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I previously blogged about the necessity of updating association collection policies and procedures as a result of recent legislative changes effective on January 1, 2014.  

In addition to preparing a revised collection policy, associations are also required to send new collection notices which provide specific information to delinquent owners. The notices must provide the…

 With the influx of new foreclosures the past few years, you may have heard of homes in your community that are being sold through a ‘short sale’. While short sales are fairly common, few people understand what they are or how they should be handled by an association.  

 A short sale occurs when a lender agrees to accept less than is owed on a mortgage/Deed of Trust to permit an owner to sell their property. For example, an individual owning a home with a market value of $200,000 but with a $225,000 mortgage would not ordinarily be able to sell their home since a necessary condition of sale is to payoff the outstanding mortgage and any liens. In this example, the homeowner would need to come to closing with $25,000 in cash to allow the sale to close. Since most individuals are financially unable to sell their home under these circumstances, a solution is to convince a lender to accept a payment of $200,000 on their loan to permit the sale to go through. Continue Reading Understanding Short Sales in Your Community

It’s no secret that Colorado’s housing market continues to improve and according to the Denver Post, some buyers have even been forced into bidding wars over the low inventory in certain areas.   While the increase in home sales is great news for the local economy, this is also an important reminder to associations to…

 As you may have heard by reading our blog, on May 28, 2013 the HOA Debt Collection bill (HB 1276) was signed into law by Governor Hickenlooper. Although the requirements of the Bill do not go into effect until January 1, 2014, it is not too soon to commence preparing revisions to your Association’s Collection Policy to ensure timely compliance.

Effective January 1, 2014, an Association must have a Collection Policy which, at a minimum, includes the following information: 

(1) The date on which assessments must be paid to the association and when an assessment is considered past due;

(2) Any late fees and interest the association is entitled to charge on a delinquent account;

(3) Any returned-check charges the association is entitled to charge;

(4) The circumstances under which a delinquent owner is entitled to enter into a  payment plan and the minimum terms of the payment plan;

(5) Before the association turns over a delinquent account to an attorney or collections agency, the association must send the delinquent owner a written notice specifying:

(a) The total amount of the arrearage, with an accounting of how the total arrearage was determined;

(b) Whether the opportunity to enter into a payment plan exists and instructions for contacting the association to enter into the payment plan;

(c) The name and contact information for the individual the owner may contact to request a copy of the owner’s ledger to verify the amount of the debt; and

(d)  That action is required to cure the delinquency and failure to do so within 30 days may  result in the account being turned over to a collection agency, a lawsuit being filed against the owner, the filing and foreclosure of a lien against the owner’s property and other remedies available under Colorado law. Continue Reading Time to Start Revising Your Collection Policies!

Recently introduced House Bill 13-1249 has been promoted as an attempt to ‘reform’ the public trustee foreclosure process by requiring lenders to prove that they hold the Deeds of Trust being foreclosed and further requiring them to negotiate and work with borrowers requesting a loan modification or other foreclosure prevention alternatives. If the Bill is passed into law, it will undoubtedly provide greater protections to homeowners which may enable them to retain their home and stimulate them to payoff their association delinquencies. A closer reading of the Bill, however, suggests that an association may be negatively impacted from the additional requirements imposed on lenders. Continue Reading Foreclosure ‘Reform’ or Headache for Associations?

An interesting story in the news caught my eye today as I was sipping my morning coffee. An Aurora woman, allegedly frustrated with her non-responsive mortgage company, spray painted the following message on her garage door: “"Jamie Dimon & JPMorgan Chase JP Morgan Chase is stealing this home. Ignores homeowner for 21 months!! I will not violate federal law on your behalf as a condition of communication from you! Call me. Chase Me!! (heart) you."  Apparently, she has been attempting to work something out with her lender for twenty-one months to no avail. The entire story can be read here:  www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/woman-tags-home-with-message-to-her-bank-jpmorgan-chase-is-stealing-this-home 

As someone who actively litigates collections and lien foreclosures on behalf of community associations, most who know me would not expect an empathetic response by me to her situation. Besides, every story has two sides right? However, some important lessons can be gathered from this interesting story for the benefit of community associations. 

Continue Reading Simple Tips to Avoid a Huge Mess!

If you’ve ever flipped through a pop magazine, I’m sure you’ve seen the articles that show pictures of celebrities and how they are “just like us”. While those stories usually depict celebrities going to the grocery store or taking public transportation, I recently read an article in which a former Playboy model allegedly violated her association’s rules by constructing a pink doghouse for her three dogs. For some reason, the pink doghouse did not comply with her Association’s rules and regulations. Continue Reading Even Celebrities Have to Follow the Rules