I have been forced into default deliberately by the board of directors, Bob Barrett, President, and David O'Neal General Manager, of the Mililani Town Association (MTA) working together with their lawyer, Arlette Harada, of Ekimoto and Morris, to strip me of my property by way of an extortion scheme.
I purchased the condo thru a judicial foreclosure auction and the court order said all junior liens were forever barred upon closing. The MTA debt was junior to all other liens and therefore, it was barred. There was a payoff in escrow which showed the MTA was settled in the closing. As a new owner, I made my first payment for dues, which are a reasonable 102.00 per quarter, charged to all owners of the community. Shortly thereafter, come to find out I am in default from my very first payment, and owe them 1400 or so. They claimed it was owed from the prior owner, yet those are set by the rules of the court and all junior liens were forever barred according to the judgment order.
The MTA knew of the foreclosure and knew they were getting paid off an amount in the escrow, yet they chose to do nothing more to notify the court, or escrow, or the buyer about any other amount being owed. In Hawaii, if an association wants to claim a lien, they have to let the buyer know before the title transfers of their intent to charge the buyer. That way, if the buyer doesn't want to pay more, they can cancel their purchase of the property. After closing it is too late and they can't turn around and claim charges against the buyer after they are forever barred, especially since the buyer was unaware of any of those amounts being due prior to taking title.
Their own covenants say that an unpaid assessment is the personal obligation of the owner who was required to pay the assessment when due. I had no way of knowing what was due unless they notified me they had intent to collect some additional amount. I met with the GM, David O'Neal, personally to show him that it is not collectible against me, and I showed him the court order, the final escrow statement, which showed the MTA was paid off in the closing, and I even showed them the case in the Hawaii Appellate Court that says they are required to give their intent to collect those fees from the buyer prior to the sale closing. Either way, they can't redirect funds paid by a new member for current dues, and apply it to something other than for what it was intended. The GM agreed with me, he said he would be angry if it happened to him, and he couldn't see how I could be obligated to pay this amount, especially since I was never told about any amount being due to the MTA from the prior owner. There are fair disclosure laws that rule transactions and if a buyer is not told about fees that they will be responsible for, they can't just surprise attack you with them after the fact.
Soon after I learned my explanation was rejected and they determined I owed the money no matter what and their lawyer started sending out emails stating that I was the purchaser at the prior auction and I owed all the money. I was a bidder at the auction but nothing ever closed because it was taken back to sale by the other association and you don't become a buyer if it falls out of escrow and goes back to the auction. It was a lie that she had created to make her position look good. Harada convinced the directors to trust her while she misinterpreted the law and brainwashed them that she knew what was best for them. In an email David O'Neal said to her, we are only going after this because you said to do that, even though we as directors can't understand it.
I then presented my case to all the MTA members and lo and behold they ruled against me because their lawyer said so. I had evidence to prove my case, she had nothing but a lie and her own demands. I demanded that they prove how I am responsible for this debt that is of someone else. I agreed only to pay current dues as a buyer. Nothing worked. I am in default while current on all my payments. I keep paying quarterly and they have now suspended my privileges even though I pay the same amount everyone else does. This is so deceptive and egregious and if anyone else had any issue with the MTA for outrageous acts of their lawyer please contact me because we need to stop this extortion scam.
They are running what is like a ransomware scam to computers, but an extortion scam against homeowners because they are getting away with it and the courts turn the other way. They assess a front loaded legal fee of 20 times the amount owed up front and then it is all legal fees where if you don't pay them their demanded ransom you will lose your home to foreclosure. I hope regulators and people see this email. This law firm, Ekimoto and Morris is a non judicial foreclosure mill and they need to stop stealing homes. If it weren't for these front loaded disproportionate legal fees up front, then owners would not be forced into default. We need help in this matter because the same lawyer works many associations in Hawaii. They are taking homes and then they rent them out and resell them making all the profits while being a non profit company. For the association to allow this from their for profit lawyer, they must be playing in the scheme to profit somehow. The association has millions of reserves and did they get it by stealing homes from innocent families and then making the windfall without paying a dime for the property?
Mililani Town Association Reviews
I have been forced into default deliberately by the board of directors, Bob Barrett, President, and David O'Neal General Manager, of the Mililani Town Association (MTA) working together with their lawyer, Arlette Harada, of Ekimoto and Morris, to strip me of my property by way of an extortion scheme.
I purchased the condo thru a judicial foreclosure auction and the court order said all junior liens were forever barred upon closing. The MTA debt was junior to all other liens and therefore, it was barred. There was a payoff in escrow which showed the MTA was settled in the closing. As a new owner, I made my first payment for dues, which are a reasonable 102.00 per quarter, charged to all owners of the community. Shortly thereafter, come to find out I am in default from my very first payment, and owe them 1400 or so. They claimed it was owed from the prior owner, yet those are set by the rules of the court and all junior liens were forever barred according to the judgment order.
The MTA knew of the foreclosure and knew they were getting paid off an amount in the escrow, yet they chose to do nothing more to notify the court, or escrow, or the buyer about any other amount being owed. In Hawaii, if an association wants to claim a lien, they have to let the buyer know before the title transfers of their intent to charge the buyer. That way, if the buyer doesn't want to pay more, they can cancel their purchase of the property. After closing it is too late and they can't turn around and claim charges against the buyer after they are forever barred, especially since the buyer was unaware of any of those amounts being due prior to taking title.
Their own covenants say that an unpaid assessment is the personal obligation of the owner who was required to pay the assessment when due. I had no way of knowing what was due unless they notified me they had intent to collect some additional amount. I met with the GM, David O'Neal, personally to show him that it is not collectible against me, and I showed him the court order, the final escrow statement, which showed the MTA was paid off in the closing, and I even showed them the case in the Hawaii Appellate Court that says they are required to give their intent to collect those fees from the buyer prior to the sale closing. Either way, they can't redirect funds paid by a new member for current dues, and apply it to something other than for what it was intended. The GM agreed with me, he said he would be angry if it happened to him, and he couldn't see how I could be obligated to pay this amount, especially since I was never told about any amount being due to the MTA from the prior owner. There are fair disclosure laws that rule transactions and if a buyer is not told about fees that they will be responsible for, they can't just surprise attack you with them after the fact.
Soon after I learned my explanation was rejected and they determined I owed the money no matter what and their lawyer started sending out emails stating that I was the purchaser at the prior auction and I owed all the money. I was a bidder at the auction but nothing ever closed because it was taken back to sale by the other association and you don't become a buyer if it falls out of escrow and goes back to the auction. It was a lie that she had created to make her position look good. Harada convinced the directors to trust her while she misinterpreted the law and brainwashed them that she knew what was best for them. In an email David O'Neal said to her, we are only going after this because you said to do that, even though we as directors can't understand it.
I then presented my case to all the MTA members and lo and behold they ruled against me because their lawyer said so. I had evidence to prove my case, she had nothing but a lie and her own demands. I demanded that they prove how I am responsible for this debt that is of someone else. I agreed only to pay current dues as a buyer. Nothing worked. I am in default while current on all my payments. I keep paying quarterly and they have now suspended my privileges even though I pay the same amount everyone else does. This is so deceptive and egregious and if anyone else had any issue with the MTA for outrageous acts of their lawyer please contact me because we need to stop this extortion scam.
They are running what is like a ransomware scam to computers, but an extortion scam against homeowners because they are getting away with it and the courts turn the other way. They assess a front loaded legal fee of 20 times the amount owed up front and then it is all legal fees where if you don't pay them their demanded ransom you will lose your home to foreclosure. I hope regulators and people see this email. This law firm, Ekimoto and Morris is a non judicial foreclosure mill and they need to stop stealing homes. If it weren't for these front loaded disproportionate legal fees up front, then owners would not be forced into default. We need help in this matter because the same lawyer works many associations in Hawaii. They are taking homes and then they rent them out and resell them making all the profits while being a non profit company. For the association to allow this from their for profit lawyer, they must be playing in the scheme to profit somehow. The association has millions of reserves and did they get it by stealing homes from innocent families and then making the windfall without paying a dime for the property?