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City council president requests AG probe of Green Valley Ranch HOA, moratorium on foreclosures

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Posted at 3:24 PM, Mar 16, 2022
and last updated 2022-03-16 23:05:15-04

DENVER — The Denver city council president wants the state attorney general’s office to look into the Green Valley Ranch HOA over recent foreclosures.

Stacie Gilmore on Wednesday asked Attorney General Phil Weiser and Gov. Jared Polis to open an investigation into Master Homeowners Association of Green Valley Ranch, also known as GVR South HOA, after the organization began foreclosing on at least 50 homeowners for failing to pay fines and fees.

She is also asking for a moratorium on the foreclosure process until the investigation is complete. The governor's office released the following statement regarding Gilmore's request:

"This is deeply troubling and another sign of how certain homeowners’ associations can be deeply flawed and have far reaching, unchecked powers. We are monitoring this situation and evaluating what can be done at the state level, or in partnership with the attorney general and state legislature. We are also supportive of legislative efforts to reduce the power of HOAs to prevent cases like this," a spokesperson for Gov. Polis' office wrote.

Denver7 reported last week that dozens of homeowners were facing foreclosure for failing to pay HOA fines or fees. Denver's Department of Housing Stability says out of the 119 citywide HOA foreclosures in 2021, nearly half came from GVR South HOA.

Gilmore led a conversation with concerned Green Valley Ranch homeowners on Saturday to discuss the current situation.

"It's very concerning that we're seeing possibly 50 out here in our neighborhood. And in other parts of the city, it's less than five," Gilmore said on Saturday.

Gil Gonzalez Ramos was among the frustrated and angry crowd during Saturday’s meeting. His HOA fines amounted to about $5,000 but ballooned up to about $20,000 because of late fees and lawyers' fees.

"I never thought that me, for our family not paying those fines, will lead to the point where we're at now where we lost our home," he said.

Gilmore said Denver's Department of Housing Stability has been investigating the extent of this issue and providing homeowners connections to resources.

“However, this problem demands urgency and more assistance from the State to mitigate residents becoming homeless,” Gilmore said in a news release.