Can My HOA Foreclose on My House in Nevada? Liens, Super-Priority, and Your Defenses

How the HOA lien arises

Under NRS 116.3116, the lien attaches automatically when an assessment goes unpaid. The association does not need a court judgment. Recording the CC&Rs serves as notice of the lien, and the association records a notice of delinquent assessment to start the formal process.

What super-priority means

Nevada is one of a handful of states that gives part of an HOA lien priority over the first deed of trust. The super-priority portion generally covers up to nine months of common assessments that would have come due before the notice of sale, plus certain maintenance and nuisance-abatement charges. After the Nevada Supreme Court's 2014 decision in SFR Investments Pool 1 v. U.S. Bank, a properly conducted HOA foreclosure of the super-priority portion can wipe out the first mortgage. That is why lenders often pay the super-priority amount to protect their position.

The notice sequence before a sale

A Nevada HOA foreclosure generally moves through these steps under NRS 116.31162 through 116.31168:

• Pre-lien notice to the owner by certified mail, with a schedule of amounts owed
• Recorded notice of delinquent assessment (lien)
• Recorded notice of default and election to sell, mailed to the owner and lienholders
• A waiting period of at least 90 days after the notice of default is mailed
• Recorded and published notice of sale, posted on the property, at least 20 days before the sale
• Public auction by the association's agent or trustee

Fines generally cannot drive a foreclosure

Nevada law restricts an association from foreclosing over fines and penalties alone. Unless a fine relates to a health, safety, or welfare violation, the association typically cannot fold fines into the amount it forecloses on. Collection costs are also capped by regulation. Check the ledger line by line; inflated collection fees and improper fines are common.

Ways to stop or fight an HOA foreclosure

Options, roughly in order of speed:

• Pay the delinquent assessments, or the super-priority amount, before the sale
• Request an itemized ledger and dispute improper fines, fees, or interest in writing
• Ask for a payment plan; many associations accept one to avoid litigation
• Notify your mortgage lender, which may pay to protect its loan
• File suit for an injunction if the HOA skipped notices or miscalculated the debt
• Consider bankruptcy, which triggers an automatic stay, after legal advice

After a sale has already happened

Challenges after the sale are harder but not impossible. Owners and lenders have attacked HOA sales for defective notice, a grossly inadequate price combined with fraud or unfairness, and tender of the super-priority amount before the sale. These cases turn on documents, so gather every notice, payment record, and letter you received.