Another attitude adjustment must come from the owners. Some members of Condos and HOAs sometimes feel that their least important financial obligation is to the community which houses them. While it may be true that units are purchased, an important part of the covenant the association has with the members is that they will pay for the maintenance of the association. So even when hard times come, and for sure they are here, the members need to continue to pay their fair share. It is all too common that the HOA maintenance bill is at the bottom of a member’s pile of bills and it's the last one to be paid. If by the time the member gets to that particular bill, there's not enough money to cover the payment, it may not get paid at all. Other bills get paid first like credit cards, car loans, utilities, and such. Yet your most important bill might very well be the community association assessments. The neighborhood that you live in needs to keep the streets safe, services like garbage collection kept up, and the facilities running, not to mention life-safety issues like fire alarms and security.