Privacy

I am in need of some info. We are currently assessing all homeowners to have something built for the entire association. Only 13 homeowners have not paid thier part. They are against the assessment. We the board elected to start the leaning process on these homeowners. One of those homeowners is requesting from the management company all of the names of the homeowner who have not paid. Does the managment company or the board have to have to give the homeowner this information.

Yes Harold I realized after the fact I use the wrong lean. How about we are starting the liening process. We have 41 homeowners. Two thirds said yes to the assessment.

Does your HOA have enough money to place the liens? It costs money in some states and others it is "free". Some of the dues money will now have to go toward the lien effort. You CAN lien for a special assessment.
The main concern was that it was NOT a board majority vote. If it had been done as a board majority, then you would have issues. However, it being a special assessment approved by the majority of homeowner's, the HOA should be able to pursue the liens. I believe that is what the poster that responded was trying to convey. You didn't put that information in the original post.
Don't expect to be paid anytime soon. A lien just means the owner can't sell the home until they pay that debt off. A lawsuit is a bad idea. That's just like a lien (also a judgement) except the owner can move and sell the property without paying. No need to talk foreclosure. The situation doesn't call for it.
Sometimes when you do a special assessment, the amount assessed is to be the amount the bill will be divided EVENLY amongst ALL the homeowners. However, if you feel there will be a possibility of non-payers, the amount may need to exceed this amount to compensate. It's NOT fair, but you can still lien and have the money in the mean time.

NEVER are the names of the delinquent accounts to be given out to membership. You may list the number of delinquent accounts, but not the individual names. If the "requester" wants to know who is opposed to the assessment (by the assumption that all that have not paid are against, and not say maybe, that they are experiencing a financial harship), let them find that out on their own. Maybe going door to door to get this information will provide them some "insight" in the ammount of work involved in actually being involved with their community/HOA.

PS - this might be overkill, but I only allow the MC, the Treasury and the Secretary to have hardcopies of the delinquent listings.

my bad I meant to refer to Jadedone4. Sorry.

Tracy you are confusing two different animals here....

Membership has the right to review any and all HOA documents, which includes board decisions and how they voted (if a tally is kept versus a number in the minutes - what I mean here is President voted no, VP-yes, and so on... usually it will state 4-0, 3-1, etc)

Membership does NOT have a right to know who voted on an issue (far as I know), except to know what the final tally was (that is why during open elections where gov doc's state your majority, 2/3's 50+1 etc - you have assign an election officer, again usually a non-member who certifies the results).

As I mentioned, as far as I know, you cannot request to "audit" the election results to see which owners voted which way. Frankly, I would be surprised at a request like this - as it undermines each owner's right to privacy. Welcome any comments and information, if I am off-base on this.... (personally the Bush/Gore and hanging chads was enough for a lifetime... smile).

Homeowners have the right to view the HOA records, including delinquent accounts, but only when they have provided a justifiable reason for their request. This data should not be allowed to be made public.

Actually to clear this up a little. Typically, ONLY the board members are allowed to view collection reports. The individual is allowed to see their OWN record upon request. Another factor to consider is that the properties should be listed by LOT numbers and NOT personal addresses. We NEVER mentioned names when discussing collections. We referred to the owner's by their "Lot".
Allowing everyone to see what is owed can create a kind of "vigilantism". NOT a pretty picture. It's like letting someone look into your check book. Plus some people owe money for a variety of personal reasons. How can you judge someone who just lost their job to someone protesting lawncare? Letting people see the collections reports does NOT allow them to understand what is going on personally or financially with that member.
I would inform the people who are asking/demanding that it means that ALL their laundry can be aired too. You can give out THEIR information as well. I am sure once they realize the can of worms they open. They may second guess their stand.
Keep in mind that you CAN reveal the number of total lots NOT paying, total collected each month, and if you are pursuing liens/foreclosures. That's all the information anyone besides the board needs to know anyways. It's not like an individual can force a member to pay. Hence why HOA's are allowed to lien/foreclose.

I feel the same way most do that I don't think it is anyone's business, however, the last post was one of the best. If a case ever got to court that information would become public. Giving out lot numbers is just as bad as giving out personal addresses because anyone with any computer savvy can find who lives there.

I agree that it shouldn't be done, however, don't get yourself in a situation where you go to court over it because you firmly believe it should never be disclosed. IF you are ever in that situation an attorney's advice would be wise.