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HELP!! Here is the senario. I failed to pay my HOA dues and the associaton hired an attorney to put a lein on my townhouse. He also requested that i send him the payments in a money order. I went ahead and sent my HOA directly to the association with a regular check which they cashed. Now the attorney is trying to charge me more than what I owe on my HOA to begin with. What happens next? Can they still proceed to foreclose on my property even though I have since paid the HOA?
I would think the lawyer has added on his fees for collection. Yep, that's the cost of not paying your dues. In addition to your dues you are subect to late fees, maybe interest and collection costs. The collection costs may include the release if the HOA had filed a lien. You will need to contact the lawyer and ask for a payoff amount to clear your account. You may request a written payoff statement and it will detail the costs. (some may call this a ledger of your account)
I'm sorry this has happened. There is no difference between this and a mortgage payment - failing to pay can be costly.
Best wishes
Why would you specifically do the opposite you were requested to do? Did you think you could sneak your payment in without any penalty? Once your payment was overdue (certainly was more than a week) and it was sent to the attorney for collection, you need to do as he requested. You have the filing fee for the lien, the late fees, interest perhaps, the fee for the release of lien as well as attorney's fees for his/her time. Attorneys seldom work for free.
HELP!! Here is the senario. I failed to pay my HOA dues and the associaton hired an attorney to put a lein on my townhouse. He also requested that i send him the payments in a money order. I went ahead and sent my HOA directly to the association with a regular check which they cashed. Now the attorney is trying to charge me more than what I owe on my HOA to begin with. What happens next? Can they still proceed to foreclose on my property even though I have since paid the HOA?
Juliet, what state are you in? This is actually quite a racket in many states. The HOA attorney and HOA management company often collude to generate late fees, collection fees, and all sorts of junk fees. Also curious as to the identity of the management company, if any.
Why would you specifically do the opposite you were requested to do? Did you think you could sneak your payment in without any penalty? Once your payment was overdue (certainly was more than a week) and it was sent to the attorney for collection, you need to do as he requested. You have the filing fee for the lien, the late fees, interest perhaps, the fee for the release of lien as well as attorney's fees for his/her time. Attorneys seldom work for free.
Payments generally have to get really late before they're sent to an attorney. The HOA would have to upfront the costs to the attorney's office and hope to recoup them once payment is made. Our HOA legal fees are killing us and we've even dropped a few collections (with former owners) when we weigh the costs against the probability of actually receiving payment.
OP, how far in arrears were you?
Filing liens has to be authorized by the HOA President or other responsible board member. Not easy to do since he/she is a resident and has to live with the people they're filing against. It's not taken lightly and usually only done when other methods such as reminder notices do not work.
Payments generally have to get really late before they're sent to an attorney. The HOA would have to upfront the costs to the attorney's office and hope to recoup them once payment is made. Our HOA legal fees are killing us and we've even dropped a few collections (with former owners) when we weigh the costs against the probability of actually receiving payment.
OP, how far in arrears were you?
This is simply not true in many states. Indeed, HOA attorneys solicit the business and will often promise to take these cases on contingency. The HOA attorneys will often start as soon as 30 days. They tag team with the HOA management companies to drum up junk fees and will seek to divert your assessment payments in order to generate even more junk fees.
In addition, these HOA attorneys and HOA management companies often collude to create a "priority of payment" resolution allowing them to divert your assessment payments to junk fees these grifters have created out of thin air. They often "advise" boards to adopt these resolutions. The policies primarily benefit the HOA management company and HOA attorney. The purpose, of course, is to use the threat of foreclosure to collect fees that are paid to the HOA attorney and HOA management company, not the HOA.
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Filing liens has to be authorized by the HOA President or other responsible board member. Not easy to do since he/she is a resident and has to live with the people they're filing against. It's not taken lightly and usually only done when other methods such as reminder notices do not work.
This is also not true. Often the management companies or attorneys will usurp full control of this process. Board members frequently don't even realize that the management companies have usurped this authority via contract. There are more than a few cases where the Board members had no idea that the management company and HOA attorney were filing liens and foreclosing on properties. These HOA "agents" try to extort fees from the homeowners by threatening the homeowner with the loss of the home under the pretext of representing the HOA corporation.
This is simply not true in many states. Indeed, HOA attorneys solicit the business and will often promise to take these cases on contingency. The HOA attorneys will often start as soon as 30 days. They tag team with the HOA management companies to drum up junk fees and will seek to divert your assessment payments in order to generate even more junk fees.
In addition, these HOA attorneys and HOA management companies often collude to create a "priority of payment" resolution allowing them to divert your assessment payments to junk fees these grifters have created out of thin air. They often "advise" boards to adopt these resolutions. The policies primarily benefit the HOA management company and HOA attorney. The purpose, of course, is to use the threat of foreclosure to collect fees that are paid to the HOA attorney and HOA management company, not the HOA.
The purpose is to have the fees paid on time.
Secondary to that, any fees owed to an attorney for filing a lien (costs are both owed to the county clerk's office at time of filing - as well as filing the documents for a release of lien) and for attorney time. Don't want to pay it? pay the HOA dues/fees on time. If you don't want additional fees, such as interest, management fees, attorney fees, fees for mailing, postage, time to drive to courthouse to file lien, etc. ad nauseam, pay the fees in full when due.
I, personally, would not buy a home within any association. The only money I intend to pay when my mortgage is paid off in 9 years is my tiny property taxes - aside from maintenance and the small utility bills (since we will be mostly off-grid).
But for those who opt in to those payments, you made a commitment, pay it. Don't whine and squawk later on when the fees are increased (you knew it was at least a possibility) and don't whine at the penalties when you don't pay. You accepted all that when you bought the home and you accepted all the other stuff that went with it. You didn't know? READ your documents - don't elect nincompoops and incompetents to be on the board. "oh my the management company is charging for doing their job". "poor me, the attorney is charging astronomical sums to do his job." TOUGH. Unless there is provable collusion and you have clean hands, do your job and pay on time.
This is also not true. Often the management companies or attorneys will usurp full control of this process. Board members frequently don't even realize that the management companies have usurped this authority via contract. There are more than a few cases where the Board members had no idea that the management company and HOA attorney were filing liens and foreclosing on properties. These HOA "agents" try to extort fees from the homeowners by threatening the homeowner with the loss of the home under the pretext of representing the HOA corporation. If the HOA fees were paid on time, this would not be an issue.
If Board members are unaware, then they have either not read the contract or have no idea what they are reading. It is their fiduciary duty to do BOTH. Being unaware is not a release of their responsibility.
What state is the OP in?
This has been asked and the OP refuses to answer, but her profile states her zip code as being in NC.
I have lived in a non-HOA community and now live in an HOA community.
The first community luckily contained residents who mostly kept up their lawns and homes. Some even went all-out and had beautiful properties that were a joy to look at during my walks through the neighborhood. However, a few wonderful folks kept their properties junky. Including my next-door neighbor. I'm talking car engine in the front, dogs tied up out front and often loose, funky kennel in the back, huge moving van parked out front (he was a truck driver).
Well, we couldn't wait to move to an HOA community. Now, we have a situation where most residents keep up their properties, at least minimally. However, again, several let the grass grow high, mistake a lawn of weeds for grass, repeatedly place bulky trash out front and expect it to just disappear, and have loud parties. The foreclosed properties were the worst. But things have gotten better in the last year, with tougher enforcement. Yet, some violations aren't handled strongly enough, and others are handled with zest.
I don't know if I would move into an HOA community again. I am not convinced that I get my money's worth for the very high fees I pay. Maybe an HOA that has some minimal standards that are consistently handled would work best, along with minimal fees. Or an established community with no HOA that looks neat. The problem is that with newer communities, you cannot truly tell how the upkeep will be until it's more established.
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