# @downinnadesert on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd_pyWFgkvb
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/71151479-downinnadesert-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/bde957f379.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-10-02T14:04:34.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Down In The Desert🌵 (@downinnadesert) — https://gondola.cc/downinnadesert

## Caption

A Mesa couple says an initial $977 in unpaid HOA fees eventually put their $475,000 home into foreclosure. 

Toby Newton bought the four-bedroom East Mesa home in 2022. Two years later, he lost his job, was diagnosed with diabetes and began struggling financially. He eventually fell $977 behind on HOA assessments and interest. 

Newton says he knew he owed the money and repeatedly tried to set up a payment plan. He first offered $50 a month, then about $134, and eventually $200 a month, but says each proposal was rejected. By November 2024, the HOA had started foreclosure proceedings. 

Once attorney fees, assessments and other costs were added, court records show the amount had grown to $6,579. In October 2025, the home was sold at a sheriff’s auction to the Superstition Springs Community Master Association for $8,172. 

Newton had a window to reclaim the property, but during that time his longtime partner, Sherrie Patten, was diagnosed with breast cancer and went on long-term disability. The couple says their financial situation became even harder while she underwent treatment. 

When another opportunity to redeem the home was offered, the required amount had climbed to $10,484. The couple continued fighting to remain in the house. 

The case also happened as Arizona changed its HOA foreclosure laws. Under the newer rules, an HOA generally cannot foreclose on an assessment lien until the homeowner has been delinquent for at least 18 months or owes $10,000 in unpaid assessments, whichever comes first. Because this case began before those protections took effect, the newer thresholds did not apply to the foreclosure. 

And there’s now an important update: after the story gained widespread attention this month, the HOA board reportedly agreed to halt eviction and collection proceedings and negotiate a payment plan with the couple. 

A debt that started at $977 turned into a fight over a nearly half-million-dollar home.

Do you think an HOA should ever be able to foreclose on someone’s home over unpaid dues? 👀

#Arizona #Mesa #ArizonaNews #HOA #RealEstate

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 476
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## Tags

realestate, hoa, arizonanews, mesa, arizona

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