An Arizona man says a dispute with his homeowners association spiraled into a legal ordeal that ultimately cost him his $450,000 home after diabetes left him unemployed.
Toby Newton, 53, had fallen behind by less than $1,000 in HOA-related charges when his four-bedroom Mesa property was foreclosed on and sold back to the local homeowners association.
“I bought the house and then I got sick,” Newton told the Mesa Tribune. “I got diabetes and I was out of work.”
Newton bought the house in 2022, but later lost his job. After missing quarterly HOA assessments of roughly $170 each, he accumulated $977 in fees and interest.
Seeking to resolve the debt, Newton tried to arrange a payment plan with the Superstition Springs Community Master Association, the Tribune reported.
“I was calling them to take care of it and set up something with them with all my other bills I had going on,” he told the outlet.
On November 15, 2024, the Superstition Springs Community Master Association began foreclosure proceedings against Newton’s home through its attorney, Augustus Shaw IV.
More than a week after the case was filed, the law firm offered to settle and dismiss the lawsuit if Newton paid $3,980 by December 6, 2024, according to the Tribune.
Toby Newton, 53, was nearly $1,000 behind on HOA-related charges before his four-bedroom Mesa home was foreclosed on and sold back to the local homeowners association.
Newton purchased the home in 2022, then lost his job and accrued $977 in fees and interest after missing quarterly HOA assessments of about $170 each.
Aside from the $977 Newton already owed, the remaining sum was made up of attorney fees.
Newton initially offered to pay $50 per month to help pay off the total, as well as paying the regular assessments, and then $133.70, both of which the board denied in January 2025.
When his offers were rejected, he offered to pay $200 a month in February- which was also rejected by the HOA in April, emails obtained by the outlet showed.
‘The Association has proceeded with filing for judgement,’ the paralegal wrote in May 2025.
On June 30, 2025, a default judgement for foreclosure was entered and the court approved the HOA’s request for $3,345 in attorney fees and interest, $1,042 for its collection cost and $1,311 in assessments and late charges, court documents seen by the Tribune revealed.
Newton’s home was seized by the Maricopa County Sheriff and it was sold at a public auction on October 16, 2025 – at which point, the homeowner’s debt had ballooned to $6,579.
Superstition Springs Community Master Association won the home as the highest bidder, costing the association just $8,172, according to the Tribune.
Newton told the outlet that he had taken out a $449,328 loan for the home in 2022.
Newton’s home was seized by the Maricopa County Sheriff and it was sold at a public auction on October 16, 2025 – at which point, the homeowner’s debt had ballooned to $6,579
RELATED: Peter Hitchens Says Police Don’t Care Why Britain Smells of Weed
‘We’ve tried to settle multiple times with them and they refused to work with us,’ Newton’s girlfriend Sherrie Patten, who tried to shoulder their bills after he lost his job, told the outlet.
From there, Newton had six months to find the money and get his home back, but was unable to because of his mortgage and Patten’s ongoing cancer treatment costs, the Tribune reported.
Patten, 50, was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2025 and underwent a double mastectomy. She was forced to stop working and was eventually approved for long-term disability in January, granting her just under $2,000 a month.
Newton eventually reached out to the law firm and attempted to settle, but was informed that the six-month redemption period had expired.
He was told that he could buy his home back by May 15 for $10,484. an email seen by the outlet said.
On May 14, Newton filed an emergency motion in Superior Court to stay the enforcement proceedings, arguing that he only learned of the auction two days before it took place.
Newton said the late-notice left him unable to arrange counsel, collect the funds or attempt to save his home before it was sold, the outlet reported.
He argued he was also not served with the notice and not at home when the process server gave the documents to Patten’s son on November 25, 2024.
From there, Newton had six months to find the money and get his home back, but was unable to because of his mortgage and his girlfriend Sherrie Patten’s ongoing cancer treatment costs
According to Newton, Patten’s son was visiting, did not live at the home and was not authorized to accept service on his behalf, the outlet reported.
However, the association argued that the son ‘confirmed that he lived at the Defendant’s residence with the Defendant,’ court papers seen by the Tribune said.
‘I’m still waiting on the judge to do the emergency stay,’ Newton said. ‘So, it’s still sitting in the judicial system after [the HOA] took my deed for $8,000 in a sheriff’s sale.’
Newton told Fox News: ‘I just don’t understand how an HOA that’s supposed to be there for the community doesn’t work with the community at all.’
State Representative Neal Carter argued that HOA lawyers were leaving homeowners little room to be able to pay off their debts.
‘I think the lawyers are the problem,’ Carter told the Tribune.
‘The lawyers make money doing legal stuff…They’re either charging (the HOA) or they’re charging the debtor. But one way or another, they’re charging the homeowner.’
Newton and Patten are seeking help through a GoFundMe, which had garnered over $25,798 as of Thursday evening.
The Daily Mail reached out to the Superstition Springs Community Master Association for comment.