Collecting dues from non US citizens

Started by IkeW • 9 replies • 1304 views

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IkeW (Texas)
Posts: 11

Posted:

My property owner's association in Texas has 17 properties owned by people living in Hong Kong and Canada, who are delinquent in paying their dues. The property owners association and our management company are at a loss on how to collect these outstanding fees. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions or has encountered this type of situation? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Best regards,
Ike W

BradD2 (Florida)
Posts: 418

Posted:

Put a lien on the property and if needed begin foreclosure. You have the property as an asset to secure the debt; the person's reside doesn't matter. I would make every effort to contact them (check with your county property appraiser to find the address that is paying their property taxes and send the notices there).

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By IkeW on 06/04/2007 12:42 PM
The property owners association and our management company are at a loss on how to collect these outstanding fees. W

Really? You must have extremely poor CC&Rs, an incompetant MC, or delinquent homes which have no equity.

IkeW (Texas)
Posts: 11

Posted:

My apologies, these are vacant lots, no homes. I did get their foreign mailing addresses from the county appraisal office. The Management company has sent letters but they admit they have no experience in dealing in collections with people living in foreign countries. Just thought I would see if anyone has experienced this type of situation in the past.
Many thanks,
Ike W

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Ike, if the vacant land has value then the HOA could offer to buy the land at a nominal cost or else consider foreclose if the value of the land is worth it.

SwanB (Washington)
Posts: 199

Posted:

I don't know about your vacant properties but our vacant properties are incredibly high right now and selling. And, even if they aren't, they still retain value in our County. We have non-U.S. citizens and on May 1st. a few of them received a notice of intent to place a lien on their property if they did not pay their dues by May 31st. All of them sent their checks (in US funds, as specified) by May 31st except one member who called on May 30th, frantic to let us know the check was in the mail.

Of course our governing documents have the steps detailed out for us and our members. These are vital to the HOA, as this is the only way an HOA can force a member to pay their dues without hiring an attorney.

IkeW (Texas)
Posts: 11

Posted:

Thanks for the advice, which I passed on to our management company. The management company informed me today collection letters were sent back in 2003. They further stated "The situation with foreclosures is the laws are different for foreign countries and it would cost the association a small fortune {to initiate foreclosure}. Imagine putting an article in the newspaper in Japan." Again, I always appreciate the wisdom and counsel from this group.
Ike W

SwanB (Washington)
Posts: 199

Posted:

I beg to differ on your management company's information concerning having to follow the rules of members in other countries. it isn't as though you are placing a lien on the member residing in the foreign country. In that case you would have to follow the rules of the country the member was residing in. Your HOA should be placing a lien on the member's property in your HOA here in the US, right? Then you follow the rules on placing a lien on property in the county and state the actual property exists in, regardless of where the owner of the property lives.

BradD2 (Florida)
Posts: 418

Posted:

I am not sure you should be using that Management Company as they don't seem to have a very good grasp on their job. The basics of US law are that we are territorially based and our laws apply to our territories. You then use US laws to secure debts in the US. This is not a matter of International law as the Association is in the US and the property is in the US; the owner residence and citizenship are not factors.

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Ike, you said the management company sent letters 2003. How about since then? Also, U.S. laws apply not foreign. I suggest your HOS needs to hire a knowledgeable competent MC who can collect these delinquent accounts; or get advice from an experienced HOA attorney.

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