ORLANDO, Fla. — Hamza said these are scary times and she fears a debt collector may try to take her home.
She bought a Winter Park Villas condo in foreclosure but didn't know the previous homeowner owed $145 in association fees.
HOAs often hire attorneys to collect unpaid dues, but Hamza faces something new and far more threatening.
Then, Hamza claims, out of the blue, LM Funding in Tampa sued to collect the debt that now totaled in the thousands.
"They put a lien on my property just like that, just like that," she said.
LM Funding advanced the association money to cover maintenance bills and in exchange it took over right's to collect delinquent dues, like Hamza's debt.
"And nobody is stopping them," Hamza said.
"The bill really adds up quickly believe me you can see it," Jan Bergman, with Cyber Citizens Justice, said. "Click, click, click, and it's up thousands of dollars."
LM Funding released the following statement to Action 9:
"I have attached a copy of the estimated safe harbor that the (home owners) associations and their residents are eating because of defaults by nonpaying unit owners, and the banks being able to literally walk away with very limited liability.
This amounts to a tax of approximately $250 estimated for every condo and HOA owner in the state of Florida. At this point no one seems to be really representing these folks.
This is all being left on the backs of the owners that pay.
On the lady you mentioned, if she has paid we will make sure that all this is put behind her. What she is doing is impacting the folks that do pay. They are the ones nobody ever talks about.
Thanks again for looking into these situations."