North Carolina Homeowners Score a Win Against HOA After Facing Foreclosure

Jeffrey and Levi Baldwin have been in a yearslong battle with their Charlotte, NC, homeowners association.

In 2022, the Baldwins received a $100 fine from their HOA for parking what was called a “commercial vehicle” in their driveway.

"I had that vehicle parked at my house since I moved in, in 2007, and never had any issues until the HOA switched to a new management company," Jeffrey tells Realtor.com®.

"Most people would just grumble about it and pay it, but we aren't most people," Levi adds.

The dispute grew into a $1,337 lien stemming from alleged violation fines, which were later waived by the HOA. After the Baldwins’ good-faith payment of the 2024 assessment was reportedly rejected, the HOA shifted its claim to alleged unpaid dues for 2024 and 2025.

This escalated into a prolonged legal battle, costing the Baldwins more than $10,000 in legal fees and putting their home at risk of foreclosure over unpaid HOA dues.

"When the cost to defend is higher than the claim, the process becomes the punishment," says Jeffrey Baldwin.

But the Baldwins' legal battle finally came to an end Tuesday, when attorneys for The Settlements HOA officially withdrew their foreclosure petition in court.

Steven E. Black, the attorney for The Settlements Homeowners Association, tells Realtor.com, "The association withdrew the foreclosure petition after deciding that moving forward with the court hearing, and any appeal that may be required from that hearing, was not in the best interest of the association."

The Baldwins were ecstatic about that outcome.

“Owning a home is the American dream, and my HOA was trying to take that away from me," Jeffrey says. "The only reason I have a home to go to is because of my attorney Jim White's hard work. I was lucky that I won, but many people in this country are not so lucky, and they end up losing their homes. That's why we need reform for accountability with HOAs.”

Legislators have tried to reform HOAs

North Carolina lawmakers have sought to reform HOAs for years.

Senate Bill 378—which aimed to create more balance between homeowners and their HOAs by adding guardrails around how fines and foreclosures are handled—was introduced in 2025.

The bill capped fines for HOA violations at $2,500 per infraction; required advance notice and a formal hearing before any fines could be imposed; banned HOAs from profiting off of fines; prohibited foreclosure based solely on unpaid fines; and mandated mediation and multiple written notices before a lien could be filed or foreclosure could proceed.

A co-sponsor of the bill, North Carolina state Sen. Woodson Bradley, tells Realtor.com, "This bill passed unanimously in the Senate, because most people have an experience with a homeowners association, and it's so obvious this needs to be regulated in a common-sense way."

But, according to Bradley's legislative assistant Ryan Terhune, that bill was then rewritten by the GOP chairs of the rules committee into completely different legislation called "Align Medicaid Eligibility With Federal Law," which did not mention HOA reform at all.

The new bill passed a vote in the House and was sent back to the Senate, where it was rejected without a vote due to the extensive rewrites.

"A lot of us are talking about a way to bring HOA reform back, and we are going to keep fighting for this," vows Bradley. "This is a homeowner issue, not a political issue. I've been a realtor® since 1998, so this really hits home for me."

Last year's House Bill 444 would have placed several regulations on HOAs, but missed a key deadline to pass the House. 

Back in 2023, House Bill 542, which aimed to curb foreclosure powers in North Carolina, died in committee after industry pushback.

Real estate lobbyists were the fourth largest in the nation in 2024 when measured by spending, according to recent data.

"I’ve been working on HOA reform long enough to know that nothing changes without political pressure, writes Chuck Williams, the founder and CEO of Citizens for HOA Reform in North Carolina. "The General Assembly will keep punting on HOA reform until voters make it clear that’s not acceptable anymore."

HOAs have pros and cons

Even with these ongoing problems and concerns, HOAs are becoming increasingly popular.

In April 2025 alone, 44.6% of homes listed on Realtor.com carried an HOA fee—and just in North Carolina, there are 14,000 homeowners associations.

HOAs are designed to protect property values, uphold community standards, and coordinate shared maintenance. For many first-time buyers, they can serve as a helpful bridge between the minimal obligations of renting and the greater responsibilities of homeownership.

Critics, however, argue that HOAs often overreach—issuing unexpected fines, applying rules inconsistently, and operating with limited transparency or accountability. Their authority is amplified by the power to place liens on homes when dues or penalties go unpaid, as in the Baldwins’ case, potentially putting properties at risk of foreclosure much like unpaid taxes.

Imbalance of power

Without reform, critics contend that HOA governance remains marked by a perilous imbalance of authority.

"The power imbalance comes from procedure, not truth," says attorney Chad Cummings of Cummings and Cummings Law. "The HOA board controls the notice pipeline, the hearing calendar, the violation record, and the board's lawyer, so the owner often learns the real stakes only after the lien records and the clock starts."

Cummings says, "I have watched a $50 to $200 compliance issue—in one case, I kid you not, the fine was imposed because the front lawn was 1.5 centimeters too tall—turn into a recorded lien, then a foreclosure filing, because late fees, interest, collections costs, and attorney invoices snowball faster than an owner can object."

Jeffrey Baldwin says, "I've started a website called SaferHOA.com to help others fight back, and to end the nonjudicial foreclosure process, which is the quick-and-dirty way for HOAs to take people's houses and extort money out of people."

Levi Baldwin agrees, declaring, "Due process has been a cornerstone of American law since the Magna Carta—unless you live under an HOA."

"Coercion and fear tactics used by HOA boards present a David-and-Goliath story that discourages homeowners from going to court to vindicate their rights," says Cummings.

Cummings says some boards go on a power trip because the incentives reward escalation. "If the HOA counsel bills hourly and the documents shift fees to the owner, the board can turn a disagreement into a cash drain," he says. "So I advise homebuyers to avoid associations with a pattern of aggressive enforcement, heavy lien usage, and frequent litigation threats."