Unorganized HOA

Scott,

You should be commended for stepping up and volunteering.

Don't be shy! Ring the doorbell of the former President and ask for the records. Follow any lead until you find whatever is out there. From what you write about the state of affairs, there is likely not much in the Association records anyway.

I recommend starting by getting the books in order. Download financial statements and check images from as far back as you can get on-line. Attempt to reconstruct the financial history. I recommend using software such as QuickBooks to capture all the information. This will be what you will use to find out who has paid their dues and who hasn't, what you have been spending, how much should be budgeted, and other important things.

And yes, as Treasurer you are likely personally responsible for the financial affairs of thye HOA, but you are also likely protected by the "business judgement rule" so long as you act prudently.

A prudent person would get busy doing everything that they can to get things in order.

I know your trying to do good for your HOA but you need to get a bit organized yourself. It sounds like it may be a $12 filing fee but you are missing some other factors here. First YOU can NOT file the lien yourself. It has to be voted on by the HOA and most likely signed off by the President. The money for the filing fee has to come from the HOA budget. Some states require an attorney to file the lien. Hence why you were quoted the $500 to file. Which is typical cost of a lien. Usually can hire a legal service to do the filing that charges that much and saves money. That expense is rolled up as part of the lien. That $12 may be the charge the court charges to file the lien, but since they may require an attorney to do it, you can now see the real issue.

In a HOA there are many layers...Like Donkey says in Shrek...It's like an onion with many layers. Give your self some time to read and review things. It is true that most HOA's lack violation enforcement. It's because they are allowed to fine but only if they have a fining schedule. Most states do NOT allow you to use fines as the basis of liens or foreclosure. Those are for upaid dues for the most part.

So get aware of your limitations and permissions. It's a team effort. Don't go maverick and run the place. You have ALOT of research to do...

The board sets policy, and then it is up to officers and committee chairpersons to carry out execution and operations. It is well within the duties of the Treasurer to file liens without having to have the action approved by the board, and certainly without a vote of the HOA. That being said, it would be a good idea to craft a collections policy and have the board sign off on it to make sure that everyone is clear on the procedure.

Here in Georgia liens are automatically put in place as soon as a homeowner is delinquent on paying assessments -- no approvals of any kind are necessary.



No state that I know of requires a lawyer to file a lien, and certainly not South Carolina. If you have found a lien form and are comfortable with all its terminology, it's a great cost saver to file the lien yourself. If you choose to have a lawyer do the paperwork for you, filing a lien should still cost less than $100.

Scott

In SC we have Magistrates Court which is like small claims court. An Officer of the HOA can take someone to Magistrates Court for what is owed. If at the hearing the person sued does not show or loses the hearing, the court orders them to pay. If not paid within a specific time (30 days I think) the court will issue a payment default notice to the County Court Clerk who will issue a lien.

The whole procedure costs about $80.00.

Been a while since I looked at the procedure but the above is close if not spot on.

Hope this helps.

Scott,

I too commend you for taking on this task. I've been doing a similar organizational process with my HOA as well.
It takes time but it's well worth it.

Since you have a MC, they may have a lot of the records.
It's possible that the Association delegated who has physical custody of the records (however, you may not delegate who is responsible for the records).

As for collection policies, I'd be happy to share a copy of what we just adopted.
E-mail me at [email protected] and I'll send it to you.

Once your organized, you may want to look into adopting the various policies an Association should have. I've attached a list that has been provided on this site many times.

The key thing is to know you can't do all of the organization in one year. It may take several.
For me, I organized each area when I worked in it. I then created manuals for each Officer position so a new person who might not have a clue on what the office requires, has something to refer to.

Hope this helps,

Tim

Tim must be distracted today. He meant to say [email protected]

Scott, Kudos to you for stepping up! Tim's probably right, your PM Co. may have a lot of files that can help you. Perhaps your Bylaws or some other governing document states that the Board should hold meetings. If so, maybe you can encourage the Board to meet.

They don't appreciate it at all. I am thinking about stepping down. This morning I get a email from the President saying see can't remember if she reply to me about a letter I sent to her weeks ago for her to mail out letting all the members letting them know that we are having a neighborhood yard sale this coming Sat. We are also having a semi annual meeting next week and member have not received notice about it. I find out this morning that she has not sent them out or even printed them, so now the homeowners don't have any time to get there items ready for this weekends yard sale. Since the letter still needs to be printed and mailed they wont get to the members till the end of the week at best. The President says that who ever want to get them printed and buy the stamps can get reimbursed from the Management Company since the board has no control over the HOA checking account. The President told me that months ago that the HOA didn't have a checking account, but I found out that we do but the management company has total control of it. No board members are signers on the account.
I sent a reply to her saying she can take care of getting the notice mailed out. I am tired of doing it all. I have been nice and sent everything I am doing to the board and to the President for her ok but I am tired of her dropping the ball.
Sorry but need to blow off some steam.
Scott