Clarity, Uniformity, and Intrinsic Fairness

Gammon & Associates understands that the very individuals who have failed to live up to the expectations of their community and, as a consequence, have been turned over to our office for legal handling are the neighbors of our clients. As a result, we take great pride in the clarity, uniformity, and intrinsic fairness exhibited by the Firm in dealing with homeowners who have failed to follow the community norm. Specifically, we work with homeowners to accomplish the given objective of discharging a debt owed to the community or effecting compliance with a deed restriction violation within the parameters established by the Board of Directors and without polarizing the individuals who, for whatever reason, find themselves acting contrary to the community standards. To that end, the processes which we employ provide the detailed notices and adequate warnings sufficient to motivate individuals to pay their debts or comply with a community’s deed restrictions early in the legal process. Some of the uniform measures employed by the Firm to accomplish this objective are as follows:

Clear Notice.  Each letter sent to a homeowner sets forth, in plain terms, a detailed itemization of the amount owed or the specific action which must be accomplished, the time period for response before the next step in the legal process is taken, the legal activities which will occur if the homeowner fails to communicate, as well as the legal costs that will be incurred by the individual if the next step in the legal process is required.

Payment Agreements.  Every letter sent to a homeowner explains to the individual how they can remedy the situation, remove themselves from the legal process, and offers to them an opportunity to pay all costs owed to an association through a monthly payout agreement. Our payment agreement includes a signed promise by the homeowner to timely pay to the Association any debt owed to the community which arises during the course of their payout in order to ensure that a homeowner is “debt free” upon completion of the agreement.

Special Situations Addressed.  Homeowners who have unique situations that are outside of the parameters of authority given to the Firm and contemplated by the client (i.e., fixed incomes, severe family illness, recent unemployment etc.) are brought to the attention of the governing Board of Directors to allow them the opportunity to take into account their special situations in proposing solutions to these matters.

Personal Involvement.  If a homeowner has a dispute with regard to what they believe are the facts of their particular case, they are routinely invited to meet with the attorney handling their matter at the Firm’s law office in order that they can review their written file as well as the backup documentation leading up to the dispute. These meetings with the homeowner are done free of charge in an effort to more effectively educate a homeowner regarding the facts of a matter and, hopefully, cause an efficient, cost effective resolution of the dispute.

Legal Charges Illuminated.  Every legal action taken by the Firm in connection with a given matter, as well as the cost, if any, associated with the legal task, is set forth, in cumulative fashion, on the monthly status report prepared for our clients. For those matters in which the Firm has agreed, because of the billing program chosen by the association, to invoice legal charges incurred for a matter, not in the month in which it was incurred but, rather, when the sums are collected from the homeowner responsible for the debt, a line item, at the end of each collection matter listed on the Monthly Status Report, will set forth the cumulative total of legal fees incurred to date for a specific matter which has not yet been invoiced or paid. Consequently, our clients are always aware of the activities taken with regard to a particular matter as well as the cumulative cost associated with pursuing an individual.

Homeowners are not “Nickeled and Dimed”.  The amount set forth in the last correspondence received by a homeowner is, assuming the homeowner complies with the terms of their payment agreement, the total out of pocket cost to the homeowner regardless of the legal work required after a payout agreement is executed. We do not “nickel and dime” an individual involved in the legal process. Consequently, the legal charges reflected in each collection step incorporate all costs necessary to fully process each matter. In addition, the cost of copies, postage, and certified notices are incorporated into each set fee. The firm does not charge a fee to forward payments received by a homeowner to an association, and we do not charge for monthly status reports. As a result, even though a payout arrangement may involve six (6) months of receiving payments from a homeowner, forwarding checks to an association, or require personal meetings with an individual to discuss their balance, the homeowner can depend on the amount set forth in the payment agreement to include all amounts owed.

Client Control.  The client is always in control of the legal process once a matter has been turned over to our offices. Should a client decide, for whatever reason, to stop the legal pursuit of a homeowner, the action is stopped, and the Firm will invoice the association for the legal efforts expended to date.

    
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