If you serve on an HOA board, you probably do it because you love your community and want to make it a better place. Having rules and standards can help improve property values for everyone. Unless your HOA wants to lose its authority, you have to carefully and universally enforce the rules for everyone living in the HOA.
Enforcement is often one of the hardest things that members of an HOA have to do. It can be hard enough to turn off someone’s access to the gym facilities or seek a lien against a property for non-payment of dues. When someone has stopped paying their mortgage, the HOA may have to foreclose on the property.
The entire process is something that can be stressful and quite emotional for everyone involved. No one who works for the HOA may want to handle foreclosure for an HOA because they may sympathize with the homeowner. Retaining a legal professional who doesn’t live in the HOA can ensure that the process goes smoothly and limits the emotional fallout for HOA members.
The non-judicial foreclosure process can be relatively complex
Quite a few of the foreclosures in Utah are non-judicial. This means that the process doesn’t involve going to court at all. Still, just because you don’t have to go to court doesn’t mean that a non-judicial foreclosure is easy to perform.
Once a homeowner falls behind on a mortgage, the lender has to send them mail warning them about their missed or late payment. The lender should give at least 30 days to fix the situation. If the homeowner doesn’t pay, eventually the lender sends a Notice of Default and records it at the County Recorder’s office.
There is another waiting period, and then the homeowner and others should receive a Notice of Sale. The sale is typically an auction. Finally, the homeowner will face eviction if they don’t leave on their own.
Small mistakes can delay a foreclosure attempt
Missing certain filings, forgetting to mail something or even taking action too quickly can all lead to the dismissal of your foreclosure attempt. Careful compliance with state law is necessary to keep the foreclosure and eviction process as smooth and cost-effective as possible.