Do any HOA's use an attorney to collect assessments?

Was the measure passed by a majority vote of the homeowner in a special assessment? If so, the owner's of these properties are responsible for paying just like everyone else.
As far as liening or foreclosing... those are the legal tools available to ANYONE individually or as a group (HOA) in getting a person to pay up. These are legal instruments and is how the law works.
My suggestion is to give notices to lien for the money. It will cost a few bucks in most states ($300 in my state) to file a lien, but it may be worth it. Your HOA may be able to collect on a few outstanding debtors if given a lien notification. Keep in mind that liens or foreclosures are NOT sure ways of getting any money owed. Avoid taking residents to court with a lawsuit. Lawsuits and liens work the same way, they are both judgements. Except with liens the person can NOT sell the house until the money is paid off. Lawsuits the person can sell and move without paying.
So choose your poison carefully!

How so Roger and in what State?

I am the President of our 50 unit HOA in Florida and because of budget problems, general management company incompetance and Association becoming worse we became self managed at the beginning of this month to fix things ourselves. I was Treasurer of a three person board last year and am now President of the seven person board this year but still doing many of the Treasurer tasks.

One of our first goals is to bring all accounts current. We have a homeowner that has not paid in three years this Sunday and by my estimates owes about $2,000. In the past they have recieved nice requests for payment, legal demand letters, pre-lien demands and final have had a lien placed on the property. This morning I am planning on handing the account over to a collections attorney but if there is some other way I am willing to entertain it.

I found some articles a few weeks ago that said the Florida Supreme Court ruled against some management companies who were placing their own liens and charging for it. They ruled that the management companies were practicing law without a license.

When I get the time I am going to attempt to find the case and read the judgment. It might be that the management company was charging for the filing of the lien and that is the problem or it could have been the actual filing of the lien. Either way we have retained a collections lawyer and the delay so far has been getting the details from the management company and a copy of our documents to the lawyer.

I just find Roger's statement incredible that he has 100% success without a lawyer. This house has had a lien for over 18 months and still not paid. So if in his state he can just file a lien without a lawyer how does he maintain 100% success?

Our company has a pretty good collection rate, but 100% I cannot attest to because many Owners once in lien and fall that far behind are not only letting their HOA dues fall behind but their own bills and mortgage as well. They can quickly (or slowly) go from lien to foreclosure and therefore in NC the bad-debt has to be written off.

If all the proper notifications were sent, a lien placed, I would then send an Intent to Foreclose Notice (45-21 Letter)if they are current with their mortgage and bills they will not allow their home to go into foreclosure. Unfortunately sometimes we have to push and then the Owner might pay up.