I’ve received dozens of parking tickets and been fined over $1,000 by the HOA for parking outside my house – I don’t even have a car

A HOMEOWNER was hit with almost $2,000 in parking fines for cars parked around his home – none of which belonged to him.

He said the incident made him want to sell his house to “escape the nightmare.”

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Roberto Cardenas moved into a Newnan, Georgia HOA subdivision managed by Belmont Park HOA to enjoy the benefits of membership – landscaping, security, peace and tranquility.

However, for years he received parking tickets for several cars parked illegally near his home.

None of them belonged to him.

He doesn’t even have a car, but he was fined.

“They were all different cars,” he told the CBS affiliate TO WANT reporter Rachel Polansky.

The dozens of fines totaled $1,700 in parking violations.

Even though he knew the fines were improperly assigned, he paid them anyway, out of fear that the HOA would place a lien on his home.

Last year, the HOA reimbursed him $600, leaving $1,100 that was not refunded to him.

“It got to the point where I just wanted to sell the house and end this nightmare,” he continued.

Cardenas wasn’t the only one who had similar problems with incorrect parking violations.

Residents were told last year that all parking tickets would be waived and refunded, but Cardenas said there was still $1,700 in his account as an outstanding balance.

When WANF reporters contacted the HOA, the association responded that it would “review” his case and find a solution for his specific case.

Cases like Cardenas are what inspired State Senator Donzella James to introduce three different HOA-related bills to limit the power an HOA has over homeowners.

Current law at the time of publication stated that an HOA could place a lien on someone’s home or even file a foreclosure if the homeowner owed more than $2,000.

“They definitely don’t need to impose fines,” she said.

“This is hurting everyone.”

One of his proposals would limit an HOA’s power to do this and, by implementing an ombudsman’s office, help resolve disputes outside of court.

What is an HOA?

One in five Americans lives in an area with a Home Owners Association – or HOA. But what exactly do they do?

• An HOA is a homeowners association – an organization that aims to maintain a clean, cohesive place for its residents to live.
• Entire neighborhoods, subdivisions, condominiums, single-family homes or townhouses within “a planned development” will often constitute an HOA.
• They also serve as a regulatory body for the tenants, who manage and finance the HOA through monthly fees.
• Its main goals are to keep the community functional and visually appealing and maintain property values.
• They focus primarily on a neighborhood’s common areas, like roads, parks, and pools — but they can also stipulate what residents can do with their property, like yards and sidewalks.
• These restrictions often impose uniformity on properties, for example, ensuring that most houses look the same and that all sidewalks are free of weeds.
• An HOA Rule Book of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&R) is distributed to all residents, and an elected volunteer board of directors enforces these regulations.
• Violating these rules can result in penalties such as fines and even litigation – as most HOAs are incorporated and subject to state law.
• HOAs are often the subject of controversy, with some members feeling that the rules are too punitive and restrictive, or that the leadership has too much power.
• But other HOAs like this give communities the power of self-government and can ensure a degree of harmony among residents.

The spectators of video on the WANF YouTube channel (@AtlantaNewsFirst) agreed with James, that an HOA should not be able to place a lien on someone’s home or seek foreclosure due to small fines.

“No HOA should have the ability to lien someone’s house for anything,” one viewer wrote, earning 1,200 thumbs up.

Someone wrote the main conclusions of stories like Cárdenas’s.

“What do people need to know about living in an HOA community? First: don’t do it! Second: always refer to the first rule.”

Another viewer compared an HOA to an elementary school experience that most people could relate to.

“An HOA is like the adult version of a bully stealing your lunch money,” the comment read.