The Silent Scam: How HOAs Are Ruining Lives in Miami-Dade and No One Is Doing Anything

The Silent Scam: How HOAs Are Ruining Lives in Miami-Dade and No One Is Doing Anything. HOA (Homeowners Associations)

In Miami-Dade County, hundreds of homeowners are facing an administrative and financial nightmare due to the mismanagement of their Homeowners Associations (HOAs). Through a series of testimonies, Christine, a resident of a 320-unit community, has exposed alarming irregularities: from ignored recertifications and abusive fines to unauthorized million-dollar loans and possible election manipulation.

While you work, pay your mortgage, and trust that your community is in order, there is an invisible enemy growing within Miami-Dade’s own neighborhoods: homeowners associations. What should be a structure to maintain order has become an opaque machine that extorts, threatens, and silences thousands of residents—especially the most vulnerable: the elderly, working families, and small businesses.

The Case That Exposed It All: Christine and the 320 Families of Westview

Christine is not a politician. She is not a lawyer. She is an ordinary citizen, the daughter of elderly parents living in a condominium where the HOA demands 400 monthly payments…with out cutting the grass,with out repairing structures, and with out explaining a 1.8 million loan taken out in the name of the entire community.

When she tried to investigate, they silenced her.

“We collected 184 votes to change the board… and they said 59 were invalid. They’re stealing our right to decide.”

Negligence, Fines, and Structural Danger

The problems began when residents discovered that their building had not met the county’s required structural recertification deadlines.

“We found out too late. The recertification had been pending for months, and no one warned us,” Christine recounts.

Worse yet, when they finally sent an inspector, he didn’t have a license, leaving the community in legal and safety limbo. On top of this, the county imposed exorbitant fines, threatening foreclosures if they aren’t paid on time.

Pay Up or Lose Your Home

Entire families are being threatened with foreclosures for not paying $6,000 assessments—without transparent contracts, without a vote, without explanation.

“If you don’t pay, they take your house. It’s that simple,” says Christine in the testimonial series produced by Mercy’s Corner.

$400 a Month in Maintenance… With No Maintenance

Residents pay $400 a month in fees, but basic services are nowhere to be found: the grass isn’t cut, repairs aren’t made, and to top it off, an engineer abandoned the recertification project because the HOA didn’t pay him.

“Where is our money?” the neighbors ask.

Shadowy Loans and Abusive Assessments

One of the most serious discoveries is a 1.8 million loan that the HOA board allegedly took out with out homeowners’ consent. Now they’re demanding 6,000 per unit, and those who can’t pay face foreclosure threats.

“We don’t know where they got the loan from. No one approved it,” Christine denounces.

Additionally, it was discovered that the HOA has no hurricane insurance, something especially critical in Florida, where storm season is a constant threat.

No Insurance, No Licenses, No Legal Backing

In the heart of Florida, many HOAs only offer fire insurance, ignoring hurricanes or wind damage. In some cases, they’ve sent unlicensed inspectors to evaluate structures and pressure residents into accepting unjustifiable costs.

“We’re paying nearly a million just to paint… and they haven’t even fixed the electrical issues!”

A Strategy to Displace Residents?

Christine raises a disturbing possibility:

“This seems like a strategy to make us leave so they can take everything.”

With assessments increasing (now demanding an additional $35,000), many residents—especially seniors living on Social Security—risk losing their homes.

“My parents are 80 years old. They can’t live like this,” Christine says.

A Strategy to Push Out the Poor?

Several residents suspect this is part of a pattern: financially squeezing the weakest so they leave, then reselling the properties to investment firms.

“Many seniors on fixed incomes are about to lose their homes. And the board doesn’t even care.”

Election Manipulation and Authorities’ Silence

Residents tried to change the board by collecting 184 votes, but the HOA invalidated 59 under questionable pretexts, preventing their removal.

Christine reached out to Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who in the past had helped other communities with similar issues, but this time the response was: “We don’t get involved in HOA matters.”

She also took documents to Commissioner María Lombard and the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes (DVPR), but after a year, nothing has changed.

“We have signatures, we have proof… but everything is still in limbo,” she laments.

Absent and Complicit Politicians

Christine contacted Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. She responded that her office “does not get involved in HOA matters.” She took evidence to commissioners like María Lombard and the DVPR. They acknowledged receipt… and then she never heard from them again.

“When they want your vote, they bring you goodie bags. When you need help, they disappear.”

Institutional Silence, Censorship in Meetings

Residents try to speak at community meetings, but if their topic isn’t “on the agenda,” their microphones are cut off. Others have received memos prohibiting them from speaking to contractors or recording evidence of shoddy work.

“They’re silencing us, they’re robbing us, and they’re doing it with total impunity.” Reporting here doesn’t solve much but it has to be done.

Reporting this doesn’t solve much, but it must be done.

This Is Not an Isolated Case. It’s a Rotten System.

What Christine is experiencing is being suffered by hundreds—if not thousands—of people across the county. From Hialeah to Kendall, through Sweetwater, Opa-locka, and North Miami, HOAs have become mini authoritarian governments with no real regulation.

In the Face of Authorities’ Inaction

With authorities turning a blind eye, residents have only one option: unite and demand transparency.

“If we don’t organize, this will keep happening,” Christine warns.

Meanwhile, the questions remain unanswered:

• Where is the money from the fees going?
• Why is there no hurricane insurance?
• Who authorized the $1.8 million loan?
• Why isn’t the county taking action?

The HOA crisis in Miami-Dade is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a system that allows abuse against homeowners. And until authorities intervene, hundreds of families will remain on the brink of collapse.

How long will this go on?

What Now?

News Miami Dade is launching an investigation and citizen reporting campaign:

• We will publish testimonies.
• We will expose videos from affected residents.
• We will take petitions to county commissioners.
• We will go wherever needed to ensure the truth is heard.

Conclusion:

What can you do?
✅ Share this article.
✅ Record your meetings and documents.
✅ Report abuses with evidence.
✅ Support neighbors being harassed.
✅ Demand that your representatives stop hiding.

“If we don’t unite, this will continue. And you could be next.” — Christine, Miami-Dade resident

#HOAinCrisis #TransparencyNOW #NewsMiamiDadeInvestigates #NeighborhoodJustice