Bank Owned Home

I live in an end unit of a townhome. The middle unit is supposably in foreclosure and the bank owns it. At least that is what the HOA board members say. The gutter in the middle unit has been coming down and I contacted the management company AND one of the board members about getting this fixed because it is starting to pull down my gutter. I also showed one of the board memebers. He said that I should get someone to nail it down or something. I told him that the HOA should do this, not me. I sent 2 emails last week to both parties about this. Neither has responded back. I also have pictures. Last night was really windy and now I found out this morning that the gutter has now fallen completely down and it has taken some of my gutter with it and is now in my backyard. I sent them an email this morning telling them about it but what should my next steps be if nothing is done? I was going to take the gutter out of my yard and set it in the driveway of the empty house so that the HOA board members (one lives right beside it) will take it away. Otherwise they will just keep ignoring me. But what should I do about my gutter? Should I get someone to fix it and have them bill the HOA or the management company? We are responsible for the upkeep of our homes since we are buying them. I live in Duluth GA if this means anything.

I cannot find anything about that in the HOA papers. I think the HOA thinks that the bank is responsible. When I told the HOA board member about it, he said that bank has not paid the HOA dues either and that to contact the management company so that they can contact the bank. So that is my REAL question. Who WOULD be responsible?

My considered advice to you is to (1) contact your insurance company to initiate a claim; (2) undertake to make the repairs to your part of the building yourself; (3) contact an attorney for advice and (4) file a small claims action against the bank (or actual owner as shown in the county real estate records). The amount you can sue for will be your insurance deductible or the actual cost of repairs.

And, document, document, document!

Banks do not like to be sued in small claims court. Perhaps a letter from an attorney threatening action will be sufficient for you to receive a check from the bank.

It is doubtful (if what you say is correct) that the homeowners association has any responsibility for the maintenance.

You can also file a lien for the cost of repairs on the unit, so that it will have to be paid off when sold.

It's quite likely that the one gutter is going to be less than your deductible, so I'm not sure that you really want to bother the insurance company for a few hundred dollars. Besides, depending on the state where reside, you probably do not wish to put in a claim for this. It used to be that insurance companies didn't surcharge for Homeowners claims, but they have started doing this in some states now. (In other words, your rates could go up if you submitted a claim).

Whenever, we see a forclosure in the neighborhood, we've have been inspecting the property, creating a punch list of any items that might be in violation like rotten wood, broken fences, gutters, architectual violations, etc; and then we send the bank a letter, asap. The bank also knows that these items will show up on a disclosure on inspection whenever they ask for the HOA docs. It's to their advantage to address these items ahead of time, so that these items do not spook a buyer when a contract offer is made.

Have the HOA send the bank a letter, listing any deficiencies on the foreclosed property and perhaps you should sent the bank a demand letter along with a bill for the new gutter with an explanation that you will lien the property if they don't respond within 30 days.

Good luck.