Other Info

 

DELINQUENT ASSESSMENT COLLECTION POLICY
EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2006

1. It is the fiduciary responsibility of the Board of Directors to collect all assessments in a timely fashion. The Association is entitled to recover reasonable costs of collecting delinquent assessments, including but not limited to Attorney’s fees, late fees, collection costs, lien fees and litigation guarantees, which assessments and costs shall bear interest if more than 30 days overdue.
2. Assessments are due on January 1st of each year and are delinquent on January 16th.
3. On February 1st, all delinquent accounts will be charged a late fee of $10.00 or 10% of the assessment (or special assessment), which ever is greater plus a finance charge of 6% per annum.
4. On or about the 30th day after a payment is due, the Board of Directors authorizes its Agents or Managers to send notice to all members who are delinquent, notifying them of the charges and the need to make payment in full within 60 days of the due date in order to avoid a lien on the property.
5. On or about the 60th day after a payment is due, a 30-day Pre-Lien Notice will be prepared and sent by certified mail, to the delinquent record owner(s) at the owner’s last mailing address provided to the Association and to any secondary address that the owner(s) has provided to the Association in writing by sign-receipted mail or by facsimile. Such notices will include a detail of the total amount delinquent, including but not limited to, assessments, late charges, interest, and cost of collections, if any. The Notice shall also include all other information required by the Association’s governing documents and California statue. The cost of this pre-lien letter is added to the members account. The Association shall also have the option of proceeding to small claims court.
6. On or about the 30th day after the Pre-Lien Notice is sent, if all amounts have not been paid and if the Board has voted approving the recording of a lien by a majority vote in an open meeting and recorded the vote in the minutes of the meeting, a Notice of Delinquent Assessment Lien (“Lien”) will be prepared and recorded. All resulting collection fees and costs will be added to the total delinquent amount. A copy of the recorded Lien will be sent by certified mail to the address(es) as described in Item 5 above, within 10-days after recordation. 275 days from the original due date or when the past due assessments total $1,800, whichever comes first occurs, the association may proceed with a foreclosure sale of the delinquent member’s home.
7. All charges assessed to the account must be paid in full as a condition to releasing such Lien, and the Association shall not be required to accept any partial or installment payments from the Lien date to the time that all amounts are paid in full, except by an execution of a mutually agreeable payment plan and forbearance agreement. The association is not under an obligation to enter into a payment plan or forbearance agreement.
8. If all such amounts have not been paid in full within thirty (30) days after the recordation of such Lien, the Association may, with conditions, proceed to take any and all additional enforcement remedies as the Association, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate including, without limitation, non-judicial foreclosure of such lien, judicial foreclosure, or suit for money damages, all at the expense of such owner. The conditions for proceeding with foreclosure:
   1. An association has offered the owner dispute resolution or alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
   2. The amount of delinquent regular or special assessments is equal to one thousand eight hundred dollars ($1,800) or more, not including any accelerated assessments, late charges, fees and costs of collection, attorney’s fees, or interest, or any assessments that are more than 12 months delinquent.
   3. The decision to record a Notice of Sale was made by the board at least 30 days prior to a foreclosure sale.
   4. The board has given notice to the owner of the decision to record a Notice of Sale by personal service for resident owners and by first-class mail at the most current address known for the owner for non-resident owners.
9. All payments received by the association shall first be applied to the assessments owed, and after the assessments are paid in full the payments shall be applied to the fees and costs of collection, attorney’s fees, late charges and interest. An owner may request a receipt, which shall indicate the date of payment and the person who received it.
10. The mailing address for overnight payment of assessments is: RPHA, C/O Julie Steinhorst, Business Manager, 798 Katrina Street, Livermore, CA 94550.
11. The association charges a “returned check charge” of $25.00 for all returned checks.
12. An owner may dispute the debt noticed pursuant to the California Civil Code Section 1367.1(b) by submitting to the board a written request.
13. An owner may submit a written request to meet with the Board of Directors to discuss a payment plan for any Civil Code Section 1367.1(a) debt. The association shall provide the owners the standards for payment plans, if any exist. The board will meet with the owner within 45 days if the request is mailed within 15 days of the date of the postmark of the notice. If there is no regularly scheduled board meeting within this time, the board may designate a committee of at least one member to meet with the delinquent owner.
14. Within 21 days of payment in full the association shall record all necessary documentation to clear the owners title of the association’s claim for past due assessments and charges. A copy of the release shall be mailed to the owner. If a lien has been recorded in error, a release of lien will be recorded within 21 calendar days and a copy of the recorded release of lien shall be provided to the owner along with a declaration that the lien recording was in error.

NOTICE REGARDING ASSESSMENTS AND FORECLOSURE
CIVIL CODE SECTION 1365.1
EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2006
NOTICE ASSESSMENTS AND FORECLOSURE
This notice outlines some of the rights and responsibilities of owners of property in common interest developments and the associations that manage them. Please refer to the sections of the Civil Code indicated for further information. A portion of the information in this notice applies only to liens recorded on or after January 1, 2003. You may wish to consult a lawyer if you dispute an assessment.

 

ASSESSMENTS AND FORECLOSURE
Assessments become delinquent 15 days after they are due unless the governing documents provide for a longer time. The failure to pay association assessments may result in the loss of an owner’s property through foreclosure. Foreclosure may occur either as a result of a court action, known as judicial foreclosure or without court action, often referred to as nonjudicial foreclosure. For liens recorded on and after January 1, 2006, an association may not use judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure to enforce that lien if the amount of the delinquent assessments or dues, exclusive of any accelerated assessments, late charges, fees, attorney’s fees, interest, and costs of collection, is less than one thousand eight hundred dollars ($1,800). For delinquent assessments or dues in excess of one thousand eight hundred dollars ($1,800) or more than 12 months delinquent, an association may use judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure subject to the conditions set forth in Section 1367.4 of the Civil Code. When using judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure, the association records a lien on the owner’s property. The owner’s property may be sold to satisfy the lien if the amounts secured by the lien are not paid. (Sections 1366, 1367.1, and 1367.4 of the Civil Code)
In a judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure, the association may recover assessments, reasonable costs of collection, reasonable attorney’s fees, late charges, and interest. The association may not use nonjudicial foreclosure to collect fines or penalties, except for costs to repair common areas damaged by a member or a member’s guests, if the governing documents provide for this. (Sections 1366 and 1367.1 of the Civil Code).

The association must comply with the requirements of Section 1367.1 of the Civil Code when collecting delinquent assessments. If the association fails to follow these requirements, it may not record a lien on the owner’s property until it has satisfied those requirements. Any additional costs that result from satisfying the requirements are the responsibility of the association. (Section 1367.1 of the Civil Code)

At least 30 days prior to recording a lien on an owner’s separate interest, the association must provide the owner of record with certain documents by certified mail, including a description of its collection and lien enforcement procedures and the method of calculating the amount. It must also provide an itemized statement of the charges owed by the owner. An owner has a right to review the association’s records to verify the debt. (Section 1367.1 of the Civil Code)

If a lien is recorded against an owner’s property in error, the person who recorded the lien is required to record a lien release within 21 days, and to provide an owner certain documents in this regard. (Section 1367.1 of the Civil Code) The collection practices of the association may be governed by state and federal laws regarding fair debt collection. Penalties can be imposed for debt collection practices that violate these laws.

PAYMENTS
When an owner makes a payment, he or she may request a receipt, and the association is required to provide it. On the receipt, the association must indicate the date of payment and the person who received it. The association must inform owners of a mailing address for overnight payments. (Section 1367.1 of the Civil Code) An owner may dispute an assessment debt by submitting a written request for dispute resolution to the association as set forth in Article 5 (commencing with Section 1368.810) of Chapter 4 of Title 6 of Division 2 of the Civil Code. In addition, an association may not initiate a foreclosure without participating in alternative dispute resolution with a neutral third party as set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 1369.510) of Chapter 7 of Title 6 of Division 2 of the Civil Code, if so requested by the owner. Binding arbitration shall not be available if the association intends to initiate a judicial foreclosure.

An owner is not liable for charges, interest, and costs of collections if it is established that the assessment was paid properly on time. (Section 1367.1 of the Civil Code)

MEETING AND PAYMENT PLANS
An owner of a separate interest that is not a time-share may request the association to consider a payment plan to satisfy a delinquent assessment. The association must inform owners of the standards for payment plans if any exists. (Section 1367.1 of the Civil Code)
The board of directors must meet with an owner who makes a proper written request for a meeting to discuss a payment plan when the owner has received a notice of delinquent assessment. These payment plans must conform with the payment plan standards of the association if they exist. (Section 1367.1 of the Civil Code)