A homeowner who lost his $475,000 house in Mesa’s Superstition Springs for less than $1,000 in unpaid homeowners association dues through foreclosure could be getting it back.
Toby Newton, who has been trying to catch up on what he owes for the past two years, said during a meeting last week his HOA told him it will set up a payment plan to get his house back. Still, he called his HOA foreclosure experience a “nightmare” that has taken too much time and energy.
“It feels better. I am sick and tired of them taking advantage of me,” he said. “But I don’t know what the plan is yet.”
Newton and his girlfriend, Sherrie Patten, fell behind on their HOA fees in early 2024, when he lost his job and she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
He said the couple
owed about $977 by mid-2024 and asked the HOA for a payment plan to catch up.
“They denied my requests and then foreclosed on us for less than a $1,000 debt,” said Newton.
Attorney fees pushed the debt up to about $10,000.
The Superstition Springs HOA foreclosed on the property, and Newton's home was sold at a Maricopa County sheriff’s sale for about $8,200 on Oct. 16, 2025, according to public records.
It was previously legal in Arizona to foreclose on a home for as little as $1,200 in missed dues and fees. Legislation passed in 2025 raised that threshold to $10,000, but the change didn’t happen in time to help Newton.
After Newton’s fight to save his home gained national attention, his HOA board said it would stop eviction proceedings and give the couple a payment plan.
Augustus Shaw IV, an attorney for the Superstition Springs HOA, said the organization would hold a meeting on Sept. 29 to vote on finalizing a payment plan offer for Newton.
“The Newtons will stay in their home, and the goal is to reestablish full ownership for the Newtons,” he said.
Newton said he’s anxious to get the plan and find out the details.
A GoFundMe account has raised almost $39,500 for the couple.
“The Superstition Springs HOA got a lot of flak for what it did to Newton and tried to save face at their last meeting," said Dennis Legere, founder of the Arizona Homeowners Coalition, an advocacy and lobbying group for people living in HOAs.
“They are saying they will give him a payment plan, but they were required by law to offer a payment plan before engaging an attorney,” he said.
Overall foreclosure numbers are up in metro Phoenix, climbing to 148 in August from 71 in August 2025, according to The Information Market.
HOA foreclosures are tougher to track because they aren’t filed like regular foreclosures that can be found through real estate records. HOA foreclosures involve both court filings and real estate records.
Legere said he doesn’t think HOA foreclosures have been rising because homeowners have additional protection under new laws passed by the Legislature during the past few years, including requiring HOAs make efforts to communicate with homeowners behind on fees and offer a payment plan before foreclosing.
More bills regulating HOAs are expected to be introduced in Arizona during the 2027 legislative session.
“HOAs used to have all the authority and all the power, but recent court decisions and legislation like how they can foreclose are changing that," Patrick MacQueen, a real estate attorney at Medalist Legal, said.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mesa man who lost $475K home over $977 in HOA dues may get it back
