A Few Words to a Few Members

by 

Barbara L. Fredricksen

Treasurer, BWEHA, Inc.

 

     If you are one of the 90 percent of Association members who pay your assessment in full and on time each quarter (or year), please feel free to grab a cup of coffee, put your feet up, relax and read another story in The Beacon.

 

     This message isn't for you.

 

     If you are one of the five percent of Association members whose home is in foreclosure, or you've filed for bankruptcy, or you're in the middle of a divorce and the future of your house here is in limbo...well, you're probably not reading this, as you already have enough on your mind.

 

     Anyway, this message isn't for you either.

 

     This message is for the five percent of Association members who don't pay their assessment in full or on time, so, if you're one of those, please keep reading.

 

     First, let me say to those of you who inadvertently let the payment deadline slip by, then come into the office, apologize, pay the assessment, plus the $25 late fee, and thank the office staff for handling all this quietly and professionally - THANK YOU. That's the way it should be done. Nearly everyone drops the ball once in a while.

 

     But then there are a few - and thank heaven, they ARE few - who miss the deadline, let the obligation linger and linger, and then, when they get a letter from the attorney that includes a hefty penalty and legal expenses, storm into the office and get abusive with the office staff.

 

     To them, I say "STOP IT." The office staff has absolutely no control over the amount of the assessment, the procedures for collecting it, or the legal fees and fines imposed upon those who pay late. Acting the bully and being rude to these innocent people accomplishes nothing.

 

     Understand, please, that the rules are the rules, and there is no mechanism or person with the authority to override the rule to pay an assessment - not the office staff, not the board of directors, not an individual member, and not the attorney - and all the hollering and threats in the world will not change that fact.

 

     The imposition of the assessment was made by the developer in the Amended and Restated Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions of Beacon Woods East filed in Pasco County Official Record 3080, pages 1201 through 1217 on April 9, 1992, as Amended, ARTICLE IV, Section 1-Section 12.  The assessments assure that all residents are equally responsible for the costs of maintaining the common areas and enforcement of ARTICLE VII, "Use Restrictions."

 

     The imposition of costs for collection of past due assessments was made by the developer AND by a vote of the Members of BWEHA in By-Laws, Third Revision, November 19, 2007, ARTICLE V, SECTION 2, subsection f: "The delinquent OWNER shall be liable for all costs incurred by the ASSOCIATION in the collection process." (Please note that any payment you make "shall be applied the following order: first to any interest accrued, administrative late fee, cost, including reasonable attorney's fees incurred and then to the delinquent assessment," so if you get the letter from the attorney and send or drop off a check or money order for anything less than the full amount stated in the attorney's letter, your payment will be applied in accordance with the By-Laws, and legal action will continue to collect the delinquent assessment.)

 

     Some late-payers have suggested we send out bills when the assessment is due. We already do. A payment coupon is on the front of The Beacon in January, April, July and October of each year. The Beacon is hand-delivered to each member's home on or shortly after the first day of each month.

 

     Some have suggested mailing a bill. We have calculated that the labor and costs of mailing 877 bills every quarter would be $15,000 to $20,000 a year (check names and addresses of current owners, write the letter, copy, file the copy in each folder, fold, insert original in envelope, plus postage and materials) - all for about 50 Members who pay late.

 

     Some have suggested telephoning our 877 members (if you phone one, you must phone all). At 10 minutes per call (assuming you get the person on the first try), that would be a little over 146 hours a quarter or 584 hours a year, again, for about 50 members who pay late.

 

     Some have suggested "courtesy letters" to late-payers before sending the account to the attorney. To be honest, I would like to do that, too. In fact, the first time I was treasurer of the association board in 1996, we did indeed mail courtesy reminders to late-payers, giving them another 10 or 15 days to pay  their assessment, plus a $25 late fee, before we incurred any legal costs that the member had to reimburse.

 

     Unfortunately, the Florida Legislature, in all its wisdom, created Florida Statute 720, which makes the collection process so complicated and legally demanding that a mere layman cannot possibly fulfill all the requirements of notice, and so it must be sent to our attorney for (expensive) handling from the beginning. That put an end to the courtesy reminders.

 

     Our assessments are not an onerous financial burden - about 74-cents a day - and are one of the lowest in the Tampa Bay area. We're aware that the economy is in the doldrums right now; but, still, part of living in this lovely community is sharing in the expenses to keep up our buildings and grounds and enforcing the deed restrictions that keep up our home values.

 

     We ask you to pay in full and on time, but if you slip up, please mind your manners and treat our office staff with the respect they deserve.