Condo Association Management Blog

Good Morning: 
 
 
 
I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. At a minimum, I would send him a statement of the charges to give him a chance to dispute them and then I would file the lien against the property. He cannot sell the units until the lien is paid or he negotiates with you. If his company is nearly out of business and there's no assets that you know of, it's not worth purusing a judgment in court. 
 
Also, I would call today to change the billing of the utility accounts so that the association is off the accounts that he owns. 
 
Darron

Darron's post is a great start. First, get the bills changed. Stop paying those bills. Pull together all the old bills - you can tie them to meter numbers. You may have to get historical information from the utility company. Have the board send a letter, signed by all the board members, requesting payment in full. File a lien against the units. These are monies due the Association and in fact probably constitute an automatic lien, but a lien filed in court will protect the association and make sure that the property cannot change hands until the debt is satisfied. . 
 
The association may need to retain legal counsel, if there is refusal to pay. $20,000 is a significant amount, so I would urge that you have a lawyer. You can set up a payment plan. I also recommend that you set up a payment plan with the developer, but don't offer. Let him offer. Let him propose the payment plan. The board should determine whether or not to accept any proposed payment plan.

I agree with everything Joe said. The reason I didn't mention the lawyer is that the original poster said the association was essentially out of money. I only know of one attorney in Seattle who will collect on a contingency basis. All others bill the associaiton by the hour. If the associaiton has a few bucks to throw at the problem, Joe's post is spot on. 
 
Darron

Greate suggestions so far. 
 
 
 
Not knowing the specific condo laws within Illinois, as I am from Ontario (Canada), I can only suggest pursuing this expense as others have.  
 
 
 
What is important to find out if the amount can be considered the same as condo fees, and then proceed to lien on that level, to ensure highest priority on the deed. If these fees can be interpreted as condo fees, then I would then suggest finding out if your condo association charges penalties and/or interest on outstanding fees. This could dramatically increase the amount owed and potentially shorten the time to settle this with this owner. Due to the amount involved and potentially, the complexity, I suggest engaging a lawyer to be compensated (at least partially) based on settlement amount.  
 
 
 
Secondly, have the utility company or an engineering firm (the costs may be justified) come out to inspect the meters to ensure that all meters are wired correctly so that all owners can be assured that they are being charged property for the electricity their unit generates (an no more!). Based on the "funny business" you just discovered after many years, who knows, there may be other unfortunate surprises you may discover? Review the financial statements or reports from the last few years as well as bills you have received. Make sure they make sense....