Collections – From the Standard to the Unconventional

By Nicole A. Williams, Esq.

It these tough economic times everyone is feeling the pinch including community associations. As delinquencies increase, community associations are looking for new and unconventional ways to collect outstanding assessments from homeowners.

There are the standard forms of collecting assessments, liens, complaints and foreclosure of the association’s liens. As an association you do not want to forgo the filing of liens especially as the number of bankruptcy filings increase. Also complaints are still very useful tools in collecting outstanding assessments. If considering foreclosure you want to review the title of the property and consult your attorney regarding the equity in the property before deciding if this is a good solution for your association.

There are some unconventional, yet successful ways of collecting assessments include the removal of reserved/assigned parking spaces, non-assignment of pool passes and inability to reserve the Community Center or Recreation Room. You want to make certain that you consult your governing documents first regarding parking and have a parking policy in place prior to removing assigned/reserved parking.

Other unconventional methods that some associations consider are the posting of names and/or address of delinquent owners or the use of collection agencies. The posting of names and addresses may embarrass a delinquent owner but it does not necessarily result in payment and opens the door for a libel suit against the association. Additionally, the use of a collection agency may in the end still require the expertise of a lawyer to file a complaint against the delinquent homeowner.  

Tough times sometimes require a different approach to collections. However, you do not want to allow your delinquencies to spiral out of control.

Published in Quorum Magazine, June 2009.

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