HOA foreclosue on a lot

We, the HOA, have had an issue with a lot (no house) owner who is presently five plus years in arrears of their HOA dues. A lien as been filed and recorded.
We have tried, via registered mail, to contact the lot owner with no success.
Can anyone advise us as to the procedure required to foreclose on the property.

Are you sure you want to do that?
What will the HOa do with that empty lot?

After 5 years and no contact, I'd say you are not communicating with a live person.
Who is paying the taxes on the property? Perhaps its in an estate.

Keep updating the lien - nothing can happen with this property until thats settled. In this economy, that's the best you can do.

Robert:

My POA has gone through this. Your HOA will need to file a foreclosure action in Superior Court. I assume that your HOA is incorporated. In Arizona, a corporation must be represented by an attorney in Superior Court. I would suggest contacting an attorney and get an estimate of what this will cost. As others have pointed out, in the end you will be the proud owners of a vacant lot. You may find that it will cost more to foreclose than the lot can be sold for. In any collection effort you will almost always find yourself spending money you have to collect money you don't have. You need to balance the costs versus the benefits before diving in.

If taxes are not being paid on this lot it is quite likely that someone is going to acquire title through a tax lien. A person who acquires title that way will not be liable for past due assessments but will be obligated to pay assessments going forward.

You may also want to see if a collection agency is interested in trying to collect the past-due assessments. You will get only a fraction of what is owed if they are successful but most collectors are proficient at skip tracing and may be able to track down the missing owner.