Can you tow the car? Can you not foreclose on her unit? We can foreclose on our condos after they are 90 days late, we usually make payment arrangements with the homeowner but in the form of a signed contract like a note.

The Board needs to approach its job from a business stand point. We cured our problem by setting in place a foreclosure procedure on any unit that is 60 days behind. Our delinquencies went from $20,000 to $2000 in 3 months. Since then we have foreclosured on 2 units, we owned those units, in both cases the owners bought them back and are staying current on their dues. It is not fair to the other members, who pay. When you buy you make a commitment to the other members that you will support the Association, you should be held to that agreement. As far as repairs to the unit, if they are legitimate repairs you need to take care of them. You are in no worse a position if you eliminate this problem. You are a volunteer board and are not required to take grief from a freeloader who has no legal standing.

What we have done in our community is if you are over 90 days delinquent and go on a payment plan it must be an auto debit. This has worked well.

I feel your pain...we are 4 units in MA. One owner who is delinquent does not follow the bylaws, creates "issues"that cost the association money and refuses to pay anything. Her mortgage company paid the bare minimum of what was owed-so they could keep a super priority status.  
Outstanding is an emergency special assessment, 2 months HOA fees, and by law infractions-all totalling over $3k. What can be done to collect what's owed? Our attorney says we need to start the process in 60 days for the HOA. In the meantime, there are balances on fees the bank would not cover. This is a neverending battle & we don't see the situation improving-any suggestions?

It seems like you have two issues. 
 
 
 
1. Her parking space. Since she has use of visitor parking space, why do you care if she repaints the space label? The painting of the space label seems like a silly thing to fight over. 
 
 
 
2. Delinquent dues. Go to the full extent of the law that allows collections. If your attorney is not acting fast enough, fire him/her. Find an attorney that will enforce collection within the full limites of the law and HOA docs.

Bottom Line it all depends on your by-laws, just get a good attorney and he will get you out of this mess!!  
 
(Don’t worry about paying more for a good attorney, as he will deliver you a good job, so you won’t have to do it too often!! Just spread the word of mouth, so everyone should know the results and consequents of not paying!!) 
 

You & your association seems to be so very nice and kind. This may sound crazy but did anyone sit down with this person like if she was your best friend because it sound like she doesn't have one and needs one; and ask her how she would like to handle this problem because she is late and you don't want procedures started to foreclose on her condo. Are many of the fees she owes fines for not paying or is the amount just what she actually owes. Our hospital gives people a percentage off the amount owed if they pay and this is years later and we have gotten paid by some people we never thought would pay us. If many of her fees are fines, possibly give her a chance to pay and you can take the fines away because she paid. This woman is on disability and that isn't like working on Wall Street. I would never take her car away and you can count on the person who wrote that is doing that kind of work for a living. I live in a condo and we have a corrupt board president and they are unfair to many and super fair to others so I would not worry about being fair but worry about how you can collect money from this person. Maybe if you tell her you will write off the fines if she pays what she actually owes, then she will pay. You will still be doing good getting her to pay and if she doesn't have many fines it is still better to get some money from her. What if she files bankruptcy and you are left with nothing. Isn't 85% better than nothing. I think I would love to be living with you on the board. Sometimes tyrants need a little TLC.

The bottom line is that people who purchase a condominium should pay their HOA dues on time and follow the bylaws. It is a burden to the other owners when an individual does not pay their dues. Any extra charges I.e. Attorney fees, interest fees, association fees could be avoided if HOA is paid in full & on time & if the bylaws are followed. The indivdual should move out or fulfill their obligation in full and stop creating havoc with the other owners.

You have your answers here. Your Board needs to give clear instruction to the Association's attorney to begin foreclosing on the lien filed on this woman's unit. If he/she is unwilling or unable to do so, get a new attorney. It can be expensive and unpleasant, but far preferable to the slow bleed you all have been experiencing with an out-of-control delinquency. The parking spaces should not be your concern when a collection gets this far out of hand.

WOW ! i haven't responded in awhile, i bet the condo commando, joyce missed me ! i did, btw, joyce, get your message stating i should take lessons in condo crap, blah blah, blah, and didn't take the time to respond since the issue was one of a "misnomer" and have been dealing with my Mom's death and issues beyond my wildest imagination.  
 
 
 
i do appreciate the love letter, tho :).... 
 
 
 
and in response to the post i shouldn't be so rude as to interject comments to another in? maybe consider yourself lucky anyone's paying their fees. LOL 
 
 
 
i didn't, after 3 years my Dad paid them and here comes everyone's favorite soap-boxer, me. 
 
 
 
i came to my Dad's due to a severe stroke, and noticed he was hedging the bushes, weed eating, pressure washing, you name it, one week out of rehab. 
 
 
 
tanya orders a copy of the national bylaws, they were furnished (wowie) and there are no amendments in this condo's case. i got a copy of the budget after asking about once a week for 2 months, the bylaws state that the owner may ask for receipts, contracts, etc. for budgeted items and services. wasn't gonna happen. i stopped paying. i blew up the management's as well as the lawyer's phone, hung out at the edge of his driveway, actually...he was fun to annoy. NOTHING except for retaining a lawyer was being furnished in an 18 item budget, investigated it myself. (wonder where tha money went) and wanted to assess me for a tree that need to be cut down that i was trippin' balls in around 33-34 years ago.  
 
 
 
they threatened foreclosure, put it in the paper 3 times, i had to threaten breach of contract if they didn't foreclose. they foreclosed. (lawyers are as stupid as shrinks are crazy, i swear.) 
 
 
 
i tell ya this cuz she could be settin' y'all up considerin' she was pre-defensive about her finances and car. and yeah, ya can garnish disability. it's not deducted from the check, but her program priviliges are taken away, cost of living stuff, phone, utility discounts, no HUD, no new years day, no flowers, no love songs, it's a tearjerker, fa real.  
 
 
 
i was the only one in the whole shootin' match that took the time to read the bylaws, people amaze me. "hey, you owe me money"... and they just pay it. I was told it was the "policy" ... (ugggggh, i hate that word) to pay no matter if the services were performed, and to write the assn president. i told her i had a policy too, and i don't pay for shit unless i get a product. she gave me a song and dance insinuating that "they" were worthy of policies and policies didn't fall in my realm. my policy's as good as hers, dagnabbit ! 
 
 
 
maybe she's thinking ahead cuz you can forclose, my assn. did, but the mortgage has to be paid in it's entirity by the assn (who bid on it, solo, of course) or they ain't got no deed ! kinda like havin' a car without a title, eh? if ya love the car, no biggie... butcha can't sell it.  
 
 
 
also, her disability could be psychological. mine is, and ya getta lotta leverage if yer crazy. and believe me, i get TONS ! she probly has someone with power of attorney, and can't make sound decisions. i'm guessin'. 
 
 
 
personally, i forced the foreclosure cuz no way was i diggin' a condo that had depreciated in value 38,000 in 4 years cuz they let the place go to the point mexicans were takin' over the neighborhood, livin' 18 to a one bedroom apartment. they flock to areas that're janked out, cuz if this condo was lookin' bust down, they assume nobody cares about their bust down ass and they ya gotta infestation of refried pieces of shit and yup, THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD. !!!!  
 
 
 
i don't know if she's thought as far ahead as i had, done the forensics on her loan, findin' every loophole imaginable ta screw these people over, but it happens. i was gonna take the drywall, the ceiling up to the rafters, and totally vandalize tha place, everything that wasn't common was goin'...  
 
 
 
if my dumbass thought of it, she could be, as well. ownership was way below the regulations in my case, i dunno about your, i basically had'em by tha short hairs and finally the bank forclosed after living mortgage free about 3 years and YUP !!!! they had to foreclose on the condo association, cuz they's foreclosed on me and had ownership. i say HAHAHAHAHAH HA AND HA ! didn't even put'ah strike on muh credit. 
 
 
 
ya might wanna keep the nuances in the bylaws in mind with her, cuz tha bank even paid me $5,000 cash to leave the condo intact, all in all it was a huge profit, and perfectly fair. they couldn't evict me, either... they didn't have a deed. i drug that one out another 6-7 months just for shits'n giggles.  
 
 
 
i totally agree everyone should pay their fees. ya buy a loaf of bread, ya pay for it. the cashier withholds the loaf of bread, ya don't pay for it. it's a two way street, the bylaws are national, they obligatory duty preceeds the buyer, as in all transactions. if they can't live with the consequences, they shouldn't have made the choice.  
 
 
 
it ain't none of yer business where she gets her money, her car, or her thong undies... but you can sure tow that lexus and punish her for every breach she chooses to participate in. just make sure yer assn. is on tha real and not linin' their pockets which is ultra-common or she'll have a viable reason to give the bylaws tha big heave ho.  
 
 
 
on the other hand, if you let her get away with it and your assn. is tight, her behavior will be noticed and become rampant. equal opportunity, dude.  
 
 
 
even though i'm a total idiot as joyce, the condom commando will tell ya, ya ain't in the cat bird's seat, especially if the economy is effecting your ownership and occupancy rate, which is common. you also have to put a 10 day notice on each door before each meeting or y'all are in breach. there's tons of lil tiny stuff i'm usin' in my recovery action. i think i even broke my foot on overgrown tree roots, i can't remember.  
 
 
 
lastly and most importantly and i say it in every post that is longer than War and Peace and i'm quite sure no one gets this far, i'm boring.....  
 
 
 
WHY DO CONDO ASSOCIATIONS EXIST? WHY DO PEOPLE GO INTO BUSINESS WITH FOLKS THEY DON'T KNOW, THEY'RE EVEN ON THE MORTGAGE AND DIDN'T HAVE TA DO DIDDLY TO QUALIFY FOR THAT MORTGAGE AND THEY HAVE THE UPPER HAND. can you people not get yer own atty, termite bond, wash yer own windows, find a place to park, pay your own insurance, and mow yer own flippin' yard? do you have to pay someone to do that stuff plus make yer life a living hell cuz there ain't a condo assn. in america that don't fight like cats and dogs and ta me? that ain't livin'.  
 
 
 
i ain't gotta good answer ta that question yet. i don't think i ever will. 
 
 
 
now with miss hard to deal with ::lookin' around ta see'f anybody's eyeballin' me:: and becoming exemplary for your other owners, you have choices. 
 
 
 
i don't suggest foreclosure, but eviction is an option, and an unlawful retainer action (the last of the 3 notices posted) can get ugly, turn felonious if there's a tad of self-help from the assn., OK, MANAGEMENT !!!! (i can hear Joyce now... jeeeez) and can take months and over a year if ya gotta slick ticket purveyin' that eviction. 
 
 
 
another choice is my personal favorite: catch her in YOUR parking lot, get her for tresspassing, or become frightened there's someone on your property spray painting and do the "brick and pillow case" boogie. 
 
 
 
there's what's right, then there's everything else. 
 
 
 
~tanya 
 
 
 
 
 

Dear Tanya- 
Your comment: " cuz no way was i diggin' a condo that had depreciated in value 38,000 in 4 years cuz they let the place go"  
That's exactly why people need to pay their dues so they can keep the place up and maintain the property values. 
When you can't pay your dues why not do the right thing like your momma taught you to do (means face your responsibilities) and go speak to the board upfront before they have to chase you down, litter your door with notices and send you letters via certified mail? All the while being ignored? 
When our board gets ignored and all efforts to contact the person are to no avail, after 90 days they foreclose and the condo is sold on the courthouse steps right away. 
Just do the right thing.

I would be willing to purchase some of the liens that you have.