what is assessment collections attorney

A debt collection attorney is a lawyer that may help you design legal tactics for collecting debts from nonpaying customers. If your case gets to trial, they’ll often represent you in court and complete and file necessary documents on your behalf. Debt collection lawyers choose to represent creditors rather than debtors.

Full Answer

When do assessments attach to a lien?

Why is it bad practice to have a collection policy?

What is a notice of delinquent assessment?

What is mandatory collection procedure?

What is an attorney's fee in HOA?

What is HOA collection policy?

How long does it take for a debt collector to send a letter to the consumer?

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HOA Collections: A Procedure That Works - Microsoft

1 I. Goals of the Association A. To make nonpayers either pay or move; B. To recover the greatest amount possible, taking into account the costs of recovery, while

Step-By-Step Guide To The HOA Assessment Collections Process

Top 10 Qualities to Have as a Community Manager. Being a community manager is a difficult job, and you have to wear many hats. To be successful, a good

Sample HOA Collection Policy - HOAleader.com

Here’s an example of wording in an HOA collection policy. Before adopting similar language, be sure to run it by your attorney to ensure it complies with your state law and your governing documents.

When does an HOA refer an account to collections?

Court Decisions. Park Place Estates Homeowners Assn. v. Naber, 29 Cal.App.4th 427, 35 Cal. Rptr. 2d 51 (Cal. Ct. App. 1994).The court recognized an association’s need to collect delinquent assessments because “homeowners associations would cease to exist without regular payment of assessment fees, the Legislature has created procedures for associations to quickly and efficiently seek ...

HOA Collection Methods | Nolo

If you own a home that's part of a homeowners' association (HOA) and fall behind in your HOA dues or assessments, the association will likely first try to collect the debt using traditional methods.For instance, the HOA will probably call you and send letters.

Attorney Fees and Costs That Fit Your Association

We offer the Association two choices on referral of current owner accounts to our firm. One is our “Peak Assessment Collections.” There are no attorney fees or costs to the Association on most accounts! The other choice is based on our “Incremental Fixed Fees Assessment Collection.”

Revenue to Your Association

Whichever program your Association chooses, our assessment collection services provide results that owner associations need – collected assessments!

How Assessments Are Collected By Our Team

From the first letter and phone calls to the owner and throughout our work on each account, our trained and experienced professionals diligently pursue the revenue your Association needs. With collected assessments, your Association can provide services to your members.

Assessment vs Collections

Many successful business owners, attorneys, doctors, accountants have called me and said “money has just been taken from my business account” and I don’t know what’s going on. This is one of the biggest issues business owners and taxpayers have when confronted by a tax agency.

Hire a Knowledgeable and Proven Tax Legal Practitioner

If the EDD has sent you notice or levied your bank account, you should hire a professional to help. We, at Allison Soares, Attorney at Law, have years of experience working with the EDD to obtain a quick resolution. Please call us or contact us for a free consultation.

A Strategic Collection Approach

We know that some of your homeowners may be facing difficult financial challenges. In some cases, these challenges could be temporary and you will be able to work out a plan to get them caught up on any delinquency. If that fails, however, you may need to pursue an assessment lien on their property, which could lead to foreclosure.

Pursuing Foreclosure

Lien foreclosure laws are slightly different for COAs than for HOAs. Washington laws allow for COAs to foreclose either judicially or nonjudicially, depending on the association’s governing documents. HOAs are bound by their governing documents in this respect. The statute of limitations for a foreclosure action for a COA is three years.

Allow Our Attorneys To Help

You do not have to pursue these difficult legal issues on your own. Our experienced attorneys are here to help. Contact our Kent office today to schedule a free initial consultation by calling 253-520-5000 or toll-free at 877-391-5319 or send us an email.

When do assessments attach to a lien?

Technically, an assessment lien attaches to the property as soon as the assessments become delinquent. However, to “perfect” a lien (and to give notice of the claim to third parties), the board must record a notice of the lien in the land records of the county where the community is located.

Why is it bad practice to have a collection policy?

This is generally a bad practice because one of the chief functions of a collection policy is to ensure compliance by including relevant legal requirements within the collection procedure.

What is a notice of delinquent assessment?

In most cases, an HOA’s first step to collect assessments is to send homeowners a statement identifying the assessment amount due and the date by which it must be paid. The majority of homeowners send a check, in response to the statement, and the assessments never become “delinquent.”.

What is mandatory collection procedure?

A mandatory collection procedure can also help avoid homeowner claims of uneven enforcement. In general, an HOA board’s enforcement activities must be “procedurally fair and reasonable,” and its decisions must be made in “good faith … reasonable and not arbitrary and capricious.” Saunders v. Thorn Woode Partnership, L.P. 265 Ga. 703, 462 S.E.2d 135 (Ga., 1995).

What is an attorney's fee in HOA?

In the HOA assessment collection process, “collection costs” and “attorney’s fees” refer to the additional costs incurred by an association in collecting on a delinquent assessment.

What is HOA collection policy?

An HOA’s collection policy is its internal protocol for determining how the association will handle unpaid assessments. By necessity, an HOA’s collection policy must be derived in part from the legal and contractual authorities governing collection by the HOA.

How long does it take for a debt collector to send a letter to the consumer?

A debt collector’s initial demand letter (or another communication within five days of the debt collector’s first communication with the consumer) must inform the consumer of the amount of the debt, the identity of the creditor, and the consumer’s right to request debt verification. 15 U.S.C. §1692g.

What happens if you can't afford a debt collection attorney?

If you could not afford a debt collection attorney, you may have judgments against you. Even if you could afford a debt collection attorney, the creditor would probably win if the debt is valid.

What is a Debt Collection Lawsuit?

A debt collection lawsuit is filed by a creditor when you do not pay the debt you owe. A creditor can file a lawsuit seeking a judgment against you.

What Happens After the Creditor Obtains a Judgment?

The creditor can take further action to collect the judgment after it obtains a judgment. A debt collection attorney can try to help you fight these actions.

What is fair debt collection?

As a result of certain abuses involving the collection process, generally, Congress enacted the Fair Debt Collection Act. This Act is applicable to “debt collectors ”. Debt collectors” include attorneys and managers involved in collecting association assessments, fines etc. The Fair Debt Collection act provides for substantial penalties for “debt collectors” who violate its provisions to include fines and an award of attorney fees. The Fair Debt Collection Act sets forth specific limitations on tactics which may be used by creditors, as well as requiring “debt collectors” to utilize various procedures enacted to protect the debtor from abuse. Even though board members and employees of associations do not fall within the definition of “debt collector”, as Associations frequently are contractually obligated to indemnify and defend management companies for this type of liability, it is essential that this coverage be included in the association’s insurance package.

What are the three types of collections?

These are a Forcible Entry and Detainer Action, a Breach of Contract Action , and a Lien Foreclosure Action . Each one of these procedures has advantages and disadvantages. Depending upon the cost and time involved, the Association should evaluate which one is the best for its needs. Although an Association may have the right to collect past-due assessments, there are two types of actions begun by the owner or a third party that can affect the Association's rights. In a bankruptcy, the Association is staved from taking any action against an individual owner to collect its delinquency. However, an Association can file a Proof of Claim to obtain payment of pre-petition assessments from the Bankruptcy Trustee and, if necessary, file a motion to lift the automatic stay to collect post-petition assessments. Thus, all is not necessarily lost if an owner files a bankruptcy action.

What is reasonable attorney fees?

For condominiums, reasonable attorneys fees incurred in the collection process are deemed part of the owner’s share of the common expenses and constitute a lien on the unit. However, this is not applicable to expenses or fees charged by non-attorneys. For instance, if the management company charges a fee for performing collection related services, this fee may not be "back charged" to the unit owner's account. It will be the sole responsibility of the condominium association. Accordingly, caution must be undertaken when engaging in the collection process to ensure that the Association is not becoming responsible for collection charges simply because it permitted non-attorneys to perform the work. The only exception to this rule, is if the Association files an amendment to its declaration permitting "back charging" collection related work by non-attorneys. As this typically requires a two thirds vote of the unit owners, this solution may not be available in every instance.

What is the duty of a common interest community association?

Because an Association has a duty in which to maintain, replace and repair certain elements within the Association, the Association must have monies to accomplish these duties. Even if one owner does not pay, the Association can suffer in obtaining the goals they have listed

When do assessments attach to a lien?

Technically, an assessment lien attaches to the property as soon as the assessments become delinquent. However, to “perfect” a lien (and to give notice of the claim to third parties), the board must record a notice of the lien in the land records of the county where the community is located.

Why is it bad practice to have a collection policy?

This is generally a bad practice because one of the chief functions of a collection policy is to ensure compliance by including relevant legal requirements within the collection procedure.

What is a notice of delinquent assessment?

In most cases, an HOA’s first step to collect assessments is to send homeowners a statement identifying the assessment amount due and the date by which it must be paid. The majority of homeowners send a check, in response to the statement, and the assessments never become “delinquent.”.

What is mandatory collection procedure?

A mandatory collection procedure can also help avoid homeowner claims of uneven enforcement. In general, an HOA board’s enforcement activities must be “procedurally fair and reasonable,” and its decisions must be made in “good faith … reasonable and not arbitrary and capricious.” Saunders v. Thorn Woode Partnership, L.P. 265 Ga. 703, 462 S.E.2d 135 (Ga., 1995).

What is an attorney's fee in HOA?

In the HOA assessment collection process, “collection costs” and “attorney’s fees” refer to the additional costs incurred by an association in collecting on a delinquent assessment.

What is HOA collection policy?

An HOA’s collection policy is its internal protocol for determining how the association will handle unpaid assessments. By necessity, an HOA’s collection policy must be derived in part from the legal and contractual authorities governing collection by the HOA.

How long does it take for a debt collector to send a letter to the consumer?

A debt collector’s initial demand letter (or another communication within five days of the debt collector’s first communication with the consumer) must inform the consumer of the amount of the debt, the identity of the creditor, and the consumer’s right to request debt verification. 15 U.S.C. §1692g.