A couple in Arizona is fighting to save their home after a Home Owners' Association (HOA) initiated foreclosure proceedings over a debt of $977 they owed to the association. The couple, Toby Newton and Sherri Patten, are now using a GoFundMe campaign to raise money in hopes of repurchasing their home. HOAs are common in residential communities, managing shared spaces and enforcing rules, often collecting regular fees from homeowners. Newton purchased a four-bedroom home in East Mesa, Arizona, for $475,000 in 2022. However, he lost his job two years later and was diagnosed with diabetes, making it difficult to manage his bills. Among these were HOA assessments, which required him to pay about $170 every quarter. Over time, he fell behind on payments, accumulating a debt of $977 in fees and interest. In 2024, Newton reached out to the HOA to set up a payment plan, offering to pay $50, then $133.70, and finally $200 per month. All three proposals were rejected by the HOA. By November 2024, the HOA had hired a lawyer, Augustus Shaw IV, to begin foreclosure proceedings on Newton's home. The process was officially recorded in 2025, with filings showing Newton owed $1,311 for missed HOA assessments, $1,042.09 in plaintiff's fees, and $3,345 in attorney's fees. In October 2025, the home was sold at public auction to the Superstition Springs Community Master Association for $8,172. At that time, Newton's debt was $6,579. The HOA later offered to return the home if he could pay off the debt within six months. However, Patten was diagnosed with breast cancer in both breasts and was placed on long-term disability, making it nearly impossible for the couple to repay the debt. The six-month window passed without them being able to raise the money, and the HOA reportedly informed Newton that the original deadline had expired but offered to return the home if he could pay $10,484 by May 2026. Newton recently filed for an emergency stay and attended an HOA board meeting to question why the association would not accept his payment offers. Patten is still undergoing cancer treatment, and the couple continues to seek support through their GoFundMe campaign. "We are holding on to hope that we may still have a chance to buy our home back," Patten wrote. "We are asking for support to help us with the urgent costs of this fight and with our immediate needs during this incredibly difficult time." In response to the couple's situation, Arizona has recently passed a law that raises the threshold for HOA foreclosure from one year of delinquency to eighteen months and increases the minimum debt amount that triggers foreclosure from $1,200 to $10,000. If this law had been in effect a year earlier, the HOA would not have been able to proceed with the foreclosure on Newton's home. The Independent has requested a response from Augustus Shaw IV.