Last week Gina Botti blogged about the importance of properly recording an association assessment lien. Although CCIOA states that a lien is ‘perfected’ or in place upon the recording of the association’s Declaration, it is still important to prepare and record a Notice of Lien to ensure that the lien is not overlooked upon the sale of a unit. 

It is also particularly useful to have a recorded assessment lien against a property that is in public trustee foreclosure. Although most people are aware of the statutory six month super priority lien that arises once a property is foreclosed, few are aware that a foreclosure may present an opportunity to fully recover the assessments and fees that it is owed. Once a property is sold at foreclosure sale, an association typically has eight business days following the sale to also exercise its redemption rights. What are these redemption rights? Simply put, they allow the association because of its lien to take title to the foreclosed property (away from the successful bidder at the sale) for the amount of the sales price at the foreclosure auction plus interest and other expenses.

Continue Reading ‘Redemption’ from Uncollected Debt

A lien is a security interest, or encumbrance, over some type of property to secure the payment of a debt or some other obligation. Liens also have different priorities over one another and only when a lien is “perfected” will it be legally entitled to priority over subsequent liens. A creditor must normally “perfect” its lien by taking steps required by law to give other parties notice of the lien. As Lindsay Smith points out in her blog, Colorado requires that any party claiming an interest in real property record evidence of that interest in the real property records of the county in which the property is located. Continue Reading Liens – Protect your association’s interests!