When an owner stops paying, the board's steps usually live in email and memory: the warning letter, the phone call, the filing at the county. Then a payoff request or the attorney's first question asks when each one happened.
In this walkthrough the board records each step on the unit's own lien record as it happens. The timeline reads back in order, with its dates.
What the video covers
- The Lien Tracking page and the units on it
- A unit whose lien has already been filed, and its timeline
- Recording that a warning letter went out
- Adding a note about the owner's call
- Recording the county filing with its recording number
- Reading the timeline back from the top
- Filtering the list by status
The full walkthrough, in words
The Lien Tracking page shows each unit on the list: where it stands, its balance from its own ledger, and how many days since its lien record was created.
The first one has gone all the way to a filed lien. The balance, the amount at filing, the filed date and the county's recording number sit up top. The timeline runs below them, oldest first: created, warning sent, lien filed, each with its date.
The next one is still in monitoring, with a balance of $840 and one entry on its timeline. The board has sent its warning letter, so it records that here. The status moves to Warning sent, and a new dated entry joins the timeline.
Then the owner called. The board adds a note, and it's kept just below the timeline with its date.
Once the board has filed the lien with the county itself, it records the filing: the recording number, with the amount left blank so the current balance is recorded. The record now reads Lien filed, with $840 as the amount at filing, the filed date and the recording number.
Read back from the top, the timeline shows created, warning sent and lien filed, in order, each with its date. The note about the call sits just below it.
Back on the list, filtering by status pulls out the accounts at each step: two with liens filed, one with a warning sent.
Nothing in HOA-OS sends the letter or files anything at the county. The board does that and records it here.
Questions boards ask about this
Who sends the letter and files the lien?
The board does both, then records each step on the unit's lien record.
What does the Days column count?
Days since the unit's lien record was created.
Where does the note go?
Just below the timeline, with its date.
What gets recorded with the filing?
The county's recording number. Leaving the amount blank records the current balance as the amount at filing.
Related reading
- HOA Liens: How They Work and How to Avoid One
- Where does a board see what's owed on one unit, what's been reported, and who actually lives there?
See what HOA-OS covers for self-managed HOA boards at hoa-os.com/self-managed-hoa-software.