MAN WHO SOLD POKÉMON CARDS TO BUY HOME GOT $11K HOA BILL
A Pokémon card seller who cashed in to help buy his first home is now fighting an HOA that says he owes $11,000.
Carter Eck, then 26, a North Carolinian, sold a significant portion of his Pokémon TCG collection to buy the house, games.gg reported. His fight with the homeowners association (HOA) came to light on August 18, 2026.
Dexerto reported Eck was 23 when he bought the home, with the card money going toward the down payment.
The fine itself was unrelated to the card sales.
UNILAD Tech reported Eck assumed his HOA dues were part of his monthly escrow payment and already covered. He admitted he never paid them.
He still isn’t ready to write the check. “I don’t really want to pay it because it’s not something I don’t believe I was in the wrong,” Eck said.
What the HOA and Eck say
The HOA claimed the total includes dues and late fees, and said Eck must address a fence issue, Dexerto reported.
Eck disputed how the number breaks down. “Out of the $11k they’re claiming I owe, only about $840 is actual dues. The rest is fines,” he said.
He said some of those fines arrived with “no notice, no warning, no time to fix it.” He also said he was told in person that he was being fined for weeds in his flower beds. That is his account only.
Eck said he tried to sort out where to send his payments. “When I reached out to the management company to figure out where I was even supposed to be sending my HOA payments, they told me they couldn’t help me and to call their attorney instead. I have that in writing,” he said.
A first-edition Base Set Charizard in PSA 9 condition can sell for well above $11,000, games.gg reported. Card values have cooled from their peak but remain above pre-pandemic levels for most vintage and rare prints.
Elsewhere in Pokémon news, a dad wore a Pokémon tie his son made him in first grade to his graduation.
Where it stands now
Eck said he faces foreclosure and has legal representation.
He said he is selling more cards to pay for a lawyer to keep the house.
“My hearing is November 23rd, 2026. There’s a lot that still has to happen between now and then, but things are moving in the right direction. More updates to come,” Eck said.
