This is a misunderstanding of the way US property law works. The individual is the "owner" at all times. Others can have debts secured by the property, but th

This is a misunderstanding of the way US property law works. The individual is the "owner" at all times. Others can have debts secured by the property, but that does not make them the owner. When you pay off your loan, the bank's interest in the land is released. And yes, in the US, an HOA has an interest in the land not too dissimilar from the lending bank. And like a lending bank, most of them can "foreclose" by forcing the auction of the property to pay the debt, for very small sums.