hoa fees

our association is in rural oklahoma,with over 85 members,we have our own water&sewer system. Recently was voted in as president.in doing so found ,many problems first one is we have 1 member who has not paid any association fees orsewer in the last 7 years ,yes 7 years . is there atime limit on this? wanting to take to small claims.also water was shut off 7 yrs.ago but gets water from neighbor. is there any thing that can be done to neighbore for allowing water through water hose.

I would also report the owner for syphoning the water to the water department. That is illegal. Make it anomously (Can't spell) for them to inspect. At the same time make sure to have filed the lien paperwork and serve it certified mail to completely get this person's attention. AVOID SMALL CLAIMS COURT!!!! You need to lien first and then if they refuse to make arrangements give it a 6 months and file a foreclosure on them. Remember the HOA does NOT want to own this house if you foreclose on it. So see if you can find a few interested parties who may want to meet on the day of the foreclosure IF they don't ever pay up.

It may be time to be aggressive and get this dead beat off the teet. Your other members should know about it and what actions you are taking to resolve it. You may be surprised by the support you get when they see you do something about it. No one wants to know their dues have been collected to help pay for this free loader....

You have a person who stopped paying their dues for 7 years and is using their neighbors water to get by. How would you like to handle it? A muffin and a nice letter of why they won't comply? I wish more bill collectors took that approach...

Reality here...No excuse for NOT paying your dues period. I don't care if you don't like the board or protest rules aren't being enforced...You pay the dues or face the consequences. Lien or Foreclosure.

I've been there and understand...I finally had to foreclose on the house in the end...Just make sure the bank isn't already doing it.

Gee...I was just hoping I could get a loan from her and NOT pay it back for years... No apologies from me if someone does not pay their fair share on my and my neighbors dime getting the same amenities. Anyone disagree? Or would you like me to be nice about it?

imo:

water under the bridge, like spilled milk, is gone forever

i would go back 2 years, politely, but in a businesslike manner by sending an invoice certifed mail giving a time frame to 'pay up'

if no payment ~ issue SEVERE late fees and proper warning(s) ~ give 10 days max to comply

?still no $$$?

give matter over to a collections attorney

worries over, case closed (the sharks will do all further work)

Wow Mike has doubled the number of people who think like him.

Yes, why would you make any attempts to recover 7 years of unpaid dues.
After all just let the rest of the folks pay their share and you get to pay zero. Sounds about right.

I have to wonder what amount has gone uncollected? And why the past Boards have done little other than cutting off the water service.

Does the Board cover the cost of water???? Can you legally shut off someone's water? I know in some areas cutting off utilities is not permitted.

If it is I would do the same. I would then submit a bill to the neighbor for the water usage and if not paid in full I would shut off their water too.

Seems today many who come to this site fail to read the flyer heading at the top of the page. You know the part about positive sharing of ideas for community leaders and volunteers. Seems many folks arrive here believing this is site to whine and moan about HOAs, Boards, and how they see things with of course no real understanding of what needs to be done and why. And honesty when someone who views Mike as their new hero announces their intention to leave this site IMO not a real huge loss.

Charter member of the Iowa chapter of the anti-HOA Mike association.

Was it something I said?

Seriously people your HOA is ONLY funded by it's members for it's members. Someone does not pay then everyone pays...How nice do you want to be?

Sherry's back! Just to give you a scenario. A close family member lives in an HOA in Colorado. The HOA provides water service to the members by private well and charges each home a monthly fee for water. The HOA continually raised the water rates. Some of the homeowners complained about this to no avail so the group took the HOA to court. The court agreed with the homeowners that the water rates were too high and made them lower the rates. The HOA was upset by this and disconnected the water to my family members house. She went an entire summer with no water but carried water in from a neighbor. The only way to get her water turned back on was to take the HOA back to court to make them turn her water back on. I am not saying that this is the situation here but my point is there could be some circumstances that created this issue and an investigation is in order.

I'm all for looking into the records and inquiring why past boards did nothing. That way you know what kind of situation you're entering into.

Some sort of discussion should have been recorded. You might gain some insight before charging in.

I can think of some scenarios, both of which I have had experience with. On one hand, you could have a neighbor who has problems with authority (i.e. a hoarder). You'd need professional help with that. Another case, is much sadder. The person might be suffering from dementia. I've known of people who slowly start forgetting to pay their bills even though they have enough money or making reservations to see the same play twice.

Do the proper research first starting with the first boards members who were in place at the beginning of the problem to the board you replaced.

The sad fact of HOA's is that everyone else, in the end, ends up paying for members who choose not to pay.