With more and more owners defaulting on the payment of their homeowner assessments, associations have had to resort to creative measures to maximize the collection of delinquent assessments. Many times attempting to collect from an owner personally is much less effective than attempting to collect from the unit by renting it out and/or having a receiver appointed during or after foreclosures. This presentation will be based on our experience representing hundreds of associations in collection actions and bankruptcies throughout Western Washington. During these unprecedented times, taking no action can result in increased delinquencies as well as abandoned and vacant properties while associations wait (often years) for a lender to foreclose. The presentation will focus on aggressive legal tactics associations can take to put themselves in the legal position to demand payment from owners, lenders and tenants. In addition to traditional collection tools, this presentation will address what associations can do to recover assessments when faced with the very common problem of owner "strategic defaults," lender "foreclosure freezes", properties with negative equity, special assessments, bankruptcies (Chapter 7 and Chapter 13) and foreclosure moratoriums.

Presented by Dean Pody & Patrick McDonald, Sundberg & Pody Law Office PLLC

Foreclosures in a Bad Economy
 
An A to Z discussion of foreclosure - what is it?  What is the difference between judicial and non-judicial foreclosure?  What are the pros and cons of each option?  And, once you've started down the road to foreclosure, what are the Association's options during and after the foreclosure sale?  Bring your questions and stories for this in-depth discussion of a widely-used but little-understood association collection option.

Presented by: Valerie Farris Oman, Condominium Law Group, PLLC

Preventing Fraud, Embezzlement, Theft and Misappropriation in Your Association

Terrible economic times often lead to temptation for those responsible for association funds.  We'll use stories from across the country to educate you about the unfortunate reality of crimes that result in the loss of association money and encourage you to take action.  We will discuss how you can keep hands out of the cookie jar and how to protect your association if the safeguards fail. 

Presented by: Nancy Cannan, CIRMS, CAU, Dawn Mertens, DM Budget and Accounting Services, LLC & Theresa Torgesen, Condominium Law Group, PLLC