• The light of public scrutiny
• The ability to find and work with others who have experienced similar problems

Therefore, we hope to create a database of such stories so that visitors to this website can see examples of HOA problems and can contact homeowners who have dealt with similar situations.

We will collect, edit, and publish verifiable stories on this website -- but ONLY VERIFIABLE STORIES.

HOAdata.org has a high standard for accuracy and objectivity. Our rules for such stories include:

• We will publish only those stories that we deem acceptable, verifiable, and nondefamatory.
• We will publish only those stories that we can verify by documentation.
• We have full editorial power over any language that we publish.

Since the 1987 Texas Supreme Court decision in Inwood North vs. Harris and the 1995 passage of Texas Property Code Chapter 204, Homeowners Associations (HOAs) have filed thousands of legal actions against homeowners in the Houston area, generally with threat of foreclosure, causing many to lose their homes and causing others financial hardship.

This website summarizes a research database of over 15,000 court filings by HOAs in the Houston area (mainly Harris County) from 1985 through 2001.

THE DATABASE LISTS COURT FILINGS THAT COULD LEAD TO FORECLOSURE.   IT DOES NOT LIST ACTUAL FORECLOSURE SALES.

The database is limited by the research techniques (see below), so the actual number of filings may be understated. For example, approximately 4,000 additional filings of type "injunction" are not included in the database. Because of the difficulty involved in tracking certain cases, the database contains few foreclosure cases from the Justice of the Peace courts and no nonjudicial foreclosure cases. There are indications from a fee-based database that Harris County nonjudicial cases outnumber judicial foreclosure cases.

Data is gathered from the Daily Court Review (a newspaper that prints legal notices and events), from Harris County databases available on the Internet, from Harris County District Court records, and occasional cases from neighboring Fort Bend and Montgomery Counties.

The researchers collecting and analyzing this data are unpaid and are doing this work simply to inform the public. The researchers strive to accurately include only HOA foreclosure-related actions, however, visitors to this site are cautioned that there may be occasional mistakes. It is often difficult to determine whether an HOA filing is for non-payment of dues, for expenses related to deed restriction enforcement, or for some other action. In the end, the best sources of information are the official court papers and records.