Homeowner FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Community Associations

What is a Community Association?
a. What are CC&R's?
b. What are Bylaws?
What do you guys do?
Why do I have to pay assessments?
a. When am I charged late fees?
b. When is a lien placed?
What are violations?
What is a turnover meeting?
a. When and how does it take place?
b. How can NWCM assist in this transition?
What is an ARC application?
a. Why must my plans be reviewed?
b. When must my plans be reviewed?
c. How do I submit plans for review?
What is ACH?
7a. Who can utilize ACH?
7b. What about different billing cycles?
7c. How much does it cost and how does a homeowner get signed up for ACH service?
7d. What happens after I send in my application?
7e. What if I want to change the bank account ACH is deducted from?
7f. How much will the ACH service deduct?
7g. What if the account balance due is less than the assessment billed?
7h. What if the account balance due is more than the assessment billed?
7i. How do I cancel my ACH service?

New community developments in the Northwest are often required to form a non-profit corporation to care for the common areas within the development. This corporation is known as a community association. For developments of single-family homes, an association's main concern may be only the common areas while for townhomes and condominiums, association concerns may be such things as roofing, siding, and swimming pools. In addition to maintaining the common areas, associations are also responsible for managing the association's finances and, at the direction of the Board, enforcing the guidelines in the CC&R's.

Click on the links below to read the Oregon State Statutes regarding condominiums, townhomes, and single-family homes.

Oregon State Statutes -- Condominiums

Oregon State Statutes -- Townhomes & Single-Family

The extent of an association's powers and involvement are dependent on three factors:

The type of development
The powers given it in the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (a.k.a. the CC&R's)
The degree of involvement mandated by the association members

The following are examples of duties performed by a community association. Responsibilities vary by community, of course, but these general items are good examples.

Collection of assessments from its members (i.e. homeowners) for implementation of the budget.
Notification of CC&R violations and application of penalties, if need be.
Maintenance of common areas, buildings, facilities, etc., as prescribed by the CC&R's.
Review of homeowner problems and concerns.
Processing for approval individual home exterior modifications (e.g. exterior paint color, improvements) to ensure cohesiveness of community appearance.

1a. What are CC&R's?

The Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&R's) are the governing documents of your association. This document gives an association its power and authority and is recorded against each lot. The owner of each lot is therefore subject to the terms and conditions it contains. It is the guideline that all operations of the community follow.

Among other things, the CC&R's provide for architectural control of exterior changes to your home and lot, such as landscaping, fencing, storage areas, spas, painting, etc. In some cases (mainly condominiums and to a lesser extent, townhomes), the CC&R's may address more than just the exterior; no matter what kind of home you own, it's extremely important that you read your CC&R's. In order to assure the continued quality of your community, an Architectural Review Committee will process requests for changes; to request an ARC application, please click here for an ARC form you can print and fill out.

1b. What are Bylaws?

In addition to the CC&R's, a community may also have Bylaws that govern it. While CC&'R's bestow the authority of the association, the Bylaws detail how that authority is to be administered. In this document are more specific guidelines regarding the day-to-day operation and management of an association, including the duties of the individual Board officers, the frequency of meetings and notification for them, how assessments must be calculated, when late fees take effect, etc.

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2. What do you guys do?

Northwest Community Management is an agent for communities that oversees the day-to-day operations of an association. The services we offer:

Working directly for and with your Board of Directors
Providing 24 Hour telephone and emergency service
Providing a resource pool for all homeowner inquiries
Accounting for all billings, receivables and payables
Handling and processing all Architectural Reviews
Inspecting the community regularly for CC&R violations
Corresponding with all CC&R violators until the issue is resolved
Providing full records of all HOA activity to the Board of Directors every month
Attending Board and Committee meetings as requested/required under our contract
Keeping the landscape maintenance at its best through oversight of the contract, routine communication with the contractors, and coordination of the bidding
Arranging for corporate tax filings
Locating and maintaining insurance service for the HOA at all times
Answering all manner of homeowner calls, email, and faxed questions
Closely monitoring financial delinquencies and dealing with them appropriately
Managing the common and open spaces of the community
Assisting the Board of Directors in establishing a viable budget
Mediating all arbitration of Board decisions when called upon to do so by either the Board of Directors or the homeowner
Dealing with all regulatory agencies on behalf of the association

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3. Why do I have to pay assessments?

In order for your community to operate, it needs funding. Your CC&R's provide for the homeowners in the community to be members of the association and thus pay assessments in accordance with a budget. They are an obligation that you agree to fulfill when you purchase a home in an association and as such, are not negotiable. Assessments are invoiced monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually depending on what is detailed in your governing documents.

Northwest Community Management bills assessments by sending out statements directly to you for each period that assessments are due. Prior to the beginning of a new fiscal year, we also coordinate the mailing of the budget for the upcoming year so that you can see what your new assessment will be, if it will change, and how that money is spent.

3a. When am I charged late fees?

Late fees on past due assessments accrue according to the specifications in an association's governing documents. They may be a flat charge, an interest percentage, or both. This is why prompt payment of your assessment obligation is so important.

3b. When is a lien placed?

If your balance due remains unpaid after a period of time specified by your governing documents, the association has the authority to place a lien against your property in order to collect the assessments due plus reimbursement of the fees that the association has to pay when it files a lien. Long before that happens, however, several steps are taken to alert you to your unpaid balance and giving you the opportunity to pay it. In general, you have 90 days to pay your unpaid balance (which includes whatever late fees have accrued during that time). Once that deadline passes, we send you a letter notifying you that a lien will be placed on your property if the balance due is not paid within 10 days or other arrangements are made. After the 10 day deadline passes, a lien will finally be filed, at which point larger fees are added to the balance and you must make special arrangements to clear.

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4. What are violations?

Violations are essentially non-compliance with the governing documents. They might include architectural violations like having a basketball hoop affixed over the garage or painting your house electric blue with magenta trim. Or, they could be violations like leaving your trash can out, parking vehicles in unapproved places, or leaving your holiday decorations up too long. Your documents will detail what you may or may not do with regard to each of these situations, as well as many others. And in the case of any changes to your home (like the paint example), you must have prior approval before beginning any work; otherwise, the association may require that you reverse the change at your own expense.

Northwest Community Management will send you a friendly reminder about any violations they note when observing your neighborhood periodically and give instructions for when it must be corrected. If the violation continues, a penalty process may begin, so it's important to address the situation promptly.

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5. What is a turnover meeting?

Turnover is the transition of control of the association from the developer (Declarant) to the homeowners. A new Board - composed of homeowners - is elected and the association records are turned over to the community.

5a. When and how does it take place?

A community becomes eligible for turnover when a certain percentage of the lots in the community are sold to owners other than the Declarant. The percentage is specified in the governing documents. Once the percentage is achieved, notices of a turnover meeting are sent to the homeowners to encourage attendance and participation in the meeting. (This is a great opportunity to meet your neighbors!)

During the turnover meeting, the purpose of the meeting is explained, as is the role of the association. The financial status of the association is reported to the members and questions are answered by the Declarant and/or the managing agent, if applicable. Also, if a quorum is achieved through the total of attendees and proxies received, candidates for a new board are nominated and the new board is elected.

5b. How can NWCM assist in this transition?

It's important to us that your association start off on the right foot. The success of a turnover meeting really sets the tone for the community and encourages enthusiasm amongst the members. That's why when NWCM assists in the turnover process, we spend extra time during this period helping everyone - the Declarant, the Board, and the homeowners - make the transition as smoothly as possible.

We make arrangements for a meeting time and place, send out the notices of the meeting, create an agenda, collect information to distribute at the meeting, and conduct the meeting itself. To introduce the newly-elected Board members to their positions, duties, and responsibilities, we give them board books that contain all the information they need to hit the ground running, including a homeowner list, recommended vendors, an operating budget, financial statements, meeting minutes and correspondence to date, contracts, insurance, and copies of the association governing documents.

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6. What is an ARC application?

Part of the governing documents for your community include design guidelines called Architectural Changes. To ensure these guidelines are followed, your Board selects an Architectural Review Committee (ARC) that reviews and approves change requests. Approval pertains to such things as landscaping, retaining or decorative walls, decks, fences, sheds, spas, and satellite dish locations. To put it simply: anything that constitutes change outside of your home must have an approved plan. To do this, you are required to submit an ARC application to the Committee for review.

6a. Why must my plans be reviewed?

The Committee reviews each set of plans for compliance with the community's design guidelines, which keep a sense of equity and a certain quality of visual livability about the community. This helps assure property values and a neighborhood standard, which each homeowner agrees to follow when purchasing a home within the community.

6b. When must my plans be reviewed?

Prior to making plans for exterior changes to your home or lot, the Committee must review and approve your changes. It is extremely important to submit your plan and receive approval before any work begins because if your changes are not compliant with the design guidelines, you may be required to make costly alterations or completely remove your changes at your own expense.

6c. How do I submit plans for review?

The review process is very simple. Prior to beginning any project, fill out the ARC application form and attach a set of drawings of your intended plan. The drawings -- which you can do yourself, if you wish -- must include such things as the type of materials, colors, setbacks, and any valuable information you think would help create a clear understanding of your project. Send your completed application and attachments to Northwest Community Management and they will be forwarded to the Architectural Review Committee. You will receive an answer within 30 days so allow plenty of time in your planning for this process and schedule accordingly.

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7. What is ACH?

The acronym "ACH" stands for "Automatic Cash Handling" or "Automatic Clearing House". It is also known as "EFT", or "Electronic Funds Transfer".

7a. Who can utilize ACH?

Any HOA homeowner who is currently paid up on their assessments and does not have any balances due to the association can setup ACH service.

7b. What about different billing cycles?

ACH is available for Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-annual and Annual billing cycles.

7c. How much does it cost and how does a homeowner get signed up for ACH service?

ACH service is free. To set up the service on an account, the homeowner just needs to complete the Authorization Agreement for Direct Payments form -- also known as the EZ Pay Application -- which can be found on the Forms page.

7d. What happens after I send in my application?

Once you've completed your application and sent it in, these are the dates you need to remember:

10th of month – application must be received by this date to have the service set up for the next month (NWCM will send written notification of set up)

After the 10th – application will be pending set up

6th of month – this date is the first day of reconciliation for the current month’s deductions. ACH is processed between the 6th and 9th of the month.

9th of month – TrustLink posts ACH payments to homeowner ledgers

7e. What if I want to change the bank account ACH is deducted from?

An application with a new voided check must be completed and sent in. Please note that it must be received by the 6th of the month to become effective for that month's deduction.

7f. How much will the ACH service deduct?

The amount billed on the first of the month of the billing cycle.

7g. What if the account balance due is less than the assessment billed?

In the case that the account balance due is less than the usual assessment amount, ACH will deduct the amount due for the assessment billed, not the full assessment amount.

7h. What if the account balance due is more than the assessment billed?

In the case that the account balance is more than the assessment billed, ACH will deduct the amount of the assessment billed. Note that past due or previous balances prior to ACH set up are not deducted unless the you have given authorization to deduct them from your bank account.

7i. How do I cancel my ACH service?

To cancel, you need to send email with the following information in the subject line:

[account #], [homeowner name], Cancel ACH

In the body of the email, you will need to give the reason for your cancellation and send the email to georgia.glasgow@nwcommunity.com.

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