Assessemrnt late notices

I assume you're on the board, so I'm a little surprised you don't know the answer to this question. In my community, any communication between a delinquent homeowner and the management company stops once it's turned over to the attorney. When I was on the board, there were a few who would try to contact us directly, but they were always told they would have to speak to the attorney at that point, who would notify us for further instructions if warranted. For example, if the owner wanted to negotiate a payment plan, the attorney would talk to him or her, but the owner was told the board had to review and sign off on the plan.

Our homeowners also know once the attorney gets involved, they will be responsible for paying all court costs, attorneys fees, and whatever other collection costs were incurred by the association in pursuing the debt. As you know or should know, attorneys don't do anything for free, so $100 for a letter might be hefty, but that would be the delinquent homeowner's responsibility - along with the amount he or she owed the association. We also accelerate our assessment after the account is turned over - we pay monthly, so all unpaid assessments for the year would immediately become due and payable. Considering how this can add up very quickly, homeowners should be incentivized to pay in full and on time.

In your case, it's best to step aside and let the attorney handle things. This homeowner is already being contrary in not contacting anyone about his/her situation (refusing to sign the delivery receipts from the attorney is a clue). It's the owner's responsibility to let the association know of any new addresses, phone numbers, etc. Until you get your reimbursement, you will have to pay the attorney for his/her services, so it should be easy to tell the property manager to stop sending collection letters. As for the attorney, you'll have to see if you can negotiate a reduced fee for his/her letters, although I doubt that'll happen (postage, paper and printing costs are all up).

In the association in which we reside, and those we manage, once an account is turned over to the attorney for collection, he makes it clear to the PM and Directors the Association is to have no further contact with the owner regarding the delinquent amounts. Should the owner attempt to communicate with the PM or Board regarding the amounts due, he/she is referred to the attorney. The attorney also communicates to the owner he is the single point of contact for collections from that point forward. Assessment invoices are sent to the attorney for communication to the owner.

The owner continues to receive administrative communications: notices of meetings and other non-collections related Association messages.

As others have said, when someone in my community goes into collection, all communication is done in writing via the attorney who is acting as the collection agent for the association. This makes good sense. There are laws governing collection actions that must be followed to the letter, otherwise you risk not being able to collect at all. The typical board member may not be aware of these laws and can easily say something they shouldn't have.