HOA Dues/Past Dues

Our HOA has been in disarray for several years. This past year we hired a lawyer and have since elected a new board and are on our way. When we first met, our goal was to "move forward". Many things had been scandalous in the past and there were MANY questions that had no answers.
One of the biggest things, as always, is collecting dues. We decided at our last meeting that dues that were not paid by a certain date, our President would go door to door to arrange a payment date or payment schedule. The problem is he decided, on his own, to take a non-member with him to collect these dues. Now some homeowners are claiming their privacy has been violated due to a non-board member being a part of the collection process.
The other problem is that none of the payments from previous years can be proven or not proven. Our checks and balances right now is a chart with the word "GOOD" if they've paid or a blank if they have not. No record of check numbers/cash paid or receipts of any kind. An example is that last year the board "lost" my endorsed check. They have no record of what check number it was, just that is was "lost". It has not cleared my bank, and I know the check number, but they have no record of it.

I went through this with my own HOA when I was on the board, and we got the back dues eventually! If you want my 2 cents, how does going from door to door in person help? If you write a letter (and get certified delivery!) you have a paper trail, which you can show an attorney. What is improved by going door to door? It doesn't really mean there will be a better response rate and may only insure extra conflict. If you write a letter, you can make sure it is clear and to the point.

Oops. Take this as a lesson learned.
The President was wrong to take a nonboard member with them.
Personally, if anyone was going door to door, it should have been the Treasurer.
Problems with going door to door is the lack of a paper trail.

Again, lessons learned.

My advice: Admit the error. Apologize. Try to make amends (not sure how). Put a policy in place to prevent this from happening in the future. Move forward.


Ok, bad bookkeeping practices. Now you know. Take steps to correct it and move forward.

In this case, because of the poor documentation, I would suggest that the board waives any unpaid late fees. Send a letters to homeowners as needed that says:

Our records show that there is a balance due of $xx.xx

There are many reasons why your account balance could be incorrect, including an error on our part. We ask that you please check your records to determine if you have made payment/s. If your records do indicate that you have paid these assessments, please contact me and arrange to provide a copy of proof of payment.

If they provide proof (cancelled checks) great.
If they can't provide proof, they owe the money.

For your specific issue, since you know the check has not cleared, stop payment on it and send the Association another one.

Hope this helps,

Tim