A couple facing health challenges in Mesa, AZ, have lost their home to foreclosure after their homeowners association sued over an initial debt of less than $1,000.
Toby Newton purchased the four-bedroom home in East Mesa for $475,000 in 2022. But in 2024, Newton lost his job and was diagnosed with diabetes. He struggled to pay his bills, including his HOA assessments, which came out to around $170 a quarter. All told, Newton owed $977 in HOA fees and interest.
Newton says he knew he was falling behind and reached out to the HOA in 2024 to set up a payment plan, offering to pay $50 a month toward the principal. His offer was denied, so he countered first with an offer to pay $133.70 each month, and then with a $200-a-month payment plan.
But again, he says, the HOA rejected the offer.
By November 2024, the HOA, through its lawyer Augustus Shaw IV, had already initiated foreclosure proceedings.
In July 2025, the foreclosure was made official in the Superior Court of Arizona. Court filings reported that Newton owed $1,311 for the missed HOA assessments, $1,042.09 in plaintiff’s fees, and $3,345 in attorney’s fees.
The home was sold in a public auction in October 2025 to the Superstition Springs Community Master Association for $8,172. The sum of Newton’s debt at that point was $6,579.
Newton told The Mesa Tribune he was informed he could reclaim his home if he paid off his debt within six months.
But then his longtime partner, Sherri Patten, was diagnosed with breast cancer in both breasts. Patten went on long-term disability, further squeezing their finances.
“It was the type of cancer that is fast-moving,” Newton told The Tribune. The HOA payments once again went on the backburner and the six-month window closed before the couple could pay off their debt.
The HOA came back to Newton and informed him that though the initial offer had expired, it was willing to extend his redemption period to May 15, 2026—but the redemption fee was now $10,484.
Newton filed a request for an emergency stay on May 14. He’s now waiting for the judge to issue the order.
In the meantime, the couple launched a 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.”
Patten continues to undergo cancer treatment.
“I am doing well today, but the emotional and financial toll has been overwhelming,” she said.
In April 2025, Arizona passed SB 1494, which would have made Newton’s Superstition Springs foreclosure case null and void.
The bill “increases the threshold for foreclosure from one year of delinquency to eighteen months, and raises the minimum dollar amount that triggers foreclosure from $1,200 to $10,000.”
It also requires an HOA to provide written notice to the delinquent homeowner at least 30 days before turning the account over to collections.
Realtor.com® has reached out to Shaw, Patten, and Newton for comment.
