HOA Assessment Collections That Cost Your Association Nothing
Your association shouldn’t pay legal fees because a homeowner didn’t pay assessments.
That’s the principle our firm was built on. In 2006, we created Arizona’s original true contingency assessment collection program: we advance legal fees and court cost, we bill our fees to the delinquent homeowner on top of the full balance owed to our clients, and we pursue collection of all assessments owed to our clients. If we don’t collect, we don’t get paid. We’ve been getting paid for 20 years.
How a True Contingency Program Works
- Your association pays $0. No startup fees, no retainers, no monthly legal invoices for collections. We advance all legal fees and court costs from day one.
- The delinquent homeowner pays our fees. Arizona law and your governing documents allow collection costs and attorney fees to be charged to the owner who caused them. We bill our fees on top of your full assessment balance — never out of it.
- Your association is made whole. You receive the assessment balance owed, plus your late fees and collection costs. We keep none of it.
Our incentives are exactly aligned with yours. Firms that bill hourly get paid every month a case stays open. We only get paid when your association gets paid — so we resolve cases as quickly as the law allows.
What “True Contingency” Means — and What We’re NOT
Contingent collections means payment of legal fees is contingent on the firm collecting money. A collection program that quietly converts to hourly billing the moment a case gets hard — when the homeowner hires an attorney, files an Answer, files bankruptcy, or faces a mortgage foreclosure – isn’t a true contingency program. Contested case? Bankruptcy proof of claim? Competing trustee’s sale? We dig in, on the same terms. Our fees stay billed to the homeowner, not to you. Read the fee agreement of any firm offering “contingency collections” and look for the conversion clause.
We are NOT a personal injury-style contingency. We do not keep a percentage of your assessments. Ever. In our program, our legal fees are added on top of the amount the homeowner owes you.
We do NOT keep your late fees or interest. Some collection programs are compensated by usurping the association’s late fees and interest charges. Those belong to your community. We collect our legal fees and collect what’s owed to you. The two never mix.
We do NOT charge startup, transfer, or file-opening fees. We do not charge and start up fees for new clients or new collection cases.
If your association is paying more than $0.00 for assessment collections — in hourly fees, in percentages, in surrendered late fees, or in “contingency” agreements that convert when a case is contested — there’s a better way.
How Can a Lawyer Help with Assessment Collections in Arizona?
Fees and fines are normal parts of HOAs in Arizona, but not every homeowner pays in a timely manner. If someone is delinquent with payment or refuses to pay, a lawyer can help you collect payment.
Assessing Delinquent Fees
First, before taking legal action, it is a good idea to speak to an attorney about the fees or fines the homeowner in question owes.
Our HOA assessment collection lawyers can review all the payments owed and produce an itemized list. This can help make sure you collect all the fees you are owed and avoid claiming fees that the homeowner is not obligated to pay. Attempting to collect fees that the homeowner does not owe may give them room to challenge your entire claim against them.
Demand Letters
In many cases involving delinquent payments from homeowners, attorneys first send a demand letter. While the letter is not exactly an official notice of legal action, it is a formal warning that if payment is not made, legal action will follow.
In some cases, homeowners are not even aware they owe fees or fines until they receive a demand letter, and they can quickly make payments to resolve the issue. For others, the letter puts homeowners on notice that they are behind on payments and must pay or face legal action.
Placing a Lien on the Property
If a homeowner still does not pay or refuses to do so, your attorney can help you place a lien on the homeowner’s property. The lien is a legal claim against the homeowner’s property that may affect the title, making it difficult for the homeowner to sell their home. The lien may only be removed when the debt is paid.
When is an Attorney Needed for HOA Assessment Collections?
The day-to-day operations of an HOA often do not require legal assistance. However, an HOA board should have a lawyer available to assist at all times, and it is a good idea to hire one on retainer if possible.
Delinquent Fees
Delinquent fees and unpaid fines are among the most common problems that HOA boards must contend with. These issues come up regularly, especially for larger associations with numerous homeowners.
With late payments coming up so frequently, it is a good idea for an HOA to have a lawyer available to help assess collections. Having an attorney on retainer means they can step in to help at almost any time.
Refusal to Pay
Another problem is when homeowners outright refuse to pay. This tends to come up more with fines and penalties that the homeowner believes are unwarranted or unfair.
You should hire a lawyer as soon as possible if you do not have one on retainer. Your attorney can help you determine how to assess additional fines or fees, including late payment fees. They should also help you determine whether you can impose penalties, such as restricting the homeowner’s access to community amenities like a pool or fitness center.
If the homeowner still refuses to pay, your attorney can help you decide what kind of legal action is necessary.
Foreclosure
Although this is a somewhat severe course of action, your HOA’s attorney can help you initiate foreclosure proceedings on a homeowner’s property if they have missed too many payments and do not show any signs of catching up.
The homeowner does not have to be delinquent on mortgage payments for an HOA’s attorney to initiate foreclosure. Since Arizona is mostly a non-judicial foreclosure state, the courts do not have to intervene for the foreclosure to occur.
What Happens if the Homeowner Hires a Lawyer or Files an Answer?
Nothing changes for you. We litigate contested cases under the same terms. We won’t convert your case to hourly billing because it became difficult.
What if the Homeowner Files Bankruptcy?
We handle the bankruptcy — proofs of claim, plan objections, relief from stay when appropriate — still on contingency, still billed to the homeowner’s account, not to your association.
Do You Take a Percentage of Our Assessments?
No. Our fees are billed on top of what the owner owes.
Do You Keep Our Late Fees or Interest?
No. Late fees and interest belong to your association.
What Does Our Association Actually Pay for Collections?
Nothing. We advance all legal fees and court costs and bill them to the delinquent homeowner along with the full assessment balance. If a delinquent homeowner has a home that lacks equity, we offer flat fee foreclosure services as well.
What Happens if You Can’t Collect?
Then we don’t get paid our fees. That risk is ours, not yours — it’s why we move quickly and advise honestly about which accounts to pursue.
Ready to stop paying for collections? Contact us for a no-cost review of your delinquent accounts.
Why Associations Have Trusted This Program for 20 Years
- Aligned incentives. We’re paid on results, not hours. Speed benefits everyone but the delinquency.
- Contested-case experience. Answers, bankruptcies, judicial foreclosures, mortgage foreclosures — our litigation and collections department handles the hard cases without shifting the cost to you.
- Focus. We practice HOA and condominium law exclusively, statewide, for hundreds of Arizona associations.
Our Arizona HOA Assessment Collection Lawyers Can Help
Ask our HOA assessment collection lawyers for a free, confidential legal review by calling Halk, Oetinger, and Brown at (520) 229-3377.
