HOA president didn't pay fee for last 5 years...

Started by JennyH1 • 20 replies • 2544 views

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JennyH1 (Washington)
Posts: 6

Posted:

Hello to all,
I need help on this matter before our HOA files bankruptcy & all the debt goes lien against my house & the others.
Our community is a small total of 16 homes. We have a small park for kids & that is all.
I recently found out that the president of HOA didn't have due for last 5 years. Not just that, there were some homes didn't pay dues for many years. But above all, it was the president who owe money most to HOA.
A board member wants to apply collection policy (which HOA currently don’t have this applied & not even in the book) & finance fee charge on the overdue payment but since it is the president who owes the most, she doesn't want to pass collections policy & the finance charge.
Also found out the president who filed bankruptcy but never added her amount owe to HOA.
I am just tired of people letting her do what she wants... at the end, it will be lien against us & she won't give a crap.
So, I am searching what I can do... How can I or us can fire her from her position without 50% vote from the community? (they don't participate much... )

If ever lien against my house because some people didn’t pay their bill, what can I do? Do I file civil suit or take them to a small claim court??

JohnB26 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,569

Posted:

CAVEAT EMPTOR

JennyH1 (Washington)
Posts: 6

Posted:

How CAVEAT EMPTOR will help me & other homeowners in the community?

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Jenny, you probably cannot remove her from the Board without a homeowner vote but the Board should be able to remove her from the position of president. You start by drafting a collection policy give it to all homeowners so they know what to expect and then enforce it.

For Example:

Assessment due on January 1st

Late fee added after 30 days

Lien filed after 90 days

Foreclosure when past due Assessments totals X dollars or after 18 months.

You can also go the collection agency route but expect them to require the HOA to pay a fee or for them to take a percentage of what they collect. We use an attorney who specializes in collections so his fees and court costs for filing the lien and removing it are added to what the homeowner must pay. Depending on your CC&R's or WA law you may be able to prevent homeowners in arrears from using the common areas. Let mommy and daddy explain to little Suzie that she can't play in the play area anymore because mommy and daddy are deadbeats.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

check your rules/cc&rs/etc... See if there is any clause that requires board members to be members in good standing in the community, or even better, if there is an auto term clause that board members who fail to pay dues automatically are removed from board.

If not, then the board itself should remove her from her presidency, and make her a simple board member with no office.

then, the board should begin collecting back dues, from everyone. letters need to go out stating how much people owe, from when to when, and that it is due on October 15th or some date. start your search with collecting what is owed, and then worry about fees, fines, penalties, interest, etc. as you begin to understand what your rules and regs allow you to do/charge. Sometimes you can charge more, sometimes you can't, but you can always charge/bill/aim to collect the dues owed.

PS, even as a president, this person gets one vote. Why hasn't the board done their duties despite this person?

JohnB26 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,569

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JennyH1 on 09/08/2010 11:09 AM
How CAVEAT EMPTOR will help me & other homeowners in the community?

That is what the attorney you should hire will tell you juuuust before he asks for his 'up front' retainer/deposit.

IMO: an attorney is your only option at this point

The situation in question has been 'allowed to ride' for AT LEAST 5 years .... good luck fixing it now w/o outside professional help.

Like I said ... you should have 'checked it out' before buying.

SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699

Posted:

Quote:

How can I or us can fire her from her position without 50% vote from the community?

Write 16 letters to each homeowner letting them know they are paying all the bills for the common areas while the president pays none. Let them know you are running for president. Include a ballot with the letter, and with your name and blank lines for a write in. Mention a date you will need all the ballots back.

TishS (Washington)
Posts: 116

Posted:

Who is filing your tax return? This should have been caught years earlier if anyone was paying attention. If she did not list the dues as part of her bankruptcy it was not included in the bankruptcy..she still owes. I would wonder what else she has helped herself to?

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

You may also want to be sure to check with the bankruptcy attorney and make sure that the HOA dues owed are listed.

SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202

Posted:

And how come the Treasurer didn't flag ALL past due accounts on a regular basis?
That should be a part of her/his report every momth.!!

JennyH1 (Washington)
Posts: 6

Posted:

Thank you so much for all your awesome advice!
I went for HOA meeting last night (2hour long), I ended up raised my hand to be a new president... I guess I just got so sick & tired of people not paying bills... letting a cute community become a gato...
Past is past but I want to make sure we collect that $5000 owe amount from every household. We are thinking about increasing HOA due 5% (heard that in WA, we can only raise to 5% a year).
I know I can google it or bing it to find out what exactly HOA president's duty... but can someone guide me to right website or helpful site for me? Thank you again.

SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202

Posted:

Jenny - I suggest you serve on the board for a while before getting into consideration as president.

Then you will learn all the ins and outs and can practice good meeting procedures.

Good luck.

MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 7,043

Posted:

Jenny,

I think it's very commendable of you to want to become involved with your HOA. It can be a very rewarding experience. But, I'm a bit confused how you could just raise your hand at a board meeting and become the new Pres. Ususally members are either elected or appointed to a board position. Then the usual procedure is that the board members elect or appoint their fellow board members to the officer positions. So I'm a little lost as to how you can become the Pres w/o the other board members voting. And, as for being the new Pres, I would advise against taking on this position w/o having prior experience on an HOA board.

JennyH1 (Washington)
Posts: 6

Posted:

16 homes & only 8 home owners showed up. President & secretary resigned due to not paying dues for many years. Conflict of interest... Our HOA don't have collection police & the board member which there are only 3... (don't ask me why... Maybe because a small community?)
Out of three, President has $1200 past due & secretary has $500 past due. So those two were against collection policy & couldn’t pass it.
Honestly what I found out of our HOA… it’s a mess & I want to make sure we will have stable HOA so we don’t have to pay another $300 emergency assessment. (to cover the cost for those who didn’t pay dues for many years…)
We do have a property management company who take care of most of the stuff.
When we had a meeting, since two resigned we needed someone to volunteer. No one step up so I did. I heard so many bad stories about board members relationship with other homeowners & I have been trying to stay away. People are not paying & there is no way to collect the past due… I don’t want any lien against my house & others who paid on time, they don’t either.
So figured… people don’t want to join the meeting or volunteering… I guess better than no president… Treasury was very happy to see those two stepped down & have someone who takes responsibility….

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Mary ... they only have 16 homes, so I am sure they are a little more informal than an HOA that has 300 homes. Also, there will be situations where an HOA is new and individuals will have no choice but to jump into the boiling pot.

Jenny ... good for you and I think you will do great. First of all be sure to read all your HOA documents and familiarize yourself with them. I have an extra set of my HOA documents that I have highlighted, written notes in margins referencing statues, post-it flagged pages, etc.

Then familiarize yourself with some statutes. Here is a site for the WA State Statutes and the two areas for you to start reading:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/
Title 24: Corporations and Associations (Non-Profit)
Title 64: Real property and conveyances

Again, I think you will be great! Good luck and if you need some support, you know where a bunch of us are.

JennyH1 (Washington)
Posts: 6

Posted:

Thank you...
I will start reading... My biggest concern is our HOA CC&R may missing something compare to other CC&R... Since you have an extra set of HOA doc w/all those good notes, how can I get my hands on that?

Property management company found 3 things are missing compare to other CC&R... I have feeling there will be more...

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Jenny ... to add another item to your list is you need to check out your Property Management Company. The association is paying them to take care of your HOA. If they are not properly doing their job you need to find someone else, or the officers take care of everything.

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Unfortunately my HOA docs and notes would not help you as they are for Colorado.

SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699

Posted:

Good job Jenny! Just remember, you cant do any worse than the other two knuckleheads that resigned. Just do your best and make sure you collect those back dues.

JennyH1 (Washington)
Posts: 6

Posted:

Thanks a lot SteveM9 & all others who helped me...
I have to rely on you guy a lot & I will come back with more questions!

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JennyH1 on 09/10/2010 9:51 AM
Thank you...
I will start reading... My biggest concern is our HOA CC&R may missing something compare to other CC&R... Property management company found 3 things are missing compare to other CC&R... I have feeling there will be more...

Don't worry too much about anything maybe missing at this time. An example is my documents have some items such as no solar panels, no display of flag, etc., which would not be current due to State Statutes which now allow those items. But for our documents anything that conflicts with the state is null and void. Just make sure on decisions made you not only check your documents, but also current state statutes.

Also, again be sure to check with your Property Management company and find out why they let the dues for some homeowners get so far behind and how they plan to remedy the situation. If they were favoring some individuals over others and not treating everyone equally, then this would be a concern and might be a liability on their part in full filling their duty.

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