Community Associations can recover foreclosure write-offs

How to pursue association write-offs

By Mitch Drimmer, CAM

So there you are at another board meeting and your community association manager is sharing some good news and some bad news. The good news is that after three years the bank has finally foreclosed and taken title to unit 101, and since the mortgage was $150,000 the association has recovered $1,500 in assessments(the lesser of 12 months or one percent, frequently referred to as the statutory cap).

The bad news is that the unit owed $10,400 including $1,500 in attorney fees. After paying the attorney, the total net recovery for the association was zero, and the shortfall to the association was $8,900. The treasurer asks “What now?” and the manager responds with “our lawyer says that we have to take a write-off.”

Can an association get back any of the money it is owed after a bank forecloses. The answer is yes, but only if the association knows it can and then makes the effort to collect it. It is money being left on the floor. All the association has to do is reach to pick it up.

What boards need to know is that when a bank forecloses, takes title and leaves the association with an unpaid debt, the money is still owed to the association and may be attempted to be recovered. The recovery is not always easy. It may not always be fruitful. Boards of directors need to ask this simple question: “is there any way that we can go after the former owner and get back the money that is owed to us?” My advice to association boards is to take nothing for granted and treat this lost money as if it were a debt personally owed to you. Would you walk away from it? Instead of getting angry, do something to recover your money.

Engaging Association Financial Services is the best option. AFS will operate as agents of creditors (like an association) and collect debts for a percentage of the total amount owed. So if you are collecting zero, any percentage recovered looks pretty good at this point.

Association Financial Services is focused on the community association industry and we are actively working to collect community association debt owed on exclusively a contingency basis. If you are a member of a board of directors, it’s time that you considered what is owed, and how you can get it back. Give us a call and one of our Account Executives will be glad to speak at your next board meeting. And if the board gives AFS the green light, we will be happy to contact that former owner of unit 101 and pursue recovery of the association’s money.Call today 866.736.3069

AFS HOSTING FREE SEMINAR AND LUNCH FOR TAMPA COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS

Tampa-area community association members and managers are invited to attend a free seminar and lunch on Saturday, November 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Hillsborough Community College (Dale Mabry Campus at 4001 W. Tampa Bay Blvd.)   Complimentary continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.

The event is sponsored by the Hillsborough County Office of Neighborhood Relations and Association Financial Services of Miami.

Experts in their fields will discuss topics such as:

• Purchasing the right insurance for your community association
• Association borrowing and bank loans
• Insurance claims process
• Collections and accounts receivables
• Reserve studies for your association

Please RSVP to LDarwish@AssociationFS.com.  

Click here for more information and a map of the event:  http://www.enflyer.com/app/file_root/12748/EnFlyers/108694.html

Ken Arnold Named A Finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year Award

On September 22, Association Financial Services CEO Ken Arnold was honored as a finalist for South Florida Business Journal's prestigious "Entrepreneur of the Year" awards dinner. Pictured here are Mitch Drimmer, Vice President of Sales; COO Jon Arnold; CEO Ken Arnold and CFO Alex Moskovitz.

Do you believe that trade shows are beneficial? AFS certainly does.

Regardless of the industry, trade shows require hard work, time and cost.  Some companies feel they are not worth the effort.  Others, like Association Financial Services, make the effort to be at  every appropriate show.   AFS believes that if getting face-to-face with living, breathing clients and prospects is the goal, few marketing tactics top trade shows.  Vendors and attendees are there for the same reasons: to listen, learn and develop relationships that benefit both parties.

Community Associations Institute (CAI) is the leading organizer of trade shows serving the condominium and homeowners association industry.  Each chapter hosts an annual show, sometimes referred to as a “CA Day.”  In Florida, that means eight well-planned and attended events between October and April each year.  In May, CAI’s national office hosts its highly anticipated annual conference in grand style.  Always informative and entertaining, the CAI National Conference will be held in Las Vegas from May 2-5, 2012.

In addition to the CAI events, Association Financial Services participates in a number of other industry-related trade shows.  In the month of October alone, the AFS sales team and its colorful booth will appear at four different locations:  The Gold Coast CAI Chapter show in Palm Beach County on October 14, the CAMP show at the Seminole Hard Rock Resort on the 15th, the Property Manager Expo in Miami on the 18th, and the Property Manager Expo in Jacksonville on the 21st.

Will we see you there?

Not Vengeance…Just Good Business!

In the August 2011 issue of Florida Community Association Journal, Ken Arnold and Jeff Oshinsky of AFS address the relevant question of whether community associations should move to foreclose on the titles of delinquent units… or wait for banks to take action.  Furthermore, they explain why the decision to foreclose is not an emotional one based on anger and frustration, but a thoughtful choice rooted in sound business principles.

Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Not Vengeance…Just Good Business in FCAJ Aug 2011

Congratulations, Alex!

Association Financial Services is proud to congratulate Chief Financial Officer Alex Moskovitz on being named one of 2011′s 40 Under 40 rising business stars by the South Florida Business Journal.  The story on Alex can be read by clicking the link below.  Well-deserved, Alex!

Alex Moskovitz 40 Under 40 Story

Ken Arnold Quoted in Sarasota Herald-Tribune Article

Read what Association Financial Services CEO Ken Arnold has to say in Michael Pollick’s article about community association foreclosures in the June 18 issue of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.  Click the link below to see the full article.

 Sarasota Herald-Tribune article June 2011

Take Control of Your Collections!

AFS CEO Ken Arnold discusses how condo associations and HOAs can maximize collections of maintenance fees in the May 2011 issue of Florida Condo Management Magazine.  Read about it on page three of the current issue…click here:  Frustrated with your collections – May 2011 FL Condo MGMT   Please let us know if you agree.

A “Must Read” for Property Managers and Community Association Boards

 

Don’t miss the Property Manager Expo in Orlando on May 24, 2011.  One of the day’s highlights will be Mitch Drimmer of Association Financial Services as he monitors a lively debate between two prominent Florida collections attorneys on the subject of“Proper Application of Rents from Units in Foreclosure.”  The sparks — and the jokes — will certainly be flying!  Visit www.PM-EXPO.com to learn more!

Also, click the link below to read an interesting article written by Association Financial Services CEO Ken Arnold on the subject of Community Association Collections.  Ken discusses the three phases in the life of a delinquent unit — specifically the three phases of the collections process.  Ken has distilled the volumes written about association collections of delinquent maintenance fees into a concise and useful article.

Read it here:

http://www.propertymanagerpages.com/blog/2011/04/21/florida-community-association-collections/

If you are planning to attend the 2011 Community Associations Institute National Conference on May 5 and 6 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, please stop by booth 404 and visit Gold Sponsor Association Financial Services. 

Members of the Association Financial Services Executive Team and Customer Support Representatives will be on hand to explain why AFS is Florida’s leading provider of innovative collections solutions for community associations.  AFS specializes in getting condominium and homeowner associations back on solid financial footing in no time at all and at no cost to the association.  For more information, please visit www.AssociationFinancial.com or call 1-866-736-3069.