We are a nonprofit corporation that has a pro-bono attorney that does that for us. I personally have only come close to having filed a lien but the previous board did. They just picked up the phone and told the attorney who the delinquent member was and how much they owed. He did the rest. The association did have to pay the filing costs up front but they got it back when the home was sold.

The best method though is the preventive method. It is my opinion that too many Boards are so afraid of offending members that they let things slide for the sake of peace and there are even members who have never paid dues for many years. That just angers those who do pay.

Our Bylaws state that for each month a member is late on his dues, a $25 per month late fee is added to the bill and if a lien does have to be put on the home, that $25 per month continues to add up until the lien is paid in full.

Also, we are going to change our Bylaws that will now prevent a delinquent member from voting on issues or being on the board until the dues are paid.

We had one member that did not pay for 3 years because the previous board allowed it to happen. When I became president, we all agreed that the Bylaws late fee rule was going to be implemented immediately. The delinquent member paid up within a week.