Filing Assessment Liens and Foreclosure

This post is intended to briefly review the process of claim of liens and enforcement of properly filed homeowner (Planned Community or Condominium) claims of liens in North Carolina.  The links in the prior article below can take you to the referenced statutes. 

Liens for Assessments are the topic of consideration in Section 3-116 of both the Planned Community Act and the Condominium Act.  The procedures for enforcement of liens are similar in both.  The lien filing (the “claim of lien”) must be drafted using new, and specific, statutory wording found in subsection (g) of Section 3-116 of the applicable Act.  That subsection requires, as it did prior to the statutory re-write, that certain basic information (name, address, legal description, and amount) be included;   however, the claim of lien must now, in capitalized and bold letters, contain the following words on the face:  “THIS DOCUMENT CONSTITUTES A LIEN AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY, AND IF THE LIEN IS NOT PAID, THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION MAY PROCEED WITH FORECLOSURE AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY IN LIKE MANNER AS A MORTGAGE UNDER NORTH CAROLINA LAW.”  Once prepared, the statute requires that the claim of lien be served upon the owner in a specific manner (specifically the statute references the requirements used for service of a civil complaint), and that a certificate of service be filed along with the claim of lien.  In fact, the foreclosure process, once the lien is filed, is going to be very similar to that procedure used in a foreclosure action based on a deed of trust.     

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 26th, 2011 at 7:32 pm and is filed under Property Owner Associations.