Collecting association assessments in the current market

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Collecting association assessments in the current market

Submitted by Admin on Sun, 02/03/2008 - 9:35am. Living The HOA Way

Margaret G. “Gen” Wangler, Esq.
Special to The Desert Sun

In the current "down" real estate market, many homeowners are not only failing to pay their mortgages, but are also failing to pay assessments to their homeowners associations. But associations should not give up. There are steps that an association can take to put itself in the best position possible.

Question: How soon can an association record an assessment lien after an owner stops paying assessments?

Answer: All associations are required to have a written policy describing the procedures to be used to enforce the obligation to pay assessments, including the timing of the recordation of an assessment lien.

There is a common misconception that Civil Code Section 1367.4, part of the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, requires associations to wait until the unpaid assessments reach $1,800.00, or the delinquency is one year old, before a lien can be recorded. This is not the case. In fact, a lien can be recorded as early as the association's collection policy permits. The limitations in the Act concern efforts to foreclose a lien, not to record a lien.

It is important to record a lien as soon as possible. By recording the lien, the association secures the debt. If an owner files a bankruptcy, the association will be a "secured creditor," and in a better position to collect its debt through the bankruptcy. In some instances, if a senior lien holder forecloses, there may be excess proceeds from that sale; if the association has a lien recorded, it is entitled to make a claim against those proceeds to satisfy the debt.

What can an association do if the delinquent owner's property is foreclosed on by a senior lien holder and there was no equity in the property?

Since foreclosure is no longer an option when pursuing amounts owed by a former owner, it is often most economical to pursue collection of the unpaid assessments by filing a small claims action against the former owner, and then enforcing a money judgment obtained in that action.

An association may be represented in small claims court by an officer or director of the association, or a regular employee who is employed or appointed other than for solely representing the association in small claims court, or by an agent, a management company representative or a bookkeeper for the association.

The association's representative should be fully prepared to present the association's case in a small claims action. This means that the representative should have an accounting of the amounts owed, evidence of the former owner's ownership of the property, a copy of the association's CC&Rs, a copy of the collection policy and all of the correspondence sent to the owner, in order to establish for the court that the association followed all of the required procedures. Although the association's attorney is not permitted to represent the association in small claims court, the association should consult its attorney for advice on how to present the case.

A money judgment may be enforced by various means, including garnishing wages and levying on bank accounts or other assets owned by the debtor.

Margaret G. "Gen" Wangler, Esq. is a senior shareholder with the firm of Fiore, Racobs & Powers, A Professional Law Corporation, which devotes its practice to homeowners associations. The Community Associations Institute (CAI) is a nonprofit educational organization established for the benefit of homeowner associations and their members. The local office can be reached at (760) 341-0559. If you have questions for this column you may e-mail to CAIDesertSun@aol.com

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Leave it up to WANGLER and

Submitted by Sharon Stephens 1 (not verified) on Mon, 02/04/2008 - 1:12pm.

Leave it up to WANGLER and her hoa collegues to know how to "get the money!"

Open Letter to HOA Attorney's on RICO Charges

http://sharonstephens.blogspot.com/

Back To Court/Void Judgments Never Die
I was notified this morning that there is more documented proof that the homeowner association (HOA) lawyers, Ron Green, Jeffery French, and Brian Moreno have stolen more than $20,000 from me, in their defense of an illegal, void on the face judgment with Shadow Crest Homeowners Association by committing RICO, which has become a broad term with regards to "racketerring activity" under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1961

When I approached the Riverside County District Attorney with prior facts and proof, they said I must first file a police report with Cathedral City Police Department.

I went with four members of my HOA and met with Sergeant Earl Moss; he refused to take any reports, stating it is "a civil matter!"

RICO is a criminal matter!

Every corporation formed in California, including a mutual benefit corporation, such as a homeowners association, is to be registered with the California Secretary of State's office. This is called the "Statement By Domestic Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation". The requirement for this filing has been in place for many years. Every contract made in this state by a taxpayer during the time that the taxpayer's corporate powers, rights and privileges are suspended or forfeited pursuant to Section 23301, 23301.5 or 23775 shall, subject to Section 23304.5, be voidable at the instance of any party to the contract other than the taxpayer." Section 23304.5 requires that a lawsuit be brought by the other party in order for the contract to be voided.

On or about October 2004 I discovered that Shadowcrest HOA was suspended as a corportation, between May 2002 and February 2004 and brought this to the attention of the association board, the property management company, and particularly to the offices of the attorneys, Green, Bryant & French; Palm Springs and San Diego, CA.

I was ignored!

A corporation suspended may not do any business, bring or defend any lawsuit. Palm Valley Homeowners Association v Design MTC (2001) 85 Cal Appeal 4th. 553, 102 Cal Rptr. 2nd 350 and, California Corporation Code 8210

When I was ignored, I went into Riverside County Superior Court, Indio, CA, and on April 17, 2005 did bring to the attention of the attorneys and Judge Christopher Sheldon that Shadowcrest HOA was suspended on the above dates and filed a motion to dismiss the illegal attorney fees.

Case INC036214 - STEPHENS VS SHADOWCREST

Judge Christopher Sheldon found in favor of Attorney Brian Moreno.

Please view this case file: ALL attorneys mentioned above, as well as Attorney Jan "Gen" Wangler, who was under an ethical obligation, supported by case law to make a reasonable inquiry into the truth and facts of the case before proceeding on December 7, 2005. She knew I was unable to make an appearance in court on this date.

These attorneys have committed fraud on the court, are in violation of Business & Professional Code 6100, 6104, 6127 and, Rule 5-200 (B), and staturoy and case law.

It seems Attorney Jeffery French has been heard to say "all of the business of Shadowcrest and Sharon Stephens is water under the bridge..."

NOPE! Void on the face judgments NEVER DIE IN CALIFORNIA, and, CCP 473 and 473a has no direct reference to void judgments, there is no statue of limitations on challenging a void order! Reid v. Balter (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 1186, 1194

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Elite politicians, including

Submitted by Payday Loan Advocate (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 - 9:42pm.

Elite politicians, including presidential candidate Barack Obama, are trying to limit access to on-demand, short term financial assistance in America. Some cities and towns are even placing restrictions on where these legitimate payday loan companies can establish their businesses. Even worse, several states including Georgia and North Carolina have successfully imposed complete bans on the payday loan industry, and several more states are following in their footsteps. Nationwide, American citizens are struggling to have their voices heard. They want to fight legislation that would wipe out the payday loan industry in the United State. Obama, and many other misled political officials, are advocating for an all-out ban of the payday loan industry for the sake of personal political gain. Their desire to eliminate the payday loan industry holds no regard for the people who need financial help in this depressed economy.

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HOA Nut House