Non- confrontational attitude more likely to settle dispute with HOA

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This problem was fixed, but because they had not removed my old address from their system, the first letter was sent to the correct address but the following letters were sent to the wrong address. However, my billing statements have been sent to the correct address.

I am trying to get in touch with the president of the board, but the management company says they can’t release her personal information. Where can I file my complaint? A:

If you fixed your problem, then the question is whether you should have been fined or how much the fine should be. We understand that many HOAs are hard to reach; however, the association should have a procedure in place to take care of issues like yours.

While you may want to talk to the president of the association, you should start at a lower level. We’ve found that many of the people who work for associations have the power to make decisions on fines and billing issues. So you should first start with the bookkeeper for the association or the person who handles the bills.

You might find that this person is sympathetic to your situation and if that person takes care of the billing issue, you’re done.

However, if that person tells you that he or she can’t change anything, you should ask him or her to direct you to the person who can.

Keep in mind that if you broke the rules, you may still have to pay the fine. Your issue might be that you shouldn’t have to pay other fines if the association’s books aren’t in order. If the association did not update your address for notices but did for its bills, you shouldn’t be penalized for that unless you needed to have send a notice both to the billing department and the association.

We think you should approach this from a non-adversarial position and work your way up the food chain. If the billing department can’t handle your issue, then speak to a supervisor or the property manager. While you might have been in touch with the property manager, your discussions with that person may not have gone well if you were upset or got into a shouting match.

Ultimately, if you can’t get a person to speak to, you might have to attend a board meeting. Most board meetings are open to all members of an association. At the meeting, you can plead your case. Find out where and when the next meeting is and plan to attend, unless you are able to resolve your issue before then.

Ilyce Glink is the creator of an 18-part webinar and ebook series called “The Intentional Investor: How to be wildly successful in real estate,” as well as the author of many books on real estate.

(c) 2015 Ilyce R. Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin. distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.