Housing & Real Estate

Question:

Being sued by my HOA. I allowed my son and his wife to live in my home when they fell on hard times from COVID-19. They are under 55 years of age and no one under 55 is allowed to live there under my HOA rules. I didn't know about this rule at the time. The HOA tried to fine my wife and I for letting them live there. I have since moved into the house to avoid this issue, but the HOA has taken us to court and still wants to fine us and collect attorney fees. We cannot afford an attorney as I’m a disabled vet living on SS.I contracted COPD from working at the World Trade Center site. Went to court and the Judge gave us till the 20th of October to answer questions and submit questions to the HOA. I need help on what questions to ask and how and to who I need to submit the questions to. Plus what forms to use and where to get them.

Jim's Reply:

You and many others continue to confirm my belief that I've been wise to avoid purchasing a home in any HOA community. I get an awful lot of email from veterans who run afoul of their HOA rules and regs and those HOA boards can be brutal.
 

You say you didn't know the HOA rules wouldn't permit your underage son and family to live in your home. That's a real problem. I think you'll have a hard time convincing a court you didn't know.
 

Every HOA community has very strict rules about who is eligible and under what circumstances any person may use your property. I believe that to be the most common rule of any HOA community and I'll have to assume you signed a binding contract agreeing to that.
 

Thus, I have no good news for you.
 

While I empathize with the fix you're in and I deeply appreciate that you've served your country honorably, you need some professional legal help and you'll probably have to pay out of pocket for it.
 

There aren't any instant breaks or discounts for veterans when you're dealing with civilian problems and your HOA is a civilian problem. If you're a homeowner and your household income is over the federal poverty limit, you'll likely have a challenge ahead of you to find any discounted legal help. Because of the COVID pandemic many agencies that may ordinarily be available to help you aren't.
 

You need a lawyer to represent you...there's just no getting around that. If you are eligible because of your low income and assets, you can seek help in your community via legal aid programs, law schools that may be nearby and by searching the Stateside Legal site for help in your region. 
 

If I were you I'd be on the phone right now with local attorneys to choose one who may be willing to help you and also to make fee arrangements. Good luck sir.

Question:

Can HUD use my agent orange disability check as income?

Jim's Reply:

Yes, of course. It's real money after all. Almost all agencies that have any sort of means tested benefit scheme will use VA and other disability payments as income. When you complete applications and you don't include your VA disability benefits, you're in danger of committing fraud and that can be a tough one.
 

The only entity that I'm aware of that offers special privileges for VA disability income is the IRS...they let you keep it. 

Question:

Hello, I'm a Navy veteran who lives in New Jersey with a 70% service connected disability. According to my VA letter that states my benefit information it says that I 1) have a disability evaluation of 70%, 2) I am being paid at the 100% rate because of being unemployable due to me service connected disability and 3) that I am also considered to be totally and permanently disabled due to me service connected disability. I also have no further evaluations in the future. I was told that I should qualify for a 100% property tax exemption.

When I filed my paper work and sent it to the tax assessor it was denied. The tax assessors returned a form stating it was denied because my application failed to satisfy the requirements because of, "Certification of 100% P&T from the US VA and because my VA letter benefit stated I was 70% according to my combined service connected evaluation. According to my ratings decision letter from the VA I am pretty much entitled to the same benefits as someone having a 100% evaluation. Including be eligibility to Chapter 35 from my children. So my question is... am I not entitled to a property tax exemption in NJ or am I entitled and there an error on the tax assessors past in denying my application? Thank you!

Jim's Reply:

This is a very common occurrence. The trick to getting past this is to print your own letter in eBenefits. If you don't have an eBenefits account you'll need to take the time to establish one and then give it time to update your data.
 

Once you've done that you can explore and find the section that allows you to print your own benefits letter. When you do you simply leave out the 70% part and keep the 100%...easily done since the letter was designed for this. Once you get into your account you'll get the idea of how to do this. 
 

VA Letters: Download and modify VA letters, including Civil Service Preferences, Commissary and Exchange Privileges, Service Benefit Verification, and Proof of Service Card.
 

It works, I've used this myself and each state has accepted the letter, no problems. Good luck!

Question:

I have a disabled male veteran who is getting harassed by a couple companies that are giving him a lowball offer to flip his home. The companies are also harassing elderly and disabled homeowners. He wants to file a complaint of harassment. How can I help/direct him?

Jim's Reply:

His state is the place to turn. He can speak with the state agency that is tasked with consumer protection. Click https://www.usa.gov/state-consumer