By: Kristie Leff
One of the most important functions of boards and property managers is to make sure common fees are collected and accounted for every month. This stream of income is vital to the successful operation of the association. When accounts become delinquent and are forwarded to our office for collection, our goal is to collect the delinquency as quickly and efficiently as possible. The best results come when associations understand our procedures and work with us toward this goal. Therefore, below are some pointers and reminders that can assist us in helping your association to recover delinquencies.
I. Ledgers: General Tips
- Must go back to a zero balance
- Must have most current address and unit number
- Must indicate if there is more than one unit owner
- Must indicate if this is a new owner for the unit
- Must indicate if unit owner is deceased
- If the unit has a garage, include both the garage # and unit #
- If the Association has both a tax district fee and a unit fee, send both ledgers together.
- Please provide timely responses to requests for ledgers and other information.
II. Collection Actions
- Even if there is a bank or tax foreclosure pending against a unit owner, please do not wait for that foreclosure action to finish up before sending a unit owner to collections. Both association and bank/tax actions can be brought simultaneously, and waiting too long could mean that you don’t get all the money you are owed.
- Do not accept payments directly at your association for accounts that are in our office for collection. If a payment has been mailed to your association, promptly forward it to us. Accepting the payment could mean the association will owe us for attorney’s fees.
- Do not speak with unit owners that are here for collection about their debts (but you may speak to them about other issues, such as maintenance issues). If they contact you about their debt, tell them to contact us.
- All requests for payoff information must be forwarded to our office. If you provide payoff information that does not include our attorney’s fees, that means the association will owe us for the attorney’s fees.
III. Collection Policies and Voting
- If your association has not adopted a Collection Policy as a rule, please consider doing so – it is much more efficient than voting to approve foreclosures on a case-by-case basis.
- If you prefer not to adopt a Collection Policy as a rule and prefer voting on a case-by-case basis, please be sure to include the vote and the unit number in the meeting minutes.
- Voting in a meeting is preferable to voting electronically, but if you must vote electronically, be sure to record the vote in the next meeting’s minutes.
Please contact our office if you have any questions about adopting a collection policy, or questions regarding collection procedures in general. Remember, our goal is to collect the delinquency as quickly and efficiently as possible, and your help in this endeavor is necessary for success.