SAUGUS FAMILY FIGHTS EVICTION FROM HOME.

Byline: Kathleen Sweeney Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A family of five is fighting for their Saugus home today in Newhall Superior Court after a lien company sold it to the highest bidder because they refused to pay their homeowners association dues.

David and Theresa Bischoff are trying to stop the eviction from the home in which they and their three children have lived since 1995, claiming proper foreclosure sale procedures weren't conducted.

``How can this happen?'' Theresa Bischoff questioned. ``You have your mouth drop and say, What?''

Foreclosure procedures began in May after the Bouquet Canyon Hills Homeowners Association claimed the Bischoffs owned $2,848.40 in past due fees and foreclosure collections costs.

Cindy Sewell, vice president of Bartlein and Company Inc., which manages the homeowners association, said the association was following its bylaws when it started the foreclosure process because it hadn't received dues for 10 months.

``It's very unfortunate when this happens,'' Sewell said. ``We have to follow the letter of the law in these things.''

The Bischoffs paint a bleak picture of why the dues weren't paid, involving years of treatment they perceive as harassment.

David Bischoff claims they didn't pay their dues because they were fined $50 for a bylaw violation he said they didn't commit. They told the company once the fine was removed, they would begin paying the dues again.

This was after years of problems brewing with the company, dating from 1997.

In several letters claiming bylaw violations, the association claimed the family left a trash can outside the house that could be seen by passersby and that boxes were stored along the side of the house.

The Bischoffs received three notices to fix a hole in the side of their house where they were trying to fix a leaking pipe. The association threatened to fine them $800 because it wasn't immediately fixed.

Letters continued complaining of an oil-stained driveway, an unwatered lawn, weeds near a tree, a cement mixer parked outside the home and that their garage door and trim needed painting.

The association charged them $50 for the ``weeds,'' which David Bischoff explained were wildflowers he had planted. He eventually mowed them down but had no intention of paying the $50 fine or the association dues until the fine was removed.

About 10 months later, the family received a lien notice, saying nearly $2,000 was owed.

The Bischoffs disputed the cost because they thought they only owed $566 in dues and weren't going to pay additional costs until they understood how it accrued.

That clarification never came, and the association began the foreclosure procedures, which increased the bill to $2,848.40.

David Stone, owner of the California Association Lien Collections that conducted the foreclosure sale, said it gave the owners several months to pay the outstanding debt before a notice of sale was posted.

``We try very hard not to foreclose on the property,'' he said. ``The association doesn't want to foreclose.''

The lien company then published the sale in a newspaper, filed it with the county and posted a notice on the front door of the home, Stone said. After a month of notices, an auction was held.

Dan Weider bought the home - worth an estimated $235,000 - for $21,100. He is taking the Bischoffs to court today to have the family immediately evicted from the property he purchased in November, and he asks for about $5,800 in rent for the time they've lived in the home since he acquired the property.

The Bischoffs are stunned.

Sewell said the Bischoffs should have read the association handbook given to them when they purchased the house. The bylaws outline what is expected of them and the consequences of delinquent due payments.

David Bischoff said no one from the association or from their real estate broker's office explained the rules and regulations.

``It's like we've never owned the house,'' he said. ``We felt like a renter.''

The Bischoffs have remained positive but have ridden an emotional roller coaster. Now, they only hope and pray a judge will rule in their favor today, allowing them to stay in their home. Otherwise, they may have five days to find a new home and don't have much of an idea of where they will live.

``To think that this comes from a $50 fine is sickening,'' he said.

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Photo:

(color) A Saugus homeowners association foreclosed on this family home worth some $235,000 and sold it at auction for $21,100.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News