Those home owners who refuse to pay their assessments should be pursued in court, and every reasonable action should be taken to compel payment. Most associations have lien rights in the unit and can foreclose, take ownership or possession of the property, or garnish the wages or bank accounts of the delinquent owners. Most associations have the ability to recover from the delinquent owner, the costs of collection, including attorneys' fees and legal costs. The board members owe a fiduciary duty to the home owners to manage and operate the Association using the care that an ordinarily prudent person would use under the same or similar circumstances. This means that the board must exercise business judgment in making decisions while operating or managing the Association.
Business judgment involves making rational, informed decisions in good faith.
The board must strictly follow the law and its governing documents and apply and enforce them in a fair and uniform manner. The board must obtain and consider all of the relevant facts and circumstances, identify the various options available to the board, and carefully weigh which course of action would be in the best interests of the Association and its membership as a whole. The board members cannot act out of passion or prejudice, personal self-interest or gain, or through revenge or other negative motivations. The rational basis for all decisions must be the best interests of the Association consistent with its purposes. This fiduciary duty owed by each board member to the home owners is the same one that directors of publicly traded corporations owe to their shareholders.