Enforcing Assessments

AliciaC4 (Washington)
Posts: 1

Posted:

I don't know where to begin.

I am a part of a small community that has CC&Rs along with a shared private road that goes to all of our properties and 2 shared beach access lots. We're called Madrona Pointe HOA, but are not actually registered with the state (Washington).

The secretary/treasurer stepped down and no one wanted to take on the position so I stepped in (I didn't want it either). A few years ago, the local USPS threatened to not deliver our mail anymore as the shared gravel road was in such disrepair and becoming harder to drive on. The "HOA" came together and voted in favor of a $600/ home assessment to save the road. Since then, the group has voted to collect $100/home for upkeep.

The problem is one of the neighbors is refusing to pay and owes $800. He claims we are not a real HOA and can't enforce anything. (He voted in favor of the assessments to fix the road by-the-way.) On top of that, he and his family are by far the most destructive towards the road. I wish there was a way to exclude this neighbor from benefiting from everyone else's contribution, but his home is right in the middle of everyone else's.

I have several questions. Do we need to be a registered HOA? Or do we need to be some sort of other community organization of shared property? What our the options we can take to attempt to collect assessment funds from the delinquent neighbor? Are we able to put a lien on his property, and if so, how do we do that?

Thank you for any help you can provide.

ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 1,335

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By AliciaC4 on 06/04/2025 7:46 PM
What our the options we can take to attempt to collect assessment funds from the delinquent neighbor? Are we able to put a lien on his property, and if so, how do we do that?

You and the board need to read the Declaration of Covenants (or just "covenants") carefully. You want to see if there is a covenant that allows the HOA to assess owners for the costs of maintaining common areas. If there is such a covenant, then the chances are good the courts would enforce this covenant similar to how courts enforce any legitimate contract.

If your HOA is not a corporation, then this may complicate the HOA's efforts to collect.

What this forum can do is help prepare you (or your board) for a meeting with a competent HOA attorney. In my experience, the forum is not a very good substitute for an attorney in this particular case.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Alicia,

Please take note of this sites posting rules (yellow smiley face with the words "our posting rules.")

from those rules:

(3) No Mention of Community/Company/Person Names: In order to fairly enforce (2) and prevent liability, we do not allow the mentioning of any community name, company name or product. Please also do not post the full name of any person.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Per RCWs > Title 64 > Chapter 64.38, specifically RCW 64.38.010:

"Homeowners' association" or "association" means a corporation, unincorporated association, or other legal entity, each member of which is an owner of residential real property located within the association's jurisdiction, as described in the governing documents, and by virtue of membership or ownership of property is obligated to pay real property taxes, insurance premiums, maintenance costs, or for improvement of real property other than that which is owned by the member. "Homeowners' association" does not mean an association created under chapter 64.32, 64.34, or 64.90 RCW.

You are in an unincorporated Association. Per the above statute, your Association is still a legal entity.

Per RCW 64.38.020, Impose and collect charges for late payments of assessments and, after notice and an opportunity to be heard by the board of directors or by the representative designated by the board of directors and in accordance with the procedures as provided in the bylaws or rules and regulations adopted by the board of directors, levy reasonable fines in accordance with a previously established schedule adopted by the board of directors and furnished to the owners for violation of the bylaws, rules, and regulations of the association;

My question would be, when the Association voted to start collecting Assessments ($100 per month) did you do it properly?
Properly would be by amending the deed restrictions/private road agreement or other document that may be needed to authorize monthly payments?

JeffT2 (Iowa)
Posts: 880

Posted:

You can go to the Washington corp lookup at:

https://ccfs.sos.wa.gov/#/

You will see that you are incorporated and have been since 1998. So your HOA is registered with the state as a non-profit corporation, and you may do business as a corporation.

You can click on Filing History and print out the documents (Articles of Incorporation and confirmation letter) to show that you are corporation that is registered with the state.

Your Articles of Incorporation say that you are set up under Washington law RCW 64.38, which is the older law for HOAs, and that you have a Declaration (declaring that you are an HOA) filed at your county auditor. You may be able to access the Auditor’s website to retrieve that document if you don’t already have it.

(There is a newer law RCW 64.90, which is partly applicable, so you may have powers and obligations under both sets of laws. I don’t have time to look up the applicability of the new law. )

These documents ( Articles of Incorporation and Declaration) should establish that you are a real HOA, and the corp is registered with the state. By reading your Declaration you should also be able to show to the owner that you are able to collect such money.

The declaration and the laws will tell you how to go about collecting, and whether a lien is possible.

I would sit down with the owner and explain that you are new to it all, but this is what you have found so far to deal with his/her concerns about your community.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

DeanJ
Posts: 1,786

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By AliciaC4 on 06/04/2025 7:46 PM
I don't know where to begin.

I am a part of a small community that has CC&Rs along with a shared private road that goes to all of our properties and 2 shared beach access lots. We're called Madrona Pointe HOA, but are not actually registered with the state (Washington).

The secretary/treasurer stepped down and no one wanted to take on the position so I stepped in (I didn't want it either). A few years ago, the local USPS threatened to not deliver our mail anymore as the shared gravel road was in such disrepair and becoming harder to drive on. The "HOA" came together and voted in favor of a $600/ home assessment to save the road. Since then, the group has voted to collect $100/home for upkeep.

The problem is one of the neighbors is refusing to pay and owes $800. He claims we are not a real HOA and can't enforce anything. (He voted in favor of the assessments to fix the road by-the-way.) On top of that, he and his family are by far the most destructive towards the road. I wish there was a way to exclude this neighbor from benefiting from everyone else's contribution, but his home is right in the middle of everyone else's.

I have several questions. Do we need to be a registered HOA? Or do we need to be some sort of other community organization of shared property? What our the options we can take to attempt to collect assessment funds from the delinquent neighbor? Are we able to put a lien on his property, and if so, how do we do that?

Thank you for any help you can provide.

I realize your owners don’t want to spend the funds on an attorney, but the HOA needs a legal opinion concerning the legality of the HOA and what you may do.

That said, if this road is not on common element, land owned by the HOA, and not a legally recorded right of way, any owner can serve a trespass notice on the dead beat.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JeffT2 on 06/05/2025 9:35 AM
You can go to the Washington corp lookup at:

https://ccfs.sos.wa.gov/#/

You will see that you are incorporated and have been since 1998.

Note: You will need to file a report with the State each year.
Your current status ends in August 2025.

You can file that report (I would expect the one with changes) from that website.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By DeanJ on 06/05/2025 5:51 PM

I realize your owners don’t want to spend the funds on an attorney, but the HOA needs a legal opinion concerning the legality of the HOA and what you may do.

That said, if this road is not on common element, land owned by the HOA, and not a legally recorded right of way, any owner can serve a trespass notice on the dead beat.

They might not need a legal opinion if they can verify that they are a corporation filed with the state (see JeffT's post).

I fully expect that there is a private road agreement (at the very least), based on the OPs initial posting.

DeanJ
Posts: 1,786

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TimB4 on 06/06/2025 5:12 AM

Posted By DeanJ on 06/05/2025 5:51 PM

I realize your owners don’t want to spend the funds on an attorney, but the HOA needs a legal opinion concerning the legality of the HOA and what you may do.

That said, if this road is not on common element, land owned by the HOA, and not a legally recorded right of way, any owner can serve a trespass notice on the dead beat.

They might not need a legal opinion if they can verify that they are a corporation filed with the state (see JeffT's post).

I fully expect that there is a private road agreement (at the very least), based on the OPs initial posting.

Ok, they find they are a corporation filed with the state. Now what should they do?

JeffT2 (Iowa)
Posts: 880

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By DeanJ on 06/09/2025 6:27 AM

Posted By TimB4 on 06/06/2025 5:12 AM

Posted By DeanJ on 06/05/2025 5:51 PM

I realize your owners don’t want to spend the funds on an attorney, but the HOA needs a legal opinion concerning the legality of the HOA and what you may do.

That said, if this road is not on common element, land owned by the HOA, and not a legally recorded right of way, any owner can serve a trespass notice on the dead beat.

They might not need a legal opinion if they can verify that they are a corporation filed with the state (see JeffT's post).

I fully expect that there is a private road agreement (at the very least), based on the OPs initial posting.

Ok, they find they are a corporation filed with the state. Now what should they do?

Show the documentation to the owner: Articles of Incorporation, confirmation letter, and possibly the Declaration and laws.

If that doesn’t work, Alicia can post back here for collection advice or she can contact a lawyer.

DeanJ
Posts: 1,786

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JeffT2 on 06/09/2025 9:13 AM

Posted By DeanJ on 06/09/2025 6:27 AM

Posted By TimB4 on 06/06/2025 5:12 AM

Posted By DeanJ on 06/05/2025 5:51 PM

I realize your owners don’t want to spend the funds on an attorney, but the HOA needs a legal opinion concerning the legality of the HOA and what you may do.

That said, if this road is not on common element, land owned by the HOA, and not a legally recorded right of way, any owner can serve a trespass notice on the dead beat.

They might not need a legal opinion if they can verify that they are a corporation filed with the state (see JeffT's post).

I fully expect that there is a private road agreement (at the very least), based on the OPs initial posting.

Ok, they find they are a corporation filed with the state. Now what should they do?

Show the documentation to the owner: Articles of Incorporation, confirmation letter, and possibly the Declaration and laws.

If that doesn’t work, Alicia can post back here for collection advice or she can contact a lawyer.

And when he still doesn’t pay, then what?

This is a small community. Every road requires maintenance and it is not going to repair itself. Regardless of the validity of the HOA, a good neighbor would have already paid his share for the maintenance of the road.

He refuses to be part of the community to correct the issue. The question is how long is the rest of the owners going to carry him. Showing him a document will not change his behavior. His behavior might change if he received a notice the HOA is represented by legal council and payment must be received within 30 days or the HOA will be placing a lien on the property and proceeding to foreclosure.

JeffT2 (Iowa)
Posts: 880

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By DeanJ on 06/09/2025 2:05 PM

Posted By JeffT2 on 06/09/2025 9:13 AM

Posted By DeanJ on 06/09/2025 6:27 AM

Posted By TimB4 on 06/06/2025 5:12 AM

Posted By DeanJ on 06/05/2025 5:51 PM

I realize your owners don’t want to spend the funds on an attorney, but the HOA needs a legal opinion concerning the legality of the HOA and what you may do.

That said, if this road is not on common element, land owned by the HOA, and not a legally recorded right of way, any owner can serve a trespass notice on the dead beat.

They might not need a legal opinion if they can verify that they are a corporation filed with the state (see JeffT's post).

I fully expect that there is a private road agreement (at the very least), based on the OPs initial posting.

Ok, they find they are a corporation filed with the state. Now what should they do?

Show the documentation to the owner: Articles of Incorporation, confirmation letter, and possibly the Declaration and laws.

If that doesn’t work, Alicia can post back here for collection advice or she can contact a lawyer.

And when he still doesn’t pay, then what?

This is a small community. Every road requires maintenance and it is not going to repair itself. Regardless of the validity of the HOA, a good neighbor would have already paid his share for the maintenance of the road.

He refuses to be part of the community to correct the issue. The question is how long is the rest of the owners going to carry him. Showing him a document will not change his behavior. His behavior might change if he received a notice the HOA is represented by legal council and payment must be received within 30 days or the HOA will be placing a lien on the property and proceeding to foreclosure.

Showing him the documents may change his behavior, or not. I say it is not appropriate to jump to an attorney and threat of lien and foreclosure, without some simpler interaction first.

ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 1,335

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JeffT2 on 06/09/2025 3:29 PM

Showing him the documents may change his behavior, or not. I say it is not appropriate to jump to an attorney and threat of lien and foreclosure, without some simpler interaction first.

Absolutely so.

MarqA1 (Michigan)
Posts: 24

Posted:

"Homeowners' association" or "association" means a corporation, unincorporated association, or other legal entity"

This should be easy to verify, do you have a tax ID, do you file state updates and federal tax forms?

MarqA1 (Michigan)
Posts: 24

Posted:

"Ok, they find they are a corporation filed with the state. Now what should they do?"

Just going by prior experience, when a homeowner does not do what they should the first thing is a registered letter outlining the issue, no response, you start sending fines every month. After 6 months of fines you then contact a lawyer and file a lien against their property (like a mechanics lien). That should get their attention but if not the next step is taking them to court!

The HOA will win, being a member of the HOA means you agree to all actions so the courts are on your side.

Also remind them at every opportunity that all costs associated with this effort is on them, that helps!

MarqA1 (Michigan)
Posts: 24

Posted:

"That said, if this road is not on common element, land owned by the HOA, and not a legally recorded right of way, any owner can serve a trespass notice on the dead beat."

Just for clarification there are differences, common elements, and common areas!

Common areas are like community shared items, a park, a pool, a club house!

Common elements are like a road, mailboxes, signs, lighting.

Both require maintenance but common elements are relatively simple items vs more complex areas!

JoeN6 (Virginia)
Posts: 94

Posted:

Try small claims court . Our shared private road treasurers use this avenue for relief . First time it didn’t work . The road steward waited for the past due money to accumulate over a period of several years and was awarded only one years amount . The judge taught us a valuable lesson there .Your defendant will claim the HOa or “pretend Hoa “let the road fall into a state of disrepair and now is tasked with the collection of deferred maintaining costs. Please document everything . Was the vote a show of hands at a meeting or a paper circulated throughout the community with signatures . Bring you road maintenance agreement with you to the small claims court ( however poorly it is written) .

A simple solution to the mail delivery problem would or could have been clustering all the residents mail boxes at the private road entrance where it intersects the public road.

DeanJ
Posts: 1,786

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JeffT2 on 06/09/2025 3:29 PM

Posted By DeanJ on 06/09/2025 2:05 PM

Posted By JeffT2 on 06/09/2025 9:13 AM

Posted By DeanJ on 06/09/2025 6:27 AM

Posted By TimB4 on 06/06/2025 5:12 AM

Posted By DeanJ on 06/05/2025 5:51 PM

I realize your owners don’t want to spend the funds on an attorney, but the HOA needs a legal opinion concerning the legality of the HOA and what you may do.

That said, if this road is not on common element, land owned by the HOA, and not a legally recorded right of way, any owner can serve a trespass notice on the dead beat.

They might not need a legal opinion if they can verify that they are a corporation filed with the state (see JeffT's post).

I fully expect that there is a private road agreement (at the very least), based on the OPs initial posting.

Ok, they find they are a corporation filed with the state. Now what should they do?

Show the documentation to the owner: Articles of Incorporation, confirmation letter, and possibly the Declaration and laws.

If that doesn’t work, Alicia can post back here for collection advice or she can contact a lawyer.

And when he still doesn’t pay, then what?

This is a small community. Every road requires maintenance and it is not going to repair itself. Regardless of the validity of the HOA, a good neighbor would have already paid his share for the maintenance of the road.

He refuses to be part of the community to correct the issue. The question is how long is the rest of the owners going to carry him. Showing him a document will not change his behavior. His behavior might change if he received a notice the HOA is represented by legal council and payment must be received within 30 days or the HOA will be placing a lien on the property and proceeding to foreclosure.

Showing him the documents may change his behavior, or not. I say it is not appropriate to jump to an attorney and threat of lien and foreclosure, without some simpler interaction first.

I didn’t say doesn’t show him the documents, but be prepared for this owner to claim the documents are invalid. They aren’t dealing with a normal person.