I would like to find out thoughts regarding Chap. 183A, Sec. 7. Which states, "No unit owner may exempt himself from liability for his contribution toward the common expenses by waiver of the use or enjoyment of any of the common areas and facilities or by abandonment of the unit or otherwise; and no unit owner shall be entitled to an offset, deduction, or waiver of common expenses or other charges levied or lawfully assessed by the organization of unit owners."
My question is, we are faced with paying off a legal fee account prior to year-end, which has been discounted by the law firm only if paid by year-end; definitely in our favor. However to come up with the immediate short-term extra funds, we are faced with getting a commercial loan--so far not working as we have no collateral other than cash and we are an HOA not a COA, or charging the homeowners an assessment. Most homeowners will probably not have the cash for this extra assessment prior to year-end. However, a few of the homeowners who are a little more "financially liquid" than the rest of us, may be able to pool funds and pay the balance for the HOA. Short of considering their upfront payment of cash as a loan, could we offer them the option of a credit against the coming year(s)annual HOA Dues/Maintenance Fees? In essence, their extra contribution would be looked at as paying their Annual Dues/Fees in advance and not as an offset, deduction, or waiver. They've paid their fees for multiple years in advance and the legal fee account is paid.
If this is not an option, we will have to make an assessment against all homeowners, see if those that are a little "heavy in the wallet" pay for everyone else, and then try to pay them back a little bit at a time...This is the "loan" option.
Thanks!