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WISCONSIN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION COLLECTIONS GUIDE

Wisconsin Community Association Collections Guide: Get answers to your questions about Wisconsin HOA Collection Laws

Welcome to Wisconsin

With over 5,300 condos, HOAs, and co-ops, the state of Wisconsin has a massive number of common interest reality associations. According to CAI, an estimated 739,000 Wisconsin residents live in a community association today. 

By 2040 the community association housing model is expected to become the most common form of housing in Wisconsin. Currently, Wisconsin residents pay $22.7 million a year to maintain their communities and 25,000 Wisconsinites serve as volunteer leaders in their community associations. 

Before you read anything on this page about the laws governing Condo and HOA collections in Wisconsin, make sure you have read the governing documents for your association. The governing documents may be stricter than the state laws, and in those cases, the governing documents take precedence.

As a general rule, neither your management company nor board members should attempt to make contact with delinquent homeowners in an attempt to collect the debt, beyond the initial courtesy letters. You need an attorney or a licensed collection agency to collect on your behalf.

Legal Reference Links

FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT (FDCPA)

Wisconsin Nonstock Corporations Act

Wisconsin Condominium Ownership Act

Other Federal Laws

How to improce HOA delinquencies

How to Reduce Your Condo/HOA Delinquency Rate

Are you living with the Consequences of nonpaying homeowners? If so, you need a better approach to collections for your community association!

This guide will will give you the same techniques that we use to help our clients reduce delinquencies, all but eliminate bad debt write-offs, and see significant savings on legal fees.

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Disclaimer: The information provided on this page is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Axela is a technology provider and is not a debt collector. Laws and procedures may change and may vary depending on the specific circumstances. This information should not be relied upon as a substitute for advice from qualified legal counsel. Users should consult an attorney regarding applicable laws and compliance requirements.

State Collection Laws for HOAs & Condos

Yes. Foreclosure should be the last desperate attempt to recover the association’s money. An HOA should consider a merit-based collection agency to recover its delinquent money before moving to put people out of their homes. Notices should be given to a delinquent before any action is taken.
If the file has not gone to the attorney it is advisable to contact the manager or treasurer of the association to get a copy of the delinquent ledger. Then review the ledger and if you can prove that you made payments that were not applied properly, advise the management company. If the file has been sent to a collection agency the law requires that the collection agency give the debtor 30 days to dispute the debt.
Yes. There is nothing in the statutes that limit the amount of late fees and or late interest that can be charged. Regarding late interest, whether or not the governing documents are silent on the matter the association can charge the maximum allowed by law which is 12%.
Yes. An HOA and Condo must be a properly registered corporation and up to date on all of their state and federal filings. There is no special registration required.
Yes. Wisconsin does not differentiate between an in-state and out-of-state owner from a collections perspective.
6 years. The statute of limitations periods for HOA claims are different for every state. In Wisconsin, consumer debt such as HOA & Condo fees have a statute of limitations of 6 years.
Yes. The board of directors has a fiduciary duty to collect these assessments and if the individual is not in bankruptcy there is nothing legally stopping them from the collection of delinquent assessments.
The best way to handle collections for HOAs is to engage the owners and be armed with all the information you can acquire. Know the equity in the unit, read and understand the governing documents, find out where the owner is, and then begin to engage in the collection efforts. Once again, this is a very heavily regulated industry so this should be done by professional and licensed companies. Once you engage with an owner, you may be surprised to see that most of them will cooperate and come to the table. You just have to ask them and be willing to work with them.
The traditional way to collect is to have the management company send a few courtesy letters to a delinquent owner and then send the file to the attorney for foreclosure. Wisconsin is a Judicial Foreclosure state and the process can be long and expensive.
Yes, Wisconsin has state laws pertaining to HOA and condo associations. To better understand the laws for Wisconsin HOAs, please refer to:
  • Wisconsin Nonstock Corporations Act – Wis. Stat. Ch. 181. This Act governs nonstock corporations in Wisconsin with regard to corporate structure and procedure. Most homeowners’ associations and condominiums in Wisconsin are organized as nonstock corporations
To better understand the laws for Wisconsin condos, please refer to:
  • Wisconsin Condominium Ownership Act – Wis. Stat. Ch. 703. This Act governs the formation, management, operation, and powers of condominium associations formed under the Act by recording a declaration with the register of deeds of the county where the property is located.
It depends. Because Wisconsin is not a super lien state, a bank foreclosure will take priority over a community association’s lien and does not require the lender to provide any compensation to the association for unpaid assessments. So, if both a mortgage-holder and a community association are foreclosing on a property, chances are often slim that the HOA will be able to collect. This is because there is often no money leftover for the HOA to collect on their debts once a bank has been paid using the sale funds. However, Axela clients are able to take advantage of a service that tracks bank foreclosures through to sale. Once the sale has concluded, Axela can petition on behalf of the association to have first access to any excess funds left over after the mortgage lender has collected.
Yes. Once a property has gone through probate and the court has decided who is the legal owner, all the past due fees are due and payable to the HOA unless the governing documents have a provision that says the debt rolls over to the association. Going forward, after probate has been settled, the new owner must pay their fair share.
An association should always contact a delinquent owner to advise them regarding what is owed. Every owner is entitled to see their ledger and know how much they are owed. An owner may request their ledger at any time and an HOA should be willing and able to provide it to them. An association that publicly publicizes information about a homeowner’s unpaid assessments potentially violates the federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act which forbids disclosure of information to third parties relating to a debt (which includes HOA assessments).
Wisconsin laws place no restrictions on what you can do with the money your association collects in past-due assessments. As long as the money is accounted for in the budget, aligns with the governing documents, and/or is approved by the board of directors it can be spent on any improvements or maintenance that is required by the association.
An HOA can collect as much as is legally owed to them in fees, violations, special assessments, administrative costs, and legal fees – as outlined in the governing documents of the association.
No, but that does not mean that a management company cannot be in violation of the collection statutes. Collections are heavily regulated and anybody who attempts to collect debts should know what they are doing.
In addition to the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) statutes, Wisconsin has its own laws regarding collections. The statutes codified in Ch. 427, Wis Stats are similar to the FDCPA in many respects, it prohibits abusive, deceptive, and unfair practices by third-party debt collectors when attempting to collect a debt.

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Take Control of Your Delinquencies

Watch this video to learn how Axela’s collections tools can return delinquent funds to your community association's accounts.

Axela’s technology increases recovery times. On average, using our collections tools results in money in your community’s account within 67 days of the assessments becoming delinquent.

FREE COLLECTIONS ANALYSIS

  • PREDICTABLE CASH FLOW

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    Our proprietary software has resulted in an average recovery time of 67 days. Compare that to a lien judgment, where you must rent out the unit and collect rental fees!

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    We provide you with easy-to-understand monthly reports. You’ll have access to your customer portal 24/7 to instantly check the status of any account.