We live in a private lake community. Every year we pay home owner's share of lake use and maintenance. Annual invoice comes in March or so due date being end of April.
I just got a bill for original fee plus interests. This year I did not receive invoice as usual or any reminder notice. Just this bill. I am wondering if I must pay the interest( ~40.00). Any one has experience like this? Not a large amount of money but some how I don't feel it is fair.
How many other homeowners received such a late invoice without receiving the original bill or reminder? Was there a widespread problem this year? That might give you some leverage/sympathy. Or additional sympathy. You might pay the original bill amount, and not the interest, with an explanatory note (and that you have always paid on time in the past, when you DID receive the bills), and see what happens.
Of course, being for many years on the other side of the fence, ISSUING such annual invoices, I got plenty tired of the excuses**. And, like your DMV stuff, your credit card bills, property taxes, etc., you are responsible for paying them regardless of whether or not you received them. So, put it on your calendar each year so you don't have this problem in the future.
** plenty tired, but forgiving. It was usually not the same people each year, they took turns. So, it was easy enough to wipe out the late charges. YMMV.+1 It also depends on what the HOA agreement says about them being able to charge late fees, any restrictions on how much those fees can be, etc.
If the bill was mailed at the proper time, you'd be liable. If the bill was late because the HOA was lazy, it is their fault.
Even though you did not receive a bill, you knew it was due in April. You should have called about April 2oth to question it.
Still, I think I would include the real interest you earned in those months, or maybe even the interest they lost, but not some statutory interest on the first go-round, Along with a note saying you don't want to make money off of their error.
Yes, my 100 neighbors and I pay our water bills to the HOA, and the HOA is supposed to pay the apartment building nearby. All of us are on that meter. So for 18 months I think, the apartment building sent no bill, and our incompetent property manager didn't call to ask, and didn't set aside money and all of a sudden we get a 15,000 dollar bill for water. She also had a rotten peronality, took sides in arguments and defended her position more strongly than the board members did, and with more venom.
We got a new property management woman a few months ago, I'm glad to say.
At today's interest rates, that would amount to spit.
And it would confuse the issue, making it sound like you are arguing about the interest rate, not the fact you never received the bill (which still is your problem)
Find out if anyone elses bill was late.
No, there's an actual dollar amount and, though small, that's what I suggested he pay.
Everyone knows interest rates are low now.
Apparently not you, because you think a few months interest on something like this is worth more than spit. And who's to say what the "actual" interest rate is? Tony isn't going to know what interest rate the HOA might have earned. As T&S pointed out, it just confuses the issue and once you start paying interest, you've admitted that you agree you owe interest.
Duh. You really love to argue about anything. Are you like this in RL too?
Not if you send a note like I said you should.
I've made my point twice now. You've made your point twice. You may make it a third time if you wish. I'm sure it will be no better than it was the first two times, but you can have the last word. .
Look in the mirror pal. All I did was point out that your suggestion that Tony pay the interest that his HOA payment might have theoretically earned in a bank over a few months is worth spit at today's interest rates.
Suggest you take that point up with T&S, he's the one that made that point, not me. But I agree with him. Clearly when they hit you with $40 on something like this, the issue isn't the $1 they might have earned from interest on it. The issue is they want payment on time and they charge interest rates and/or penalties in line with that. By paying your $1 though, you have admitted that it's your fault and now you've just switched the debate to arguing over what the rate should be.
And yet you make the silly claim that it's only me that wants to keep making a point. For the record, you can't count either.
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