HOA · 6 statesHOA assessment liens by state: priority, recording and the payoff statement

Unpaid HOA dues follow the lot, so the closing has to find and pay them. Arizona: the association has a lien from the date each assessment is due, behind the first mortgage and taxes; it can foreclose only after 18 months or $10,000 of delinquency; on written request it must give a statement of unpaid liens within ten days, binding when a licensed escrow agent asks, and failing to give it in time extinguishes the lien for assessments then due (A.R.S. §§33-1807, 33-1256). Alabama: under the Homeowners' Association Act the lien arises on the due date, ranks behind taxes, municipal assessments, fixture filings and mortgages, and must be recorded as a verified statement of lien within 12 months after 30 days' certified notice (Ala. Code §35-20-12); an Alabama condominium lien is ahead of a first mortgage for six months of regular assessments, and a statement not furnished within ten business days of a written request releases the lien for that amount (Ala. Code §35-8A-316). Oklahoma: an owners association's assessment can become a lien foreclosed like a mortgage only if the owner was told in writing on joining of the rules and potential liability, and the closing title company gives the buyer a copy of the recorded covenants for up to $25 (60 O.S. §§852, 857). Florida: when the governing documents authorize it, the HOA lien relates back to the recording of the declaration, but against a first mortgage only from the recording of a claim of lien; and a new owner is jointly and severally liable with the previous owner for all assessments unpaid at the transfer of title (Fla. Stat. §720.3085(1), (2)(b)). Minnesota: in a common interest community, the association has a lien from the day an assessment is due, perfected by the recorded declaration without any further filing; it comes after liens recorded before the declaration, a first mortgage and real estate taxes, but a buyer at a first-mortgage foreclosure takes subject to up to six months of common-expense assessments due before redemption ends; the association must give a recordable statement of unpaid assessments within ten business days of a written request, and the statement binds it (Minn. Stat. §515B.3-116). Texas: before filing an assessment lien, a property owners' association sends a first delinquency notice by mail or email and a second by certified mail at least 30 days later, and can't file the lien until 90 days after the second; it can't foreclose a lien made up only of fines and related fees, needs a court order (expedited or judicial) to foreclose, and must first give a deed-of-trust lienholder written notice and 61 days to cure (Tex. Prop. Code §§209.009, 209.0091, 209.0092, 209.0094).