Soldier, Back From Iraq, Finds Homeowners Association Sold His Frisco, TX House

It should have been a happy summer for Michael Clauer. The Texas Army National Guard captain was winding down his time in Iraq, preparing for a new unit to arrive and replace him and the 130 service members under his command.

But a phone call in June 2009 left him so shaken that a colleague suggested he seek psychiatric help: his wife, her voice choked with tears, told him that their homeowners association had foreclosed on and sold their Frisco, Texas house — which the Clauers say is valued at more than $300,000 — for $3,200, according to county land records.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Clauer, 37, said. “I didn’t understand how anybody could do that.”

The Heritage Lake Homeowners Association, as Clauer would come to learn, had exercised its rights under Texas law to sell the home after the Clauers fell behind on their association dues by about $800. Now, Clauer and his wife May are suing the homeowners association, the investors who bought the home at foreclosure and sold it, and the home’s current owner.

The Clauers, who reached an agreement with the current owner to continue to live in the home with their two young daughters until their lawsuit is resolved, either want to get their house back or be paid damages by the people they’re suing. They’d prefer, of course, the former.

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3 Responses to Soldier, Back From Iraq, Finds Homeowners Association Sold His Frisco, TX House

  1. theangrypanda says:

    Homeowner's Association … Stupid , Wife … Stupid and Spoiled , Husband … Convinced himself blindly to not worry about things at home, which should kinda be what keeps him alive over there in the first place, it makes me wonder if he even asked how his wife was doing or just how things were at home during the entire period … and/or how much she lied about.

  2. Don says:

    I will NEVER live in a house under the jurisdiction of an HOA. I've read too many horror stories about people being harassed for buying the wrong type of car, parking on the street, leaving the trash can in view, and a million other insignificant things. No thank you, not for me. I sure hope they get their home back, it's terrible that anyone's house was sold over a crummy $800 in HOA dues, particularly someone on active duty in Iraq.

    And @theangrypanda – He had plenty of things to worry about in Iraq without wondering if he would have have a house to come back to. It's tough to even communicate with family when you're deployed and all but impossible to manage your financial affairs. And while I agree that his wife should have done a better job keeping up with things who could have known that the HOA would just up and sell their house over $800 without even stopping by first to see if everything was okay.

  3. real world says:

    Who doesnt pay their HOA dues? Didnt they get letters warning them that their house was at risk? Stupid is an understatement!

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