Records show a man accused of setting fire to an apartment in Longwood to get revenge on an HOA owed $29,000 in a dues dispute.

SEMINOL COUNTY, Florida. – A Seminole County resident accused of setting fire to his apartment as “revenge” on a homeowners association owes the HOA nearly $29,000 in unpaid dues and other expenses, court records show.

Mark Lane Hermann, 53, was arrested Monday on four counts of arson after the state fire chief concluded he deliberately set fire to his apartment on Jan. 14.

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Just four days before the fire, a Seminole County Circuit Court judge denied Herman’s request to strike out a foreclosure suit on an apartment Herman had owned for 25 years.

Herman’s apartment was recently sold at auction, but ownership had not yet been transferred to the winning bidder at the time of the fire, county records show.

In 2017, the Crown Oaks #2 homeowners association filed a lawsuit against Herman’s property, alleging that

Hermann owed the HOA for three months of unpaid dues totaling $1,432.

A year later, the HOA filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Herman’s apartment after his debt reportedly soared to $4,780.

Under Florida law and the State Constitution, an HOA can seize property and force a home to be sold to collect unpaid premiums.

A process server hired by the HOA tried to service the lawsuit against Herman 11 times in January and February 2019, but could not find him at the apartment, court records show.

By that time, the HOA stated that Herman owed $15,546 in unpaid dues, late payments, and attorneys’ fees.

“[Hermann] it is considered to be avoiding service, ”the process server wrote in a sworn letter.

A lawyer representing Herman later said in court documents that his law firm had been in contact with HOA lawyers since 2017. Hermann’s lawyer said he had previously instructed the HOA to direct all correspondence regarding the dispute to his law firm, rather than directly to Herman.

In March 2022, after Herman hired a new lawyer, the parties met with a mediator and reached a settlement, court records show.

Under this agreement, Hermann agreed to a court decision of consent against him in the amount of $28,831.

The agreement stated that Herman’s apartment would be sold if he did not pay off the debt within 90 days.

Two months after the settlement was signed, Hermann asked a judge to annul the agreement, saying “recently unearthed evidence” points to a “false notion” on the part of the HOA about how much money he owes.

Herman’s lawyer cited the updated bail document that the HOA filed with the court clerk, stating

Hermann owes dues for future months that have not yet arrived.

Hermann later submitted an affidavit insisting that he paid his HOA fees in full.

“My HOA fees have been paid monthly since 2014 by automatic withdrawal of ACH bank drafts for many years and I owe the plaintiff nothing,” Hermann wrote. “The plaintiff’s accounting made several errors and they did not credit my payments, which I made by direct transfer to their bank account.”

Hermann attached copies of bank statements, which he claimed were proof that he had paid his monthly HOA dues.

Around the same time Hermann argued that he owed nothing to the HOA, Herman’s lawyer filed documents with the court saying that his client was preparing to pay off the debt.

“[Hermann] repeatedly made unlawful attempts to prevent the sale of this property, ”the HOA lawyer wrote in response. “To date, the defendant has not paid the amount of the judgment by any of the payment methods. Thus, the sale should take place as seen.”

The judge denied Herman’s motion to stop the sale of his apartment.

On July 26, court records show that Herman’s apartment was sold at auction to a real estate investor for $82,000.

Less than two weeks later, Hermann filed paperwork in which he objected to the auction and asked the judge to cancel the sale of his apartment.

“Prior to the sale of the property, the Defendant attempted to contact the Plaintiff to exercise his legal right to a foreclosure, but was returned a payment of approximately $7,000 without any explanation,” Herman’s attorney wrote.

“There was no mistake, accident, surprise, fraud, misconduct or wrongdoing associated with this foreclosure sale,” the HOA lawyer replied. “Plaintiff never received any funds from Defendant to pay the amount of the judgment.”

As the parties awaited court hearings, the real estate investment company that purchased the property at auction said it was prepared to withdraw from the sale.

“The third party buyer has no objection to the cancellation of the sale provided that the funds paid to the buyer by the third party are returned and the Defendant will reimburse the third party buyer and the funds paid to the employee that were not returned,” an attorney for winning the buyer wrote.

By October 2022, court records show that Hermann was in contact with a company that provides financing to homeowners facing foreclosure.

During a January 10 hearing at the Seminole County Courthouse, County Court Judge Don Fields denied Herman’s request to release the sale of his apartment and ordered the clerk to transfer ownership to the winning bidder.

Four days later, firefighters responded to the blaze that engulfed Herman’s home.

Witnesses said they smelled gasoline shortly before a massive explosion rocked an 8-unit apartment building.

The paramedic who treated Herman for his injuries told investigators that Hermann admitted to shooting himself in the neck after setting him on fire.

“[Hermann] started the fire as a sign of revenge from the homeowners association in charge of his property,” the paramedic wrote in a sworn statement.

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