Condo Association Management Blog

Special assessments should be treated like regular condo fees. Have these residents received the bill? ( proof by cert mail) if so, you need to proceed as usual with late fees and perhaps to avoid attorneys,take them to small claims

Your attourney can send a letter threating a possibility of action at no to minimum expense. and if that does not help then try small claims court.

File a lien and if it goes too far you can foreclose on their condo. Your declarations should cover how unpaid assessments and fees are handled.

Depending on your state statutes, there is a clear method of collecting assesments from fellow owners. It's not a mystery. If the assesments are small, it may not be worth the effort to collect. Only problem is that other owners will find out that there is a WEAK board that doesn't collect money due and they too will stop paying. Soon you will be broke.  
 
If I were on your Board, I would do everything possible to collect everything owed to the community. You see, it's the community's money.  
 
If it isn't worth having your attorney collect the money, you may want to consider a collection agency that will work for a percentage. 50% is better than nothing and it sends a message to the Community that you will do your job. It will also have an effect on the deliquent owner's credit score. Being on the Board is not usually the way to social popularity. If you choose not to take your responsibility seriously, resign and let someone else do your job. Someone prepared to do the right thing.

There are attorneys who will take the collections on and collect their fees from the owners, not the Association using all legal means.

Use a lawyer, he will write and demand letter and then assist in filing liens on the units refusing to pay. Nice guys are ignored, tough love is all that works. If need be, file that lien, revoke privileges, post a notice showing those who have paid and those who have not, or course, this all assumes you had a proper Board vote for the needed assessment.

Have you check California civil code section 1633?

Correction to my previous email: 
 
Below is the correct section number 
 
Have you checked through the Internet with "California Civil Code sec.1366.1"? to see if you have accounting proof to show that there is real need for increased assessment or for special assessment?

The Board has a fiduciary duty to follow the association documents. These likely provide the authority and leave little to the imagination. The Board puts themselves at risk when they fail to do so however well meaning. Because the Board does not want to spend legal $$$, does not mean the owners who have paid have the same mindset. Food for thought.

Good suggestions above, attorneys do collections and work on a percentage basis depending on how old the account is.  
I had another question though, in GA, Condo fees and assessments are dischargeable in a chapter 7 up until the date of filing, does anyone know if the lien stays and is collectible at the sale of the condo 
Thanks

Collecting assesments is simple: if the owner won't pay, follow your bylaws. In most cases, you simply instruct your lawyer to begin filing a lien on the property. Don't worry about the legal fees- the condominium corporation simply bills the offending unit, i.e. the legal fees are added to the other outstanding fees. 
 
The owner will be notified by the lawyer that a lien is pending, and will be given the required amount of time to pay the assessment and legal fees, and if the unit does not pay, the lien is filed. Once the lien is filed, depending on local laws, you may initiate a foreclosure on the unit. One way or another, your corporation will collect from the unit. 
 

You do have options. Options vary depending on what state you are located in. In Florida the collection process is dictated by Florida Statute 718.116. You do have the right to file lien and foreclose. Generally if you start this process, a unit owner will understand the seriousness of the situation and choose a payment plan. I am with Assessment Recovery Partners, we assist condominium associations in recovering delinquent assessment account. I would be more than happy to answer any questions or help out. My office line is 727-865-7777.