SOP – Community Care

404: Late Charges and Interest Charges

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  • General Information
  • Grace Periods
  • Removing a Late Charge or Interest Charge

Late charges and interest charges are applied according to the association’s Collection Policy. Any questions regarding the Collection Policy should be directed to the manager. 

GENERAL INFORMATION

  • Any account with a past due assessment balance regardless of the amount will be charged a late charge (unless the Collection Policy states otherwise). Note: In the past, a late fee was not charged on a balance below $10 as a courtesy only. This is NO longer the case. A late fee will be charged on any assessment balance regardless of the amount. The late charge will be applied at the applicable rate per the Collection Policy.
  • Late charges are applied at the applicable rate per the Collection Policy. To view what the late fee is, pull up the HOA in SnapHOA Management App, click on Documents on the left options, click on Governing Documents (or any folder that indicates it contains policies), and locate the Assessment Collection Policy. 
  • If the homeowner has an outstanding balance for more than a month, an interest charge may be applied (amount listed on the Assessment Collection Policy). Generally speaking, the percentage is applied to the past due assessment balance only, not the total due on the account (unless the Collection Policy states otherwise).

  • We cannot apply a late charge for an unpaid late charge. Late charges are usually only applied if there is an unpaid assessment balance. However, it should be noted that a few communities have collection policies that allow late charges and interest to all of the unpaid balance (including fines and other charges). When a LC has been applied for an unpaid LC, the homeowner must email communitycare@actionlife.com to request in writing that the LC be removed. 

GRACE PERIODS

  • All assessment payments are due on the first of the month and are considered late if received after the last day of the grace period. If they are paying on the Resident Portal, they have until 11:59pm on the last day of the grace period. Payments that are mailed or hand-delivered must be received by close of business. It does not matter if the grace period falls on a weekend or a holiday, the payment must be received prior to the end of the grace period. 
  • Most associations have a 15 day grace period. However, there are a few associations that have a 60, 30, 10, or 5 day grace period. Please view the Assessment Collection Policy to confirm what the HOA’s grace period is. To view this document: Pull up the HOA in SnapHOA Management App, click on Documents on the left options, click on Governing Documents (or any folder that indicates it contains policies), and locate the Assessment Collection Policy. 

REMOVING A LATE CHARGE OR INTEREST CHARGE

  • Community Care does not have the authority to waive late fees or interest charges.
  • Owners wishing to have late charges and/or fees reversed off their account must email the Fee Waiver Request Form request to communitycare@actionlife.com . Please let them know to fully fill out the form and to include the amount they are requesting be waived along with the reason for their request so that it can be presented to the board for consideration during their next board meeting. Let them know that they will receive a response to their request in writing from the board after it has been reviewed.
  • If the manager determines that the charge was applied in error, they will contact our A/R Department.
  • If the manager determines the charge was not applied in error the manager will present the homeowner’s written request for waiver to the Board of Directors so they may consider their appeal at their next meeting (see SOP 406 Collections). The homeowner will receive a written response from the Board after the meeting. 

Note: Occasionally a Community Manager has been authorized by the Board to waive some charges (for example, one LC per homeowner per year).

  • If the account is in Pre-Lien or Lien Status, the h/o should carbon copy the Collections Rep. for that association on the written request for fee waiver so that the account can be flagged. Once the dispute/appeal is received, the collection process is temporarily suspended until the board has had an opportunity to consider it.