What can i do to fight homeowners association for non payment?

Before making a decision, you should review your circumstances with someone who practices in that area. Homeowners associations are strong and you may not have much of a choice, but each case is different and the facts and circumstances need to be evaluated. You should contact a Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or real estate lawyer in your area to discuss your options

The association does not have to allow you to make payments. When they do that for some association members, those members who ARE paying in a timely way are being forced to be involuntary lenders to you. The board of directors is required to treat all members in a like manner, to show no favoritism to any one member over another. You can attack an association assessment for being improperly levied, etc., if the proper procedures were not followed by the board when the assessments or fees were set at meetings, if improper notice was given, or there is some type of defect in how the assessment or fees were levied. However, that is very risky because if you lose that argument, you will have run up what is usually a fairly nominal fee or assessment to something huge because you would be liable for attorney's fees the association incurs if you ultimately LOSE your argument and the court finds the assessment or fee was proper and you owed the money. It is usually very unwise not to pay these things. Some people feel strongly about things that go on in associations or on the board and the withhold their fees "on principle". That is a very expensive proposition to most people who try it. Your best bet is to borrow the money elsewhere and make payments on the obligation to that creditor. Associations are in a difficult position. Even when the board WANTS to help people out in the manner you seek, they cannot officially do so without risking criticism from other association members who DO pay on time. If everyone set their own schedule for paying, it would be impossible to have a budget and responsibly manage the expenses of the association. In short, the association does not have to give you a payment plan, though as a practical matter, some of them do just because it is cheaper in the long run than having the association hire an attorney to impose a lien on your home and foreclosing the lien, forcing the association to then be in the real estate business to get their money. Do not risk your home over this issue. If you cannot raise the money and they do begin foreclosure proceedings, a qualified real estate attorney can delay the proceedings through motion practice and defensive pleadings, but ultimately, if you owe the money, this just runs up the amount you will eventually end up paying, absent a defect in the procedures used to impose the assessment or fee.

The association does not have to allow you to make payments. When they do that for some association members, those members who ARE paying in a timely way are being forced to be involuntary lenders to you. The board of directors is required to treat all members in a like manner, to show no favoritism to any one member over another. You can attack an association assessment for being improperly levied, etc., if the proper procedures were not followed by the board when the assessments or fees were set at meetings, if improper notice was given, or there is some type of defect in how the assessment or fees were levied. However, that is very risky because if you lose that argument, you will have run up what is usually a fairly nominal fee or assessment to something huge because you would be liable for attorney's fees the association incurs if you ultimately LOSE your argument and the court finds the assessment or fee was proper and you owed the money. It is usually very unwise not to pay these things. Some people feel strongly about things that go on in associations or on the board and the withhold their fees "on principle". That is a very expensive proposition to most people who try it. Your best bet is to borrow the money elsewhere and make payments on the obligation to that creditor. Associations are in a difficult position. Even when the board WANTS to help people out in the manner you seek, they cannot officially do so without risking criticism from other association members who DO pay on time. If everyone set their own schedule for paying, it would be impossible to have a budget and responsibly manage the expenses of the association. In short, the association does not have to give you a payment plan, though as a practical matter, some of them do just because it is cheaper in the long run than having the association hire an attorney to impose a lien on your home and foreclosing the lien, forcing the association to then be in the real estate business to get their money. Do not risk your home over this issue. If you cannot raise the money and they do begin foreclosure proceedings, a qualified real estate attorney can delay the proceedings through motion practice and defensive pleadings, but ultimately, if you owe the money, this just runs up the amount you will eventually end up paying, absent a defect in the procedures used to impose the assessment or fee.

Like any creditor, they do not have to accept payments unless it is in the covenants. Unlike other creditors, some states give them the ability to get liens for what is owed. Those liens include attorney fees. If you have a good claim that there was an improper assessment, you can fight it. If not, you risk owing attorney fees. [This communication is intended as general information and not specific legal advice, and this communication does not create an attorney-client relationship.]