Pathetic collection of past due accounts

Your Board should have a procedure for collection of delinquent accounts receivable. Contact the treasurer and see what that is.

Look in the bylaws to see what they say on dues and assessments, and definition of member.

I'd say it's time for a new management company. Since you are in Colorado, I'd recommend you contact one of our sponsors, DARCO HOA Property Management in Lone Tree at 303-925-0150.

Roger from DARCO is a regular here and has posted thousands of helpful answers for our members. If you look in our service directory pages and click DARCO you will see their quotes on collections.

NOTE: HOATalk and DARCO have no business relationship other then the fact that DARCO is a sponsor here. We do not get paid extra to recommend them to you. I just know Roger is an expert and you are in his state.

Best Regards,
HOATalk.com

All the above suggestions are good. The one that will do the most good over the long run is getting involved and putting a stop to this. You have to be careful about collecting bad debts, but a group of people sitting around the table should be able to come up with some effective ways to get the money. Your document should spell out what you can do, be careful about what you can not do. 25K is a tidy sum especially in your association. They will not respond to billing or asking or sending personal letters. It is threatening to a lot of boards because they might make a mistake in trying to collect, but keep in mind it is not the Boards money you are talking about. All owners have an active share in seeing that their money is managed properly. Go beyond what your documents say, they are not all inclusive, in other words if you can find a way to pressure them that is legal and the documents don't mention it, do it anyway. If it works incorporate it into your documents.

As an owner and not a board member you can either put pressure on the board to collect the assessments or try to get yourself elected to the board and work from that position.

Your association documents spell out the association's options for collecting unpaid assessments.

We have two owners who have not paid this year's assessment (due last January). They each were sent a couple letters, then a certified letter. It is now in the hands of our attorney and their cost has more than doubled. If necessary, we will place a lien on their homes.

As you point out, it is unfair to expect some members to pay extra to make up for some members who fail to pay.

Most documents (I believe) have a clause that allows you to suspend privileges after a unit owner is in arrears for more than sixty days. Check it out and see if you can suspend parking privileges, voting privileges, pool privileges, etc. If this is applicable, spell out the details in your next demand letter. "if not paid within 10 days, these privileges will be revoked, and if any of your vehicles are found on the property, they will be immediately towed at your expense".

Alex,
I can't tell you, I never got past the so called Nominating Committee. That brush fire is still going on. I may give it another try in a couple of years. I think I am just Committee labled, even that don't work out sometimes. I am more a active member of our association. I throw my vocal bucket of critism and compliments up against the Board wall and once in a while something sticks.

Real advice: If there are three people in a group two will form a group and exclude the other. So you need to spread yourselve around, get on committees. Make a in depth study of your association so you know what you are talking about. If you have special qualifications, such as computer, financial, construction, plumbing, knowledge.

We may all be better off if our Board was made up of people from the "services industry", such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters, A/C people, etc, etc. Then the president could put it all together and be boss.

Seriously Alex, it is the desire that makes the Good Board Member and the desire that makes a bad one. You have to be a little bit bad and a whole lot good. You have to schmooze a lot and you have to take people misreading your actions. But if you want change, thats the way to go. If you figure you can do a better job, get a few other peoploe that think the same way, and let them push you and pull you through the process. In short politic yourselve. It is not an easy job, but some can cuddle up to it and work wonders.

In our association, nominations can't be made from the floor since all votes on candidates have to be mailed in prior to the annual meeting.

Our docs specify that the board must mail out a "call for nominations" in the first week of January.

ALL nominations are to be added to the slate.

The entire association then receives the slate at end of January.

All votes must be signed and identified by address/lot number and mailed in to be received no later than the Monday prior to the annual meeting.

Votes are then opened at the annual meeting, verified as to "good standing," then tallied.