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Article Courtesy of The Palm Beach
Post
By Bill DiPaolo
Published May 23, 2017
Jupiter Police Chief Frank Kitzerow owes about $1,600 in homeowner association
fees, according to a lawsuit filed against him in Palm Beach County Circuit
Court.
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The homeowner’s
association could foreclose on its claim of lien on the
house if the foreclosure complaint is not settled.
Kitzerow’s house then could be sold by Palm Beach County for
the homeowner’s association to recover the assessments.
The homeowner’s association is also asking for attorney,
accrued interest and other fees. That brings the total
Kitzerow is being told to pay to about $2,300, according to
the lawsuit filed April 19.
Kitzerow acknowledged he is behind on the assessments. He
said he is working with homeowner’s association officials.
The monthly assessment is about $516 a month.
“I’m confident we can reach an agreement on how I will make
the payments,” said Kitzerow, whose annual salary is about
$147,000.
Foreclosing is a “last resort,” said Scott Stoloff, an
attorney representing the homeowner’s association.
“The board members are fellow owners. They don’t want to see
one of their neighbors’s houses get foreclosed,” said
Stoloff.
Kitzerow said heavy rains in January 2016 caused extensive
water damage to roof, kitchen, floor and ceiling of his
house. Mold remediation also had to be done on the inside of
the house, said Kitzerow. |
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Jupiter Police Chief Frank Kitzerow
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Normal rainfall for January in coastal Palm Beach County is about 3 inches,
according to the South Florida Water Management District. But that month, some
areas saw more than triple that, including West Jupiter (8.07 inches) and Juno
Beach (8.89 inches).
Kitzerow said he moved out of the house that month while the repair work was
being done. He paid rent in another location for about a year while his home was
being repaired, he said.
“I had a lot of expenses. You have ups and downs. It’s life,” said Kitzerow.
He moved back into the house in January after the repairs were completed, he
said.
“I wasn’t being irresponsible. I was making the mortgage payments. I didn’t walk
away,” Kitzerow said.
When homeowners do not pay HOA fees, Florida law allows for associations — just
like banks when owners fault on mortgages — to place liens on the property that
lead to foreclosure.
The association’s right to foreclose has nothing to do with whether the
homeowner is current on mortgage payments. Florida homeowners up to date on
their mortgage could still be foreclosed on if they are late with homeowner’s
association fees, according to Florida law. |
