Homeowners in Lancaster’s Hearthstone subdivision say they left what felt like a quiet, ordinary neighborhood—and came back to a nasty surprise: liens tied to an HOA they believe has been collecting illegal fees for years. Several residents told WFAA they’re now spending their time sorting through paperwork, comparing notes with neighbors, and fighting balances that suddenly ballooned into the thousands.
The details were laid out in the original post, where residents described years of payments, abrupt collection letters, and court battles—plus a growing list of properties that now show liens.
How a yearly fee turned into four-figure demands
One of the residents, Charles Allen, told WFAA that when he bought his property and made his first payment in 2007, there was no HOA. He said he began paying HOA fees in 2015—about $41.31 a year—which later increased to $100 and is now $110.
But Allen also said he was told the HOA started in 2003, while he showed WFAA documents submitted in 2020 for the HOA. Then came the shock: in 2022, he said he received a letter claiming he owed “$2,000 and something dollars.”…