Tatiana Pimentel thought she’d done the hard part: she used her life savings to buy her first home in DeKalb County, Georgia, in 2024. Less than a year later, she and her fiancé, Obren Cicmil, were staring down a foreclosure filing from their condominium association over association dues she says were never disclosed at closing.
The dispute, detailed in the original post, started with a foreclosure action filed in October 2025 by the Whitehall Forest East Condominium Association for nearly $8,000 in dues Pimentel said she did not owe. Since then, the couple says the total has ballooned as attorney fees and monthly dues piled on, with Pimentel saying the HOA now claims they owe around $20,000.
A first-time homeowner says the debt didn’t match what she was told
Pimentel’s account is the kind of scenario that makes any homeowner’s stomach drop: you’ve moved in, you’re paying what you believe you owe, and then paperwork shows up threatening to take the house. She said the disputed dues weren’t disclosed when she bought the home, yet the HOA moved forward with foreclosure anyway.
The couple said they spent months calling lawyers and couldn’t get anyone to take the case—until Atlanta News First’s “HOA Nightmares” coverage led them to a pro bono attorney. That attorney, Candace Sneed with DeKalb Pro Bono, said she was stunned by the situation, saying she didn’t understand how an owner could lose a home over an assessment she’d never heard of.
How the bill grew from dues to a foreclosure-sized fight
The initial foreclosure filing in October 2025 sought nearly $8,000, Pimentel said. Now, the couple says the HOA’s running total includes attorney fees and continuing monthly dues, pushing the claimed amount far higher…