It was not an unusual experience – the act of falling in love with Sun City.

Tatiana Young knew immediately that the active adult community with its clean and quiet streets, dozens of clubs and seemingly endless recreation activities would be the ideal place for her mother to retire when her family moved to Arizona.

And the best part for Young was the next step – when at some point she and her husband could retire, in Sun City, in the cozy home she purchased on the corner of Peoria and 103rd avenues.

“The idea was I bought a place in a retirement community, so my mom could make friends, and have activities,” Young said. “But then came the day my mother needed more help.”

Young moved her mother to an assisted living facility about a decade ago, where she receives the daily help she needs, but that left Young still in love with the home, but not old enough to move into Sun City just yet. So, she chose to rent it out to what seemed to be a good family with military connections, and waited for her future retirement.

She invested thousands into her yard and interior and was proud to showcase the home to renters. And for years, it seemed to work, until May of 2023: “They had paid their rent, no problem, everything was paid, up to that point.”

But then, Young asked to see the property, and review any repairs needed.

“When I asked to see the house, everything changed,” Young explained. The renters stopped paying rent, and stopped paying the electric and water bills.

Young felt forced to begin the legal eviction process. The house began to fall into disrepair, from what she could see on the outside.

“They refused to allow me in the home, even with 48-hour advanced notification. I would hire professionals for standard maintenance like pest control and landscaping, to maintain the property in a nice, neat appearance,” Young explained.

In response, she received a letter from her tenants’ attorney asking her to “cease and desist” what they called “improper” and “unlawful” visits from the workers.

“They accused me of harassing the tenants and proceeded to videotape anytime a professional came to the property, and sent the video to the judge,” she said.

It’s a home that, as Young tried to update and bring into to compliance, caught a lot of attention, and also received violation notices from the Sun City Home Owners Association.

“I was told, the roof is so bad – but I explained that I was trying,” Young said. “I was calling multiple roofing companies, but when people would come over, get on top of the roof, the renters would take video and send it to the judge, complaining that I was harassing them by having people stomping on the roof.”

“There is a story behind each property,” explained Kristine Schmitz, compliance manager for SCHOA.

“It’s not uncommon, unfortunately, for a legal process to complicate compliance issues,” Schmitz said. Whether it is identifying the homeowner in cases of abandoned homes, or in Young’s case, a lengthy eviction procedure, legal processes that SCHOA must follow can extend the steps toward a solution, sometimes significantly.

“We truly understood the difficult situation Tatiana was in, as a homeowner who loves her property, but who was waiting on a lengthy legal process in order to do what she felt was the right thing,” Schmitz said. “This is why we always encourage homeowners to contact us – if you are having an issue maintaining compliance for any reason, we will do our best to help. But it is also important for neighbors to understand that we truly are always doing our best to respond to a variety of what, at times, can be complicated situations.”

Ultimately, Young recently won her case – something neighbors may have noticed, with the repairs to the roof, and noticeable improvements to the landscaping – all completed within a week after she was able to take back possession of her home.

“I spent a lot of my savings to fix what they did inside and outside of the house,” Young said.

“The last two years have been a nightmare,” Young said. “We are still not sure of our plans moving forward with the home. Maybe we can set aside the bad memories and enjoy it.”

Schmitz thanked Young for doing her best to maintain the home and communicating with SCHOA.

“In the end, the home is looking beautiful, and we appreciate the work that she has put into it,” Schmitz said. “It would help our community to understand that when a compliance violation is submitted, that depending on the individual situation, it can take time, and we are doing everything we can to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”

While maintaining compliance to the CC&Rs (deed restrictions) is required in Sun City, membership to SCHOA is voluntary, at $25 a year per household.

“Your membership and financial support matters as we work with property owners in situations like this,” Schmitz said. “It’s truly the best $25 you’ll spend investing in your community.”

Learn more about SCHOA and membership at SunCityHOA.org/Membership.