Arizona Couple Faces Foreclosure Over $977 HOA Debt, Seeks Help Through GoFundMe
Arizona couple fighting foreclosure over $977 HOA debt. Seeking help via GoFundMe amid health struggles.
POLICY WIRE — East Mesa, Arizona — A couple in East Mesa, Arizona, is at risk of losing their home due to a $977 debt to their Home Owners’ Association (HOA), sparking a desperate fundraising effort on GoFundMe.
Toby Newton, who bought a four-bedroom house for $475,000 in 2022, fell behind on his HOA payments after losing his job and being diagnosed with diabetes. He eventually owed the association $977 in fees and interest, prompting multiple attempts to negotiate a payment plan.
The HOA denied Newton’s initial offer of $50 per month, then a revised proposal of $133.70, and finally $200 per month. By November 2024, the HOA’s lawyer, Augustus Shaw IV, initiated foreclosure proceedings, leading to the home’s sale in October 2025 for $8,172, despite an outstanding debt of $6,579.
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Newton was given a six-month window to pay off the debt, but his partner, Sherri Patten, was diagnosed with breast cancer, forcing her onto long-term disability. The couple struggled to meet the financial demands, and the deadline passed without resolution. The HOA later offered to return the home if they could come up with $10,484 by May 2026.
Despite filing for an emergency stay and attending an HOA meeting, Newton continues to face challenges. Patten is still undergoing treatment, and the couple is raising funds through GoFundMe to cover urgent costs and their fight to reclaim their home.
Arizona recently passed a law increasing the threshold for HOA foreclosures from one year of delinquency to eighteen months and raising the minimum debt trigger from $1,200 to $10,000, which would have prevented the current situation had it been in place earlier.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
