AOAO Attorney Collection Laws

Started by JulieP3 • 7 replies • 1614 views

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JulieP3 (Hawaii)
Posts: 2

Posted:

Unbeknown to me the AOAO Atorney sent my Mortgage Lender the amount I owed, and to be paid in order to stop them from following through with their Foreclosure. The Lender was billed $15,000+ for maintenance fees, 10,000+ for legal fees, and $3,000+ for late fees. My Lender paid the AOAO the following day. Ten days later the AOAO disbursed the monies charged to and paid by my Lender, with disbursement $10,000+ for Maintenance Fees, $15,000+ for legal fees, and $2,000 overcharge for late fees. Can the AOAO Attorney bill my Lender more than I owe for maintenance fees, to pay himself more for legal fees?

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

Yes. Those considered "damages" and they are entitled to that. One is expected to be made "whole". Legal expense recovery is part of it. No one would have to incur legal costs if one did not have to bring legal actions to correct the issue. Thus legal fees are part of the end judgement/result.

Former HOA President

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061

Posted:

For those who may be unaware (as I was), AOAO stands for Association of Apartment Owners

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061

Posted:

Julie,

Had you gone to court to challenge the lien, vs. simply refinancing/selling, a judge may (repeat may) have limited the amount of legal fees awarded. However, since you refinanced the lien had to be paid prior to refinance/selling.

Keep in mind that the amount listed in the lien isn't always the full amount as further legal work may have been done (exploring other avenues for collections) and additional late charges would have incurred.

Additionally, had you challenged the lien, even if the Associations legal expenses you had to pay were reduced, you would have incurred your own legal expenses in the challenge.

Best advice, the issue is over.
Make sure assessments are paid on time in the future.
Enjoy life.

BobD4 (up north)
Posts: 1,002

Posted:

see also this questioner's topic Legal Fees :
http://www.hoatalk.com/Forum/tabid/55/forumid/1/postid/211833/view/topic/Default.aspx

BobD4 (up north)
Posts: 1,002

Posted:

corrected cross reference is to

http://www.hoatalk.com/Forum/tabid/55/forumid/1/postid/211832/view/topic/Default.aspx

BobD4 (up north)
Posts: 1,002

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JulieP3
Unbeknown to me the AOAO Atorney (sic) sent my Mortgage Lender the amount I owed . . . Can the AOAO Attorney bill my Lender more than I owe for maintenance fees, to pay himself more for legal fees ?

Without reviewing the trail of documents, it is impossible to know whether there has been some skimming or fraudulent diversion between (on one hand) what JulieP3 's lender disgorged/will add to her secured unit debt ; and (on the other hand) what the attorney's clients /the association & all owners will receive as revenue.

IF - if - what Julie P3 says is accurate & complete, then the $27 K disclosed at the association's end is $1 K short of what she claims the attorney requisitioned from the lender. Was the $ 1 K skimmed ?

IF - if - what she says is accurate & complete, then Julie P3's lender/mortgagee/chargee has acted in reliance that $18 K demanded is the portion it should pay to restore the association's revenues to an up to date status as to her unit/to secure its own investment. But if accurate & complete etc what the association gets is $6 K less. Was that $ 6 K skimmed ?

Wonder how the association auditor would handle this ?

Whatever the scenarios IF - IF - the association clients have been hosed, the state law society should be given an opportunity to review the conduct, possibly review the fees & disbursements.

Similarly the conduct's impact on the lender & Julie have a number of issues ( and in my own jurisdiction she could have judicially challenged the fees with possible success, noted by Tim above) .

But will hell freeze over - is there ever any frost in Hawaii ? - before this sees the light of day ? Of course all may have been done totally legal . . .

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Julie

Seems you paid a price for being late but you started it by being late. They just finished what you started.

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