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A GoFundMe has been created to help an elderly California widow who is at risk of losing her home over $38,000 in homeowners association fees that her HOA said she owes.
Marie Riggins, 82, said "there's no way" she would owe $38,000 in HOA fees for the home in Inglewood's Carlton Square community she bought with her late husband in 1986, KTLA reported. The GoFundMe for her, created on May 14, has raised more than $57,532 from donations as of 10:45 a.m. ET Tuesday.
Riggins "fell on some financial hardships due to the passing of her husband. These financial issues came to a head, when the Carlton Square HOA ultimately foreclosed on her property in 2020," according to the online campaign, which was authorized by Riggins and organized by Nissan Thomas, Esq., a law office in Los Angeles.
"This campaign is designed to assist Ms. Riggins with whatever circumstance that may occur. Ms. Riggins is on a fixed income, so she needs resources to purchase her home, or in the alternative find another place to live," the GoFundMe's description read that has a goal of $250,000. "If she has to relocate, she will need to hire movers, secure storage facilities for her personal belongings, and to secure alternative housing."
The Los Angeles County Sheriff placed a lockout notice on Riggins' door and she will be locked out of her home in less than 30 days, according to the fundraiser's description.
It added that Riggins retained the law office's services "to negotiate additional time to stay the lockout."
"Ultimately the HOA is to blame for not working with Ms. Riggins to keep her in her home," attorney Nissan Thomas told Newsweek. "It appears there may be a larger story here, as other residents in the Carlton Square community have faced similar circumstances."
Thomas said she did not have prior proper legal representation and her property has already been sold via foreclosure and is now owned by Breckenridge Property Fund 2016 LLC after they purchased it for about $38,000 at an auction in January 2020.
"Pursuant to California law, Ms. Riggins had 90 days to redeem the property for the amount it sold to the new owner. She was unable to do so within that 90-day window. Breckenridge could not evict due to the moratorium, but initiated eviction proceedings either late 2020 or at the beginning of this year," Thomas said.
"A judgment for possession was entered against her, as at that time she was not represented. I only came aboard after the fact to figure out a way to delay the eviction."
Thomas said he was able to negotiate with the new owner to allow her to stay an additional 30 days and she had to pay an additional $3,000 to delay the eviction.
The additional 30 days will expire around June 7 and law enforcement will return to remove her from the property.
"She also had no representation during the eviction process, and due to the pandemic, she appeared remotely over the phone and had no clue as to what was going on in that proceeding," Thomas added. "Now we are just concentrating on finding a way to keep her in her home. That's her desire, she wants to remain there until she passes."
As of 10:45 a.m. ET Tuesday, more than 1,300 people had donated. The top two donations were for $4,000 and $2,000. Multiple donors have given $100.
"All I could think of was my granny being put in this type of predicament, which I could not bare. I would like to think that people would help like I am. Everything is going to be ok Ms. Riggins!!!!," wrote Ciara Roberts, who contributed $50.
Over the last 10 years, Riggins lost her husband to pancreatic cancer and later had to file for bankruptcy, according to KTLA. In 2017, she began to fall behind on dues for Carlton Square's HOA for her home that is now worth almost $1 million.
"My blood, sweat and tears are in this house. This is my home, this is where I'm going to stay," Riggins, who works as a bookkeeper, told KTLA. "There's no way in the world that I would owe $38,000. That meant I never paid my property dues.
"I'm not going to stand around here and let them take the home that I worked hard for. I have spent too much money to just say, 'OK here take it.'...And there's no way in the world I can get out of here in a month. Where am I supposed to go?"
The GoFundMe for Riggins is asking for the campaign to be shared with others.
"She has no family and is on a fixed income," Thomas said. "She needs all the resources she can obtain to assist with this situation."
Updated 05/25/2021, 10:45 a.m. ET: This story has been updated to add comment from Riggins' attorney and to reflect the new amount raised.
