ASSESSMENT COLLECTION

Maintenance assessments are the life blood of every not-for-profit community association in the State of Florida. The timely collection of assessments is necessary to ensure that the association can pay for its overhead, community and amenity services, common area maintenance and upkeep, management services, or any of the other myriad of expenses that are unique to an association’s purpose. That purpose is to facilitate the enforcement of the Association’s governing documents, run the corporation and maintain the common areas and amenities within the community, for the benefit of the association’s membership.

Any unpaid assessments end up being logged as “bad debt” on the association’s budget. That “bad debt” carries forward to the following year’s budget and usually results in an increase of assessments. Active and aggressive collection practices are the best way to keep the “bad debt” low and annual assessments manageable for those that are paying their assessments.

BANK FORECLOSURES: A first mortgagee, primary bank, has an interest superior to the Association’s when foreclosing on a residence. Due to the Association having an interest in the property, i.e., the declaration and the owner’s obligation to pay assessments, the Association will be named as a defendant in a bank’s foreclosure case against the owner. For a flat fee, the Firm will respond to the bank foreclosure action and preserve the Association’s rights under applicable Florida Statute and case law. Further, if the bank is not moving its foreclosure case, the association has options that allow it to push the bank foreclosure through to the conclusion.

BANKRUPTCY: When an owner declares bankruptcy, everything collections related comes to a screeching halt. The Firm has a depth of experience in preserving, protecting, and litigating an association’s interests in the Federal Bankruptcy Courts. Whether it is filing and arguing a motion for relief from stay to pursue the association’s interest in State Court or objecting to collateral valuation and/or a debtor’s Chapter 13 plan, you can be assured that the Firm has the experience to minimize the affects of the bankruptcy and preserve the association’s interests to the extent possible.

The Firm offers two assessment collection billing options for clients to choose from depending on their circumstances. The Standard Model provides that the fees and costs are invoiced and billed out to the client as they are performed. The Advancement Model provides that fees are deferred during the pendency of the matter. The firm will attempt to collect the fees from the owner during the assessment collection process.

ONLINE STATUS REPORTS: The Firm provides its clients and community association managers with secure access to our online Client Portal. The secure Client Portal provides information on the status of every collection and bank foreclosure matter handled by the Firm. In addition, Clients also have access to documents related to those specific matters. The portal is at any hour, seven days a week, 365 days per year.