No funds rec'd at house closing

Debby - Are you the BOD president or the PM? First, check your state's laws concerning foreclosed properties. In alot of states, when a property goes through foreclosure and is "sold" at a Sheriff's Sale, all debts (past dues)on the property, except for all taxes and first mortgages, become null and void as of the date of the Sheriff's Sale. That means if the HOA has a lien on the house that the HOA (usually, check your state laws) takes a back seat to other people wanting money gotten for the house at the Sheriff's Sale. After all the taxes and the first mortgagee gets their money, there is normally none left for anyone else with a lien on the property. If the status letters that you were revising were being sent to a licensed title company, the title company is obligated to include any amount that is due and payable to the HOA on the HUD closing statement. This would be any unpaid fees, late fees, and/or legal fees incurred after the Sheriff's Sale. Call the title company and tell them that you want to have a copy of the HUD statement from that closing faxed to you. If you don't know how to read the HUD statement after you get it, have an experienced Realtor look at it and see if fees owed to the HOA were paid by the Seller at the closing or if they were included on the Buyer's side of the HUD statement (very unusual, except for a prorated portion of the month of the closing or the fees for the month following the closing.) If the new owner closed on the house without the outstanding fees (since Sheriff's Sale) being paid by the Seller, they could very well be on the hook to pay those fees. Again, check your state's laws and your CC&R's. In alot of states, unpaid association fees "follow" the property and not the owner.

I would say that you should probably contact an attorney and see if there is anything to do. Not all houses "in foreclosure" are actually foreclosed. And you may (or may not) have some claim remaining. But the devil is in the details.

Debbie,

Since you are only asking for the initiation fee plus the pro-rated dues from the date the new owner took possession of the home I would now send a past-due notice to the new homeowner. If he paid these fees at closing it's up to him to contact the title company and ask why they haven't been transmitted to the HOA. If he did not pay them at closing, then he must pay them now. If he refuses, then take action against him as you would against any other member of the HOA who is delinquent. You may want to also make certain he has received copies of all the gov documents so he is aware of the rules and regs he must abide by. If he hasn't then you may want to give hime some leeway such as a waiver on a late fee for these amounts, but just a one-time waiver.