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Anthem writes off $1.1 million in delinquent HOA fees

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Mortgage and Lending with AmeriFirst Financial BUYorREFI Team NMLS - 1330840

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The housing crisis that led some homeowners to lose or walk away from their homes has largely resulted in the loss of more than $1.1 million in HOA fees in Anthem. The Anthem Community Council in November wrote off 876 past-due accounts that totaled $723,410. In May, the council wrote off another $433,608 from 305 delinquent accounts that were nearly past due for nearly three years. Anthem officials said much of the debt is a result of former homeowners who lost or abandoned their property because of bankruptcy, trustee sales or laws that prevented collection activity. The delinquent accounts were primarily tied to unpaid homeowners association fees, officials said. The council in October approved an $8.6 million operating budget for 2011, down from $8.7 million for 2010. About $7.9 million of Anthem's budget will come from homeowner and non-homeowner assessments in the unincorporated master-planned community in the north Valley. About 35,000 people live in Anthem,down from about 40,000 before the recession. The write-off won't impact Anthem's budget, officials said. "These delinquent accounts are all over two years past due, involve former Anthem property owners and were deemed uncollectible by the council's legal counsel or collections agent," said Neal Shearer, the council's community operations officer. "This is a common accounting action, which won't have an impact to the council's budget, and all write-offs were already expensed or reserved for as an uncollectible debt." Phoenix has been hit hard during the mortgage meltdown. Many homeowners found themselves with mortgage debts that exceeded the value of their properties, causing a large number of them to give up their homes or face foreclosure. A committee, which includes representatives from the community council and Anthem's Parkside, Country Club and Village HOAs, is studying ways to improve the collections process, said Jennifer Solomon, the council's communications director. "This is an effort to reduce delinquencies and the cost of collections," she said. Anthem officials hope payment plans will help curb foreclosures. "The economic downturn has made it very challenging for homeowners everywhere to make ends meet," Shearer said. "In Anthem, we have found payment plans to be a useful tool to help some homeowners pay off past-due amounts, keep their heads above water and, most importantly, keep their homes."

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Michael Beckham
Mortgage Loan Orginator | NMLS 1330840
AmeriFirst Financial, Inc. | NMLS 145368
8476 W. Thunderbird Road, Suite 202, Peoria, AZ  85381

Office: 480-225-6699 | Direct: 480-289-7623 | Fax: 480-339-1635
mbeckham@amerifirst.us | www.buyorrefi.com

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Comments (1)

Jessica Leimback
Agave Homes & Investments - Mesa, AZ
Broker,SFR,CNE,CSSPE

I could not believe it. After I processed the information I was not that surprised. Outlying areas are always going to be hardest hit. Phoenix homes didn't have much value to begin with so they don't count.

Dec 02, 2010 07:07 PM