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- A Georgia retiree faces foreclosure over HOA fines tied to a missed pressure washing and a water bucket outside his home.
- Under Georgia law, HOAs can foreclose once fines exceed $2,000, even for minor violations.
- Homeowners, especially those on fixed incomes, should monitor mail, stay ahead of fines, and know their legal rights.
A Georgia retiree is fighting to keep his home after his homeowners association moved to foreclose over thousands in unpaid fines, stemming from pressure washing violations, a stray ladder, and a bucket of water. George Watson, 77, lives on about $20,000 a year from Social Security and has owned his townhome in the Cedarlake community of Kennesaw, Georgia, since 2001. But this year, he’s facing the terrifying prospect of losing it all over what started as a few small code infractions.
How a bucket turned into a foreclosure threat
Three summers ago, Watson left a bucket of water, a ladder, and a pressure washer on the side of his house, a move he said was temporary while preparing to clean algae from a wall. But what may have seemed like a minor oversight quickly escalated.
Watson says he missed multiple mailed warnings from his HOA due to a pandemic-era phobia of opening his mailbox. When he finally checked his mail in late 2022, he found a letter from the HOA’s attorney demanding $6,000 in fines and legal fees.
“I didn’t actually answer my mail for months.” he told the Marietta Daily Journal in April. [1]…