Orlando Homeowner’s Association Liens Lawyers

Liens in Orlando, Florida 

If you are a homeowner’s association and need to place a lien on a property due to non-payment of association dues, Legal Counsel, P.A. employs homeowner’s association liens lawyers in Orlando, Florida who can review your covenants, conditions, and restrictions (your governing documents) and help you understand your obligations and rights when it comes to collections. It is important to not only follow the guidelines for collections outlined in your covenants, conditions, and restrictions, but to also follow local laws when placing a lien on a property due to non-payment of association dues or special assessments. Before moving to place a lien on a property, a homeowner’s association may want to take steps to negotiate with the homeowner first. Furthermore, you may be legally required to provide formal notice before placing a lien. Legal Counsel, P.A. employs homeowner’s association liens lawyers in Orlando, Florida who can take you step-by-step through the legal process. Have questions? We have answers. Contact Legal Counsel, P.A. today at 407-982-4321.

How Can Our Association Place a Lien in Orlando, Florida?

Homeowners in your association are required to pay their dues and any periodic assessments that must be made for repairs or other issues. When home owners fail to pay their dues, after proper notice and time periods have passed, the HOA may be entitled to place a lien on a property. Before the association can place a lien on a property, the homeowner’s association must provide the homeowner with a written demand notice that includes all past due amounts. The demand notice must provide the homeowner with 45 days to pay the due assessments and fees. The HOA, at its discretion, can also offer the home owner more time. After the time period has passed, the HOA can place a lien on the property.

What is a lien? A lien is a claim made by a creditor on a person’s property. Once a lien has been made, this affects the title. The home cannot be sold until the creditor’s demands are satisfied. Liens can go on the public record and can impact a homeowner’s credit. If the debts associated with the lien continue to go unpaid, the entity that placed the lien may ultimately have the right to foreclose on the property.

Legal Counsel, P.A. employ homeowner’s association liens lawyers who can help your association follow the proper legal processes required to place a lien when a homeowner goes delinquent on HOA fees and dues. It is important to follow the law and to abide by your own governing documents when placing a lien on a property. Failing to do so can result in lost rights when it comes to collecting unpaid dues and can even result in the homeowner being able to sue the homeowner’s association if the process isn’t correctly followed. Contact Legal Counsel, P.A. and our HOA lien lawyers in Orlando, Florida can help you follow proper legal procedure and processes for collecting unpaid dues and making liens.

What Fees Can Be Included in an HOA Lien in Florida? 

If a homeowner doesn’t pay HOA dues or special assessments, the homeowner’s association may be able to place a lien on the property for the unpaid dues and assessments. Other fees that the HOA may be able to include in the lien are late fees, and collection costs, such as attorneys’ costs, fines, and interest on past due amounts. If the homeowner is unable to pay these fees within the timeframe provided in your demand letter, usually 45 days, the HOA can place a lien on the property. If the homeowner fails to pay the debt, the homeowner’s association can foreclose on the property to collect the debt. The HOA must provide the homeowner with 45 days’ notice that the HOA intends to foreclose on the property to collect the debt.

Are There Alternatives to Liens? 

Your homeowner’s association may have alternatives to the costly and time-consuming process of putting a lien on a home. In many cases, the HOA can work with the homeowner to put them on a repayment plan to pay the unpaid dues, fees, and assessments. If the homeowner cannot pay the dues and assessments, there may be other options, such as initiating a short sale on the home. If you are negotiating an alternative to a lien with a homeowner, it is still very important to follow proper legal procedure and to document everything to protect your claim. Legal Counsel, P.A. employs homeowner’s association liens lawyers who can help you with placing a lien and can also help you with alternatives to liens.

Mortgages and HOA Liens in Florida 

When a foreclosure has been initiated, different liens may have priority. In some cases, a mortgage lien will have priority over an HOA lien, while in other cases, the HOA lien may have priority. This largely has to do with the date on which the mortgage was recorded and has to do with the HOA’s governing documents. The law can get quite complicated when it comes to determining which lien has priority. If you are not sure whether a mortgage or HOA lien would have priority during foreclosure, contact Legal Counsel, P.A. employs homeowner’s association liens lawyers in Orlando, Florida who can review the HOA’s governing documents, look at the date on which the mortgage was recorded, and help you understand your homeowner’s association’s rights with regards to your case. Ultimately, the lien priority will depend on the language of your governing documents. Legal Counsel, P.A. employs homeowner’s association liens lawyers who can help you place a lien and foreclose, if needed. Have questions? We have answers. Contact Legal Counsel, P.A. today at 407-982-4321.

Protect Your Homeowner’s Association’s Rights 

If you are an HOA board looking to collect past-due HOA fees, you may have certain rights and obligations under the law when placing liens on property. Proper notice must be filed, and time periods must pass before a lien can be placed. When foreclosing on property, mortgage liens may or may not have priority. Legal Counsel, P.A. employs homeowner’s association liens lawyers in Orlando, Florida who can help you follow proper legal procedures when it comes to placing a lien and when it comes to foreclosing and collecting past due amounts through foreclosure. Have questions? We have answers. Contact Legal Counsel, P.A. today at 407-982-4321.