Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

You knew the fees were due whether or not you got an invoice. You can hire a lawyer to fight the judgment and garnishment if you did not get notice, but they would likely sue again and, of course, it costs you fees on both sides. Since there is a garnishment you need to offer them a better deal than they can get through garnishments. Lump sum cash offers often work, but it is not surprising they did not agree to waive fees and interest. If you are looking for a magic solution to get them to accept an offer there isn't one - other than bankruptcy, and you would need more problems than this to make it worth it.

Typically, once wage garnishment has started, a creditor has no incentive to accept less than they can get via wage garnishment. As noted by Attorney Riddle, you can make a lump sum offer, but its going to be 80%-100% of the balance of the debt including the atttoney and other fees (assuming these are all proper).

Unfortunately, Attorney Riddle is correct. You never should have let things get this far. Did you update your address when you moved? When you did not receive a statement what did you do? When you got served with a lawsuit, what did you do? You had chances. The fact that a judgment was entered suggests that you blew this off and ignored it.

A judgment earns interest at the statutory rate. To the balance owed, attorneys fees and court costs are added. Settlements are premised on the full balance of the judgment. HOAs are not like other creditors and may not be willing to forego the attorney fees. They may be willing to give up some of the statutory post judgment interest. If you cannot make a lump sum offer then see if they will accept payments on the balance and in return (a) stop wage garnishment and (b) forego statutory interest for so long as you make regular monthly payments of at least $100 per month (more if you can do so) on the judgment. It does not hurt to ask.