PLEASE NOTE – THIS IS AN ARCHIVED ARTICLE AND MAY NOT REPRESENT CURRENT INFORMATION.

By my estimates (and please understand I am working from a combination of “vacation head”, charts, and my memory) 7-8% of owners in our HOA are at least one payment behind in their HOA dues. That’s a little high folks. Not absurd… but a little high.

The purpose of this article isn’t to beat up on the families who are having a hard time making payments. What I would rather do is give struggling neighbors some options.

1. If you know you will be late with a payment… call Hawthorne.
Its always better to give the management company a heads up if you will be late. Late fee’s only add to your problems. Your board of directors is made up of your neighbors. In some cases late fees can be reduced or even waived. Waived fines and fee’s are easier to justify when you call to let us know what’s happening BEFORE we send someone to find you.

2. Setup payment plans early.
Late payments get sent to collections. In most cases, a payment plan isn’t setup until you are way behind. If you missed a payment we would rather work with you sooner than later. Waiting doesn’t make the problem go away… it adds to the problem. Calling to setup a partial payment and establishing followup payments to get yourself up to date quickly, might save you money.

3. Don’t let yourself get that far behind.
I know… easier said than done. There are a lot of bills you can get behind on. Don’t pay the cable bill; your credit may suffer and you might miss the next episode of your favorite show. Fail to pay your HOA dues and you will end up with a lien on your home and a possible foreclosure.

We are your neighbors. We all have bills. Everyone in our little community has, at one time or another, been through hard times. I would rather have neighbors I know are working through a difficult time, than people who live down the street avoiding me because they think that will somehow make things better.

On a final note. As I looked over the most recent list of delinquencies it occurred to me how I would feel if I was on that list. Let me personally assure you that the list of delinquent homeowners is one of the few HOA items considered confidential. There will be no lists posted, no names revealed, no signs in yards. In addition I and no other member of the board of directors or financial committee will look down on you or regard you with disdain.

Again, we are your neighbors and we want to help. Please come to the various neighborhood events and be a part of everything you can.