If the association owes you money, you can take your evidence to an attorney who can help you take the appropriate action against the association.
Generally, you would file suit against the association and if you prevail you would request a judgment lien to reach any assets that belong to the association. That would most likely be a bank account. The judgment lien would enable you to attach the association's account and freeze those funds.
In my jurisdiction the seizure would be accomplished through the local sheriff's department. Your attorney will explain your options once she/he has reviewed your situation.
A homeowners association cannot be a mandatory association without the consent of 100% of the property owners in the development attempting to establish an association. In addition to the consent of the property owners, the association must follow certain procedures and file the proper documents in order to subject the property to the association's rule.
Read your governing documents to determine whether you are personally liable for what you owe the association, or not. In any event, having a lien filed against the title for property you own will probably be noted on your credit reports, so you are implicated personally in that way when the lien is filed against the property.
Your accusation sounds like there is already litigation afoot. You are best advised to seek counsel from an association-savvy attorney, who can review your evidence with you and help you decide whether or not to pursue your cause.
Read your governing documents, and determine what action must be taken before a lien is filed. When you're ready to file a lien, work with your association-savvy attorney to accomplish this task.
Of course--if the association likes to pay attorney fees and court costs to the property owners whose land title was slandered by the lien. If the association is not in the deed of the property, then the association has no authority to compel payment of dues. For the same reason, those property owners have no authority to enjoy property and facilities owned by the association. Check with a title company to see if the association is in the deed of the delinquent properties.Another PerspectiveSometimes early property owners adjacent to lake communities will voluntarily join the association and thereby make the facilities appurtenant to their own lots and make their property subject to its rules and regulations. Also, adjacent tract owners may voluntarily make their lots subject to the rules and regulations in order to maintain the community at a high standard and attract buyers. You need to consult with the attorney who represented you when you purchased the property to determine if your property was ever made subject to the rules and regulations of the leisure community. That information would be disclosed by a comprehensive title examination.
The definition of a lien is essentially a claim to keep property -- in your case, cloud your title -- until a debt is paid. In order to file a lien, you must owe the association money, either in the form of fines for this violation, or in the form of bills for the required repair. Without money being involved, a lien is not an appropriate tool for the association to use to simply 'get your attention' for your violation of a covenant, condition, regulation or restriction that you agreed to when you purchased your property.
Generally, the association will work with its counsel to file a lien on your property that you own within the association.
This is known as Copyright Infringement. The Cubs Logo is considered property and if you use it without the owners consent, they can file a lawsuit against you for using it without their permission. They have the right to file a suit against anyone who uses their property without having proper consent, regardless of whether they sell it for money or not. It is their property.
If not, how could the property owners file charges?
Owners are responsible for assessments and owe these debts to the association/ corporation. If unpaid, the association can bill the owner, file a lien against the owner's title or take other collection action. Association counsel is best involved in this action, since an inappropriate or poorly filed lien can be used by the debtor to escape payment. Otherwise, associations cannot 'collect' money' from owners.
Liens are a legal specialty and best practices dictate that you work with association counsel to file the proper lien, properly, to maximize the association's chances that it can recover money from this action. An improperly filed, improper lien may afford the debtor defense against your claim.
It depends on the laws of the jurisdiction in which the homeowner's association is organized.Another AnswerThe time delay depends on why the association wants to file and lien, and against what property title.When the association wants to cloud the title to a property owned by someone who is in arrears for paying assessments, the time is defined in your governing documents.Filing a lien, however, is one of the last actions that the association may take. The final action being foreclosure on the home, to sell it in order to collect past due amounts.Finally, you are best advised to work with your association's association-savvy attorney, to insure that the correct lien for the correct amount is filed properly in order to protect the association.