My HOA is pretty harmless and relatively inexpensive. As long as you keep your front yard weed/trash/junk free and take your trash cans in within 48 hrs of pickup they pretty much leave you alone. But who really runs these shit shows?
I can’t remember the last time I had to mail something with a stamp but near as I can tell, stamps and first class mail go for .55 cents a pop. Today I got a bill for a late fee on our quarterly payment. The late fee was, I shit you not, .50 cents. Who really loses money when collecting fees? And if they think I’m spending .55 cents to pay a .50 cent late fee, they’re fooked!

They are going to fook you until you pay.

Believe me...they would put a lien on your house over $0.50. Just go give your HOA president a roll of pennies...

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
Believe me...they would put a lien on your house over $0.50. Just go give your HOA president a roll of pennies...

No kidding.

Consider yourself lucky the late fee is only fiddy cent.

Yeah... pay the 50 cents.

If they slap a lien on the property, you don't want that last minute mother of all F-Ups coming to bite you when you're trying to close on selling the property. It's not worth the hassle and delay. Doubt they would put a lien for 50 cents...but are you willing to risk it??

Andrew

Think of this: It cost them $.55 to send you a $.50 bill

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
Believe me...they would put a lien on your house over $0.50. Just go give your HOA president a roll of pennies...

and have them mail you a receipt!!!LOL

I’m fortunate to have an excellent board at my HOA. I serve on the board, mainly to provide support for the board president. She’s been president for many years and does such a good job – we’re lucky to have her. Serving on the board is a thankless duty.

I have my bank account set up to automatically send the monthly HOA fee.

Send them a check for 51 cents so that they can spend some time accounting for the penny that doesn't belong.

Were you late on the payment? I think most of the utility companies charge a 3% fee on late payments. I would suck it up and pay the 50 cents.

Im sure its spelled out in your HOA agreement. Think of the recent posts here about the $25 admin charge for the toll road violations.

quote:

Originally posted by ChasinTails:

near as I can tell, stamps and first class mail go for .55 cents a pop. Today I got a bill for a late fee on our quarterly payment. The late fee was, I shit you not, .50 cents . . . if they think I’m spending .55 cents to pay a .50 cent late fee, they’re fooked!

Do you use your bank or credit union's Online Bill Pay? If so, you won't have to buy a stamp.

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
Believe me...they would put a lien on your house over $0.50. Just go give your HOA president a roll of pennies...

You'll get more mileage out of that roll of pennies if you put it in a sock.

Maybe it's a typo, and was meant to be $50.00.

I think I'd pay it by mail and forget about it.

quote:

Originally posted by dynorat:

Maybe it's a typo, and was meant to be $50.00.

I think I'd pay it by mail and forget about it.

Fifty bucks is pretty heavy for a late fee. I think late fees for the HOA where I live are somewhere around ten bucks.

The fifty cents that ChasinTails reported sounds more like interest, than a late penalty fee.

quote:

Originally posted by dynorat:
Maybe it's a typo, and was meant to be $50.00.

I think I'd pay it by mail and forget about it.

His point is that they lost 5 cents on the deal sending him a bill that was less than the .55 cent stamp they used to send the letter.

quote:

Originally posted by walker77:

quote:

Originally posted by dynorat:
Maybe it's a typo, and was meant to be $50.00.

I think I'd pay it by mail and forget about it.

His point is that they lost 5 cents on the deal sending him a bill that was less than the .55 cent stamp they used to send the letter.

At least in Michigan we cannot waive fees associated with a HOA for one member unless we do it for all members. This is written in our state laws regarding HOA and also our by-laws. Only time that back dues and liens can be waived is during foreclosure, this we found out during the mortgage crisis a few years ago.

Pay it. Move on.

Anything else will cost you a lot more.

I underpaid my Maricopa County Dog Licensing Fee by 25 cents. I received an overdue notice for 25 cents mailed to me with 49 cents of postage.

I chalked it up to government idiocy. I wouldn't think an HOA would make the same financially poor decision.

The snail mail may be a requirement in the HOA bylaws. It is in mine at least. Still, common sense would suggest that the president or treasurer talk to you prior to spending on the stamp. You could make them send you snail mail notice, but it sounds like you wouldn’t do that just to be difficult.