OPINION: Homeowner’s Ordeal Raises Alarms About HOA Transparency And Need For Reform

PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL — When Ryan Rothamel bought her home in Gulf Highlands, she understood that living in a homeowners association (HOA) meant shared rules, shared costs, and shared responsibility. What she did not expect, she says, was that asking to see basic financial records would ultimately cost her home - and expose what she believes are deep structural flaws in how HOAs operate with little oversight or accountability.
Rothamel’s experience, spanning more than five years, is joining other calls for HOA reform in Florida, where millions of residents live under association governance that can levy fines, place liens, and foreclose on homes - often with limited transparency requirements and minimal external enforcement.

Questions Begin with the Books
The first red flags appeared in September 2019. Rothamel attended a Gulf Highlands board meeting after noticing irregularities in the association’s financial reporting. She was not alone. Several homeowners were questioning how association funds were being spent, particularly on maintenance and capital projects.

The response from the board, according to Rothamel, was a set of Excel spreadsheets.

“They had numbers,” she said. “But there were no invoices, no vendor contracts, no backup documentation — nothing that would allow a homeowner to verify whether the expenses were legitimate.”

Repeated requests for supporting records were met with the same answer. Homeowners were referred to the finance committee, but those meetings, Rothamel says, produced identical results: spreadsheets without documentation. Even when new board members ran on promises of transparency and were elected, the pattern did not change.

For Rothamel, the issue was not theoretical. She has worked in project auditing for a large company, where documentation is fundamental. “Spreadsheets without source material are a serious warning sign in any financial system,” she said. “It told me something was wrong.”

Escalation After Enforcement Dispute
For years, Rothamel continued to press for records. Then, in December 2024, the situation escalated.

Gulf Highlands brought in new management, including a community association manager and an operations manager. Shortly afterward, Rothamel’s boyfriend was approached about a work vehicle that had been parked in the same location for more than a year without prior issue. Management warned it violated association rules and could be towed.

Rothamel responded by citing Florida House Bill 1203, which protects certain work vehicles in residential communities. She says management told her the association attorney would review the matter.

No written response ever came. But two months later, Rothamel says she was told verbally that the attorney agreed the vehicle was allowed.

“Not long after that,” Rothamel said, “I was served foreclosure papers.”

A Foreclosure With Serious Questions
The foreclosure filing, Rothamel says, raised immediate concerns. The case was classified as a non-homestead residential foreclosure, even though the property was her primary residence and continuously occupied.

Under Florida law, homestead status attaches through use and occupancy, not paperwork, and carries significant constitutional protections against a forced sale. Rothamel argues that by misclassifying the property, the foreclosure proceeded under standards that should not have applied.

Despite those concerns, the case moved forward. A writ of possession was issued, and Rothamel was ultimately removed from her home.

She also contends the foreclosure failed to follow required procedures for a federally backed mortgage, which generally require the United States to be joined as a party. According to Rothamel, that did not occur.

“These aren’t technicalities,” she said. “They’re constitutional and federal safeguards.”

Financial Transparency at the Core
While the foreclosure is the most visible outcome, Rothamel insists the core issue is financial transparency.

Homeowners, she says, are required to pay assessments, legal fees, and cost increases without access to the records that justify them. In Gulf Highlands, she alleges, invoices, vendor summaries, and contracts remain unavailable for review.

“That creates a system where homeowners are financially obligated to an accounting structure they are not allowed to see,” Rothamel said. “And the penalty for questioning it can be foreclosure.”

Rothamel acknowledges she stopped paying assessments - not, she says, because of affordability, but because she could not ethically continue paying into a system she could not verify. Under Florida law, nonpayment can quickly trigger liens, attorney fees, and foreclosure actions.

Attempts to Raise Broader Concerns
In October 2025, Rothamel and her boyfriend brought documentation to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office outlining what they described as unusual property transfer patterns involving shell entities, trusts, and unclear chains of title. They asked only that the records be reviewed to determine whether further inquiry was warranted.

According to Rothamel, the investigator declined to accept the documents and did not open a case. Later, when deputies executed the writ of possession, she again provided the packet and received a case number but says she has not received follow-up.

She also notified city leadership of potential concerns related to deed recordings. Officials acknowledged receipt but did not comment further.

Law enforcement and city officials have not publicly addressed the allegations.

A Broader Problem in HOA Governance
Housing advocates say Rothamel’s story highlights systemic weaknesses in HOA oversight. In Florida, HOAs wield significant power but face limited enforcement when it comes to transparency requirements. While state law grants homeowners the right to inspect records, remedies for noncompliance are often slow, costly, and impractical for individual residents.

More than nine million Floridians live in HOA-governed communities. Foreclosures initiated by associations - sometimes over relatively small sums - have drawn increasing scrutiny from lawmakers and the public.

Speaking Out for Reform
Rothamel says she is not seeking revenge. She is seeking accountability - and change.

“This isn’t just about my eviction,” she said. “It’s about what happens when homeowners ask to see the records that determine their financial obligations and are met with silence, escalation, and legal force.”

She believes stronger enforcement mechanisms, independent audits, and clearer protections for homeowners who request records are essential to preventing similar situations.

“If this can happen to me,” Rothamel said, “it can happen to anyone.”   

The 1st District Court of Appeal issued a mandate with an opinion to follow on January 7, 2026, in her appeal (DCA Case No. 1D2025-2517) “YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED that further proceedings, if required, be had in accordance with the opinion of this Court, and with the rules of procedure, and laws of the State of Florida. WITNESS the Honorable Chief Judge Timothy D. Osterhaus, Chief Judge, of the District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District, and the seal of said Court at Tallahassee, Florida, on this day.”

More than 1,800 complaints from condo owners and another 91 from homeowners association residents were filed with Florida’s regulatory agencies between July 2022 and June 2023 - a measure of the volume of disputes and potential court-related actions involving associations in the state, according to an article in The Real Deal. Real Estate News.

As Florida lawmakers continue to debate HOA reform, cases like Rothamel’s are adding urgency to the discussion - and raising a fundamental question for communities across the state: who watches the watchers when homeowners associations hold the power over people’s homes?

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