Modifications to Late Fees and Penalties

ADVANCE NOTICE – emailed to all members and posted on community’s website

The Red Fox Run POA Board is providing the following advance notice of modifications to how late fees and penalties will be charged on past due annual assessments starting in 2024. This information will be presented at the next Annual Meeting and will become effective on 1/1/24.

Summary:
 Invoices will continue to be mailed to all property owners on, or about, January 2.
 The annual assessment is due upon receipt.  Any payment received until February 28 will continue to be considered timely. 
 Starting March 1, any unpaid annual assessment will be subject to a late payment fee of $20.  A further $20 late fee will accrue at the beginning of each month for which the annual assessment remains past due.
 On July 1, the Board will refer outstanding amounts to our attorney who will file a lien on properties with past due amounts.  Please note — the property owner will be responsible for the legal and administrative fees and expenses associated with the filing of a lien.
 If amounts remaining outstanding after a lien has been filed, the Board will take guidance from counsel on whether to sue for judgment or foreclose.
Background and Rationale for the Modifications: Past due assessments have been pursued by the Board by mailing second and, when necessary, third notices to late-paying residents. The multiple notices, occasionally supplemented by telephone calls, typically result in the collection of the past due amounts.  Historically, the Board has accepted late payments, and as a courtesy, waived late fees.  It should be noted that despite the diligent efforts, there are now three members in the community who have defaulted on their annual dues for multiple years. Collectively, these delinquencies total approximately $4,500.

To put this issue into context, based on 2023 billings: annual dues on approximately 92% of lots were received on time; second notices were sent to the remaining 8% at the end of March.  Since then a further 4% has been collected and third notices are about to be sent to the remaining 4% still outstanding.  The approach taken to pursuing past due assessment results in the community incurring additional cost to pursue these amounts and Board members have to dedicate significant time and effort to collection.   Continuing to allow late payments, and delinquencies, is unfair to the majority of community residents
who pay their dues on time.  The Board has taken advice of counsel on this issue and the modifications that will take effect in 2024 are consistent with North Carolina law and practices of other residential communities. As noted above, we will present and discuss this at the next Annual Meeting in early November (exact date to be determined), in the meantime, if you have any questions, or concerns, please contact any of the POA Board members ( POA@RedFoxPOA.net ). 

In addition, we encourage all members to confirm that the Board has your most current contact details (address, e-mail and telephone number) as this will ensure that you receive all notices in a timely manner. 

To all the community members who continue to pay their annual dues in a timely manner — Thank You, your continued support of our community is greatly appreciated.