Placing a 2nd lien

We are a very small community-only 15 houses. We have not collected HOA dues from 1 homeowner for the 2nd year in a row. We have already placed a lien for 2006. The question is, now that we are ready to place a 2nd lien for unpaid dues for 2007, do we take out a new lien for the amount of unpaid dues for 2006-07, or, do we do a separate lien for the 2007 dues? We are in GA and the county is not helpful with the filling out of forms. HELP?????

I believe you only need one lien and it accumulates until the amount paid is reached. Once you lien it should have been continous and include the legal fees incurred to place the lien. I don't believe you place separate liens each time they owe money.
If you need the money, then start looking into the foreclosure steps. That is next. Usually giving notice of a lien has been placed is enough to get someone to pay. However, taking the next step toward foreclosure may be needed if nothing is hapenning.

Your lien should be worded to include future unpaid amounts until lien is satisfied. If the lien states only the dues or assessment for a specific year, the lien probably only applies to what is stated.

I agree with Don. Attached are examples we use when we file a Notice of Lien and a Release of Lien.

Whoa! Hold your horses here. Your going to have to wait until the bank finishes their foreclosure for things to "shake out". The HOA atleast does have a lien on the property which is good. The other part of this good news is the BANK is doing the foreclosure and NOT the HOA.

A lien has to be paid off before the sale of the house can be completed. A bank foreclosure is NOT considered a "Sale". It's getting back their property of which they have first title to. So when the bank took over the property the lien was mostly irrelevant to them at this point. The lien becomes more relevant when the actual sale of the property takes place at the foreclosure auction. Whatever is owed on the house will have to be settled then amongst all the parties.

The bank should pay back the dues they owe from the date they took over the property. However, they most likely won't pay up until the last minute. It will depend on some factors. I would recommend contacting the lawyer that did the "super lien" and ask him to keep an eye on the situation. Make sure the HOA's name is atleast in the hat before the foreclosure is officially completed. Just to cross your T's and dot your I's. A second lien shouldn't be needed.

I will warn you that if the property doesn't sale at the price that is owed the bank, the lien may not be "honored". The HOA is pretty much second in line for money to be collected on money owed. If the HOA had done the foreclosure, the bank still would have gotten their share and the HOA gets the leftovers if any. Pretty much the HOA would be paying the banks foreclosures expenses for them. So you better hope that house sells at a profit!

Brian, check with your managing agent or with a competent attorney but not the one who filed the poorly worded lien

Just a basic question left, from reading the various responses above.

If we file another lien which has wording for future assessments, on this new lien should we subtract the amount of the 2006 lien which did not have the language for future assessments?

When placing a lien on property it should always be worded as RogerB stated. Check you states lien law for the length of time a lien is valid. If the wording is correct as far as future delinquencies the lien can be in force for the term your state provides.

The original poster was from Georgia. Georgia has a Property Owners Association Act which the developer or the HOA has to opt for. If the developer did not make provisions the HOA can make an amendment to their doc's for it. This POA provides for every HOA that has opted in with the state, that the CC&R's are an automatic lien on every property in the association. The HOA does not have to file a lien because it was placed the day of the closing. If the HOA is not going to foreclose, it is perpetual on the property. If the property is sold it is incumbent upon the HOA or the sales agent to get an Estoppel. If it is not picked up by a title agent or closing agent, the person buying the property becomes responsible. These liens will continue with the home/lot and they have priority over any other liens and any mortgages.

This is an easy transition for the HOA. No papers, no attorneys, and the HOA will always prevail. You have to check your documents if you are Georgia to see if your HOA or the developer opted in to the POA.

I don't know if what i am about to state will help anyone out or not. However i will just explain what happened to me. It is better to make a determination on something with facts. In the summer of 2013, I received via postal mail a Statement from neighborhood services corporation (nsc). In the statement, was a debt owed. I contacted nsc and they ignored my phone calls and emails for several months. I grew weary of trying to handle the situation with nsc on a diplomatic level. So, I filed a complaint against nsc with the attorney general of my state. A few months go by after the complaint. In the spring of 2014 I received several letters from nsc demanding I correct what they called violations of the cc&r's. I ignored them for several months. Then I received a final letter making the same demands as the previous ones. I replied via email and ordered them to cease and desist. I told them they were only singling me out because I am a wheelchair bound amputee. They stopped communication with me for a few months. Then in June 2014, the hoa put a lien on my house for unpaid dues. I hired an attorney an one month later the hoa removed the lien. In the fall of 2014 I heard my doorbell ring and I answered the front door. Before me stood what appeared to me to be a man approximately 6'5, 300 lbs. Holding paperwork in his hands that have my neighborhood's hoa on it. I demanded he leave. After a lot of time and many heated arguments, he walks down my front yard in the grass and tells me he is going to come back to my house every day and discuss the hoa with me. I told him it wasn't going to happen. After he was off my property, I called the police. The responding officer confronted the man in the street. The man described what he did to me. His story was almost identical to mine, or so the cop told me. You see, in my deed it stated by the builder that there was no hoa on my property at the time of closing. Since nsc is the registered agent for the hoa, I had a sheriff deputy serve nsc the summons. They refused service. My attorney also certified mail them about the hearing as well. Refused by them. Everything my attorney mails to them is refused by them. On may 29 of this year, I received default judgment. A month later the hoa hired a contingency based attorney. He asked my attorney for permission from me to vacate the judgment. In fact he has harassed my attorney with the threat of him petitioning to the courts for a vacate of judgment motion numerous times.
The point I am making is that people need to check the deed to their house. Their hoa might not be able to bind them to their cc&r's. My case is Oklahoma cj-2015-147.

That is tricky - personalities, oofff.

My suggestion would be for the Vice President to step in and handle the HOA business with the treasurer if the President refuses to work with that person. The VP needs to remind them they are there for everyone in the neighborhood, not just themselves. If one or the other cannot be adult about tone of their responsibilities, then one or both should be asked to resign by the Board.

Someone's reigniting old conversations again - please look at the date of the first post before replying. If you have questions, it's best to start a new conversation to get updated information and use the old ones for background research.