Article Courtesy of Channel
6 South Florida
By Julie Leonardi
Published March 2, 2022
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Thousands of residents who live in the southwest Miami-Dade community of The
Hammocks say they were blindsided by a massive hike in HOA fees and will now
have to pay hundreds more a month.
“I got really upset, I
got mad. We paid $88 dollars a month and now this month we
have to pay $355,” said resident Eliana Sanchez.
Earlier in February, neighbors gathered to sign a petition
to oppose the increase. This was after residents say they
weren’t allowed to vote in board elections. On Thursday,
dozens of Hammocks residents gathered to find a solution.
“It’s absurd, we’ve got to fight. I want to do something
about it,” said Alfred Santamaria.
Santamaria said he’s leading a group to fight this on behalf
of the community. He’s partnering with an attorney to
eventually file an emergency injunction. He is hopeful a
judge will halt the increase until an investigation is
complete.
“These people can’t wait, some of them are single mothers or
elderly people. Think about this, 400% in my research,
there’s not another association in the state of Florida that
had such a big increase in dues, it’s absurd,” he said. |
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Homeowners in The Hammocks continue to fight a 300%
increase in HOA fees. NBC 6’s Julie Leonardi reports.
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The attorney representing the board spoke to NBC 6 earlier this month about
the increase.
“They didn’t raise the association fees for seven years, so they’re
basically catching up to where they should have already been,” said Hilton
Napoleon.
Other groups were being formed to find alternate solutions to push back
while some are raising money from residents so they can battle this in
court.
The increase is set to take place on March 1.
Napoleon says the fees take care of maintaining the association and the
recreational facilities.
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