I moved. I can not remember the last document I received from the HOA's attorney's, so it's been some time. There have been no sheriff's notices left at the door to try and deliver paperwork. I had a sheriff's notice for a credit card debt that was left at the door and I stopped by their office to pick that up, so I would have noticed if they were trying to deliver something from the HOA about a foreclosure. The even uglier part of this is, I've been working with PHH since mid 2020 about working on a loan modification, COVID related. One was approved, but then denied because I could not pay what was owed to the HOA. We went back and tried for a second loan modification, which I eventually concluded in early 2021 that a short sale would be the best option. Doing what is best for my family, we left the property and are renting a larger home which makes more sense for our growing family. What disturbs me the most is that PHH has insisted and has said multiple times that any foreclosure was on hold. And in fact I've received paperwork from them that states foreclosure is on hold, with no mention of other parties foreclosing. I've maintained appointments with my relationship manager at PHH a couple times a month, trying to get all the paper work they have needed to make a decision. And in the end they turn around and let this happen. Initially they indicated they may pay the HOA, but today they flat out said they would not be paying the HOA. My whole goal was to go the short sale route instead of a foreclosure to come out of the mess a little cleaner. Now the set up looks like I'll wind up with a large deficiency judgement at some point, which is disappointing because my goal was to try and buy after a few years of renting.
