ASSESSMENT RECOVERY

In today’s economy, condominium and homeowner associations operate under tight budgets.  If anyone in the community does not pay assessments, then the rest of the owners have to make up the difference in higher fees or deferred maintenance.  To combat this problem for our clients, we aggressively pursue delinquent owners using proven collections procedures.  In the last 12 months alone, we collected over $6.045 million for our association clients.

Community association assessments fund vital aspects of every community association, including, but certainly not limited to:

  • Landscaping
  • Maintenance, repair, and replacement of Common Elements
  • Property, Liability, and Fidelity Insurance
  • Professional Services (e.g., Management, Accounting, Legal)
  • Reserves for future Capital ProjectsAs the primary, if not only, source of revenue for condominium and homeowner associations, it is essential that all owners pay their fair share. Delinquencies may result in deferred maintenance and decreased property values. To combat these problems, we guide our clients through every step of the collection process. We measure success by two objectives:
  1. Collect as much money as possible as quickly as possible; and
  2. Pursue collections as aggressively as possible to “stop the bleeding” from lost revenue to the community.

With 100% of our practice dedicated to representing condominium and homeowner associations, we developed (and periodically update) collection strategies and procedures to meet our clients’ needs while ensuring compliance with multiple federal and state laws and regulations. As a result, we work with each client to draft and implement a customized collection procedure to streamline the process with a fair and objective approach.

We proactively use various legal remedies, such as filing liens, foreclosures, non-judicial foreclosures, and obtaining money judgments. We help our clients locate owners and identify any assets to collect through bank attachments, wage garnishments, and judgment liens on other real property, sometimes even years after the delinquent owner has moved away from the community. And, if an owner files bankruptcy in an attempt to stop the association’s collections efforts, we guide our clients through that process to still maximize recovery.

We also developed ATLAS, the Association Total Legal Assistance System, for board members and community association managers, serving the associations we represent, to access real-time status reports on each open collections case. This exclusive tool provides up-to-the-second information that board members need to make important and informed financial decisions. For more information on ATLAS and how it can benefit your association, please visit the “What is ATLAS?” page.