A Mesa homeowner lost his house after an unpaid HOA debt of $977 led to a foreclosure judgment, mounting legal costs and a sheriff’s auction at which the homeowners association bought the property for $8,172.
Toby Newton bought the four-bedroom house in August 2022 for nearly $475,000. The property is in the Superstition Springs community in southeast Mesa. He had borrowed $449,328 to finance the purchase, according to The Mesa Tribune.
A job loss in early 2024 left Newton out of work before he was later diagnosed with diabetes.
“I bought the house and then I got sick. I got diabetes and I was out of work,” Newton told The Mesa Tribune. “I missed a year’s worth of assessments. So that’s $171 every quarter – I missed three of those. It might be four.”
Mesa Home Sold to HOA After $977 Debt Grew Into Foreclosure Case pic.twitter.com/Ba4UNpUMX7
— RELISH WIRE NEWS (@relishwirenews) September 16, 2026
Attorney Augustus Shaw IV of Shaw & Lines was representing the Superstition Springs Community Master Association when foreclosure proceedings began on Nov. 15, 2024, according to court records.
“I was calling them to take care of it and set up something with them with all my other bills I had going on,” Newton said.
A Dec. 6 deadline was set for Newton to pay $3,980 under a settlement proposal sent by the association’s law firm on Nov. 25, 2024. The underlying HOA debt was $977; the Tribune reported that the rest was largely attorney fees.
HOA forecloses on Arizona homeowner’s $450K house over unpaid $977 debt and sells it for just $8k
— Rifnote (@viarifnote) September 15, 2026
A Mesa, Arizona man has lost his $475,000 home after falling behind on a $977 homeowners association debt. Toby Newton bought the house four years ago in southeast Mesa’s… pic.twitter.com/qTIgxEzkqu
Newton first proposed paying $50 a month on top of his regular HOA assessment. He later raised the offer to $133.70 a month, but the HOA board rejected it in January 2025.
Another proposal followed in February, this time for $200 a month plus the quarterly assessment. The association turned down that offer in April.
In May 2025 a paralegal at the association’s law firm wrote Newton that the HOA had filed for judgment.
The case reached a default decision in court on June 30, 2025. By then, Newton faced $3,345 in legal fees and interest, with $1,042.09 in collection costs and another $1,311 in unpaid dues and late charges.
The total stood at $6,579 when the house went up for auction.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office conducted the public sale on Oct. 16, 2025. The homeowners association won the auction with an $8,172 bid and took ownership of the property.
Newton had six months to regain the house, while the mortgage remained in place.
By early 2026, the law firm gave Newton until May 15 to pay $10,484 to reclaim the house, after his previous six-month grace period had already passed .
On May 14, Newton filed an emergency motion in Maricopa County Superior Court seeking to stay enforcement of the foreclosure. He said he learned about the auction only two days before the sale and argued that he had not had enough time to secure legal representation or financing.
The foreclosure papers went to Patten’s adult son, who received them at the house from a process server working for the HOA’s law firm. Newton said his son was only visiting, did not live there and had no authority to accept the papers for him.
The association disputes that account. Its court filings said the son “confirmed that he lived at the Defendant’s residence with the Defendant,” according to the Tribune.
“I’m still waiting on the judge to do the emergency stay,” Newton said. “So, it’s still sitting in the judicial system after the HOA took my deed for $8,000 in a sheriff’s sale.”
Sherrie Patten, 50, Newton’s longtime partner, underwent treatment for breast cancer last year, including a double mastectomy. She stopped working during her illness.
“It was the type of cancer that is fast-moving. We had to do things, a lot of things to get it taken care of,” Newton told The Mesa Tribune.
Her household income later changed again when she was approved for long-term disability payments of just under $2,000 a month beginning in January 2026, according to the Tribune.
“We’ve tried to settle multiple times with them and they refused to work with us,” Patten told The Mesa Tribune.
Arizona changed its HOA foreclosure rules last year, after Newton’s case was filed. At the time, an owner could face foreclosure after a year of unpaid dues or once the balance reached $1,200.
The new law moved those thresholds to 18 months and $10,000.
Senate Bill 1494 also requires HOA boards to try to communicate with homeowners and offer a payment plan before starting foreclosure proceedings. Lawmakers introduced about 22 HOA-related bills during the 2026 legislative session.
One measure dealt with condominium foreclosures and special assessments.
Rep. Neal Carter, R-San Tan Valley, whose district includes southeast Mesa, has argued that attorney fees drive these cases.
“I think the lawyers are the problem,” Carter told the Tribune.
Rep. Carter’s 2025 bill, HB 2865, would have barred a homeowners association from charging attorney fees and related costs against homeowners or former homeowners. It passed the House 42-15 and was held in the Senate.
Carter told the Tribune he did not plan to sponsor HOA legislation in the next session.
“I’m open to ideas,” he said.
Newton’s emergency motion remains part of the court proceedings. The couple has also sought financial assistance through a GoFundMe campaign while the dispute over the house continues.
