No. When a Florida homeowners or condominium association forecloses its own lien, a first mortgage recorded before that lien is not wiped out. The winning bidder takes the property subject to the mortgage and is also liable for unpaid assessments. That is why association sales show judgments of a few thousand dollars on houses worth hundreds of thousands.
Reviewed September 19, 2026 by NEWLEVEL Investment RE, a Florida real estate brokerage.
Why the judgment looks like a bargain
An association forecloses for unpaid dues, late fees and attorney's fees. Those judgments are small: often five to twenty thousand dollars. Bidding starts at that figure, so the listing shows a house worth $400,000 starting near $12,000.
The foreclosure only removes interests junior to the lien being foreclosed. A first mortgage recorded before the association's claim is senior, so it stays exactly where it was.
The arithmetic
Take a house worth $410,000 with a $287,000 first mortgage, sold on an association judgment of $14,200. Win it at $15,000 and you own a house with $287,000 still owed against it, to a lender that can foreclose on you next. Your real cost is $302,000, plus the clerk's fees, plus repairs, for a house you have never been inside.
Sometimes that still works. Usually it does not, and the people bidding on it have not read the docket.
What we watch: If nobody else is bidding on a cheap lot, assume they know something you have not found yet.
You also inherit the unpaid assessments
Florida makes a new owner jointly and severally liable with the previous owner for unpaid assessments that came due before the transfer of title. That applies to homeowners associations and to condominiums.
The statutes cap that liability for a first mortgagee that takes title through its own foreclosure. That cap is written for the lender, not for a third-party bidder, so do not rely on it. Ask the association for an estoppel figure before you bid.
When an association sale can make sense
A small number of association sales involve a property with no mortgage, or a mortgage small enough that the total still leaves room. Some buyers also acquire title this way intending to negotiate with the lender. Both are advanced strategies that depend entirely on title work done before the sale.
Common questions
- Does an HOA foreclosure wipe out the first mortgage in Florida?
- No. An association's foreclosure removes only interests junior to its own lien. A first mortgage recorded earlier survives, and the buyer takes the property subject to it.
- Am I liable for the previous owner's unpaid HOA dues?
- Generally yes. Florida Statutes 720.3085 and 718.116 make a new owner jointly and severally liable with the prior owner for unpaid assessments due up to the transfer of title.
- How do I know if the plaintiff is an association?
- The caption of the final judgment names the plaintiff. If it is a homeowners, property owners or condominium association, the sale is an association foreclosure.
What this guide relies on
- Fla. Stat. §720.3085 (homeowners association assessments and liens)
- Fla. Stat. §718.116 (condominium assessments)
- Fla. Stat. §45.031
Education, not legal, tax or investment advice. Statutes and clerk procedures change, and lien priority turns on the records in a specific case. Have a Florida attorney or title company review a property before you commit money to it.