Red Rock Financial Services Saved Rossmar & Graham Community Associations Over $1.38M in One Year

Red Rock Financial Services’ James Gibson Named to CAI Nevada Chapter Board

James Gibson is experienced in working with both community managers and homeowner volunteers throughout the state,” said Joel Just, President of Red Rock Financial Services.

Red Rock Financial Services Names Steve Durst Washington Regional Sales Manager

The need for HOA collection services continues to grow, and Steve has a great deal of experience and knows this region well,” said Joel Just, President of Red Rock Financial Services.

With Nevada still reeling from the housing crisis and many Community Associations battling financial hardship, more and more Boards of Directors are faced with the decision of whether to foreclose on the properties of delinquent homeowners. While foreclosure is the final step in the collections process, Red Rock Financial Services urges Community Associations to evaluate the Pros and Cons of foreclosure before taking action as there are two possible outcomes and not all are favorable.

The first possible outcome of a Foreclosure Sale is the property reverting to the Association. If no 3rd party bidders are present at the trustee sale, the Association takes possession of the property through the recordation of a Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale. When this occurs, the Association assumes control of the property and the Association and is responsible for evicting the resident(s). The Association also assumes responsibility for all collection fees and costs, loss of delinquent assessments, potential balances owed on any prior mortgage(s), all taxes, tax liens and the Real Property Transfer Tax.

After taking ownership of the residence and evicting the delinquent homeowner(s) (if they are still living in the residence), the Association may convert the residence into a rental property, if their governing documents allow. The Association can then use this rental income to offset the costs of foreclosure, taxes, insurance and any other expenses incurred during the foreclosure process. The Association may also be able to apply the rental income to the maintenance and upkeep of the property. The Association may also sell the property, if no previous mortgages exist. The downside of the property reverting to the Association, however, is that it exposes the Association to financial risk as the Association becomes responsible for all costs. These costs include collection costs and fees, Transfer Tax and Resale Transfer Tax, eviction costs and fees, insurance, property maintenance and the like and any legal feed incurred during the foreclosure process. The Association’s foreclosure action also wipes out all delinquent assessments, late fees and interest owed to the Association.

The second possible outcome of an Association Foreclosure Sale is that the property is sold to a 3rd party bidder and the new owner takes possession of the property, receiving a Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale. When this occurs, the Association receives all of the outstanding assessments, late fees and interest due and the new owner assumes responsibility for all of the collection fees, costs and current assessments.

While there are both pros and cons when a property reverts to the Association, the Association wins all around when the property is sold to a 3rd party bidder. With this outcome, the Association receives 100% of past due assessments, late fees and interests. The 3rd party bidder also pays any collection fees and costs, taxes and eviction costs and, as new owner, assumes responsibility for all current assessments.

Initiating an Association Foreclosure Sale is an important decision and Boards of Directors should weigh the outcomes of the possible scenarios before entering the foreclosure process. Red Rock Financial Services is available to provide guidance and assistance to Boards of Directors facing this daunting decision. Contact us today at 702.932.6887 or visit www.rrfs.com.

Link to CAMEO Newsletter:
C:\Users\jhaddad\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\TSRAE6HL\email (2).mht

(Aug. 09, 2012, Las Vegas, NV) – Payment defaults throughout the housing industry continue to make headlines. What is often overlooked, however, is how homeowner associations (HOAs) are impacted by residents who don’t pay their assessments. Red Rock Financial Services, a FirstService Residential Management company, is a collection company that serves the unique needs of HOAs. Recently, the company has seen a dramatic increase in associations needing to recoup delinquent assessments and maintain neighborhoods.

For instance, the Rancho el Dorado HOA board of directors in Maricopa, AZ faced a difficult decision about how to deal with the increasing number of residents choosing not to pay their monthly assessments. Should the HOA board raise monthly assessments? Close amenities such as the park?

Instead, the board decided to do something that, until recently, was usually done only by large companies — hiring a professional collection agency. They selected Red Rock Financial Services, a Las Vegas-based collection agency that works exclusively with HOAs nationwide and has become the largest company of this type in the industry.

Bill Day, former president of the Rancho el Dorado HOA board of directors, says the decision was not made lightly, but working with Red Rock Financial Services has been a tremendous help for the community of more than 3,000 homes.

“We had so many homeowners who were not paying their monthly assessments,” Day said. “We thought it was more prudent to go after those homeowners who weren’t paying, rather than punishing those who were.”

“Red Rock Financial Services has been a tremendous help to our community,” he added. “The first year of the contract, they were able to collect over $200,000 for the association, which helped us to fully fund our reserve fund and make necessary improvements to the community.”

The Rancho el Dorado HOA has not been the only HOA to seek such help. The Residence at Canyon Gate HOA, located in Las Vegas, also hired the company to help collect its past due assessments.

“For us, it was important to hire a company that specialized in HOAs,” said Michael Cohen, president of the Residence at Canyon Gate HOA. “HOAs in Nevada are governed by the Nevada Real Estate Division, and we wanted someone that knew the laws and regulations specific to HOAs.”

Red Rock Financial Services currently works with more than 1,000 HOAs in five states and has collected more than $67 million for its HOA clients. The growing company is well-versed in the specific HOA laws and regulations in those states, which include Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Virginia and Florida.

Joel Just, president of Red Rock Financial Services, says that many HOAs are facing extreme financial situations and are relieved that expert help is available.

“Many of the HOA boards we talk with have tried everything they can think of to get homeowners to pay their assessments,” he said. “They send letters, hold hearings, send more letters, and eventually have to take the next step of hiring a collection agency.”

It’s not the first choice for an association board’s to hire collection agencies, or even attorneys. At the 385-community Happy Hideaway community in Houston, the HOA had an ongoing issue with homeowners choosing not to pay the annual assessment, which totaled just $50. The association placed liens on delinquent homes, but that only helped the association if a house was sold. The result was homeowners not taking the assessments seriously.

“Ultimately, people have a choice when they receive the first letter to either call and make a payment or schedule arrangements, or ignore the letter altogether,” said Karen Nelson, Happy Hideaway board member and compliance committee chairperson. “Before we hired Red Rock Financial Services to help our association, almost two-thirds of homeowners were not paying assessments. In the year that Red Rock has been working with us, we have reduced the number of delinquent homeowners to just under one-third.”

With the money that Red Rock Financial Services was able to recoup for the Happy Hideaway HOA, the community was able to better maintain landscaping and clean up vacant homes, Nelson added. “It’s not just about making money. It’s about creating a safer and healthier place to live.”

Red Rock Financial Services has been successful in recouping funds for HOAs with no cost to the association. The company’s business model ensures that all HOAs have the ability to recoup the assessments owed, said CEO Just.

The situation is made even worse by homeowners who have decided to default on their mortgage and also choose to stop paying their HOA.

“What people fail to realize is that not paying your HOA assessments does not harm some large, faceless organization,” added Just. “It harms your neighbors, who continue to pay what they agreed to when they purchased the home. It’s not fair they shoulder the costs of those who don’t pay, but who still continue to use the community’s amenities. We’re here to make sure that homeowners who pay their assessments don’t have to carry the burden of those who don’t.”

Given the challenges presented by today’s economy and housing market, homeowner association (HOA) boards of directors are finding themselves in the increasingly challenging position of having to operate their associations more like a business.

Many HOAs hire management companies to assist with the often-complex duties, laws and issues involved in operating an HOA. For similar reasons, an increasing number of HOA boards nationwide are now hiring collection agencies to help them recoup the unpaid fees owned by distressed and delinquent homeowners.

The downturn of the housing market and the ongoing foreclosure crisis of the past five years or so has been well-publicized nationwide, especially in hard-hit states like Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida and others that housing booms in the previous decade.

But what has received much less attention across the country is the accompanying hardships facing HOAs struggling to stay solvent and provide their homeowners with amenities and services while so many residents are not paying their monthly assessments.

“Many of the HOA boards we talk with have tried everything they can think of to get homeowners to pay their assessments,” said Joel Just, president of Red Rock Financial Services, a collection agency specializing in the unique needs of HOAs. “They send letters, hold hearings, send more letters, and eventually have to take the next step of hiring a collection agency.”

Red Rock Financial Services provides services to HOAs at no cost to the association. This means that the past due assessments that are collected go straight to the association. There are no additional or hidden costs.

“In one year, we helped an HOA in Arizona collect $200,000 in past due assessments,” Just added. “That’s $200,000 that the community was able to use to fully fund its reserve fund and make improvements to the community.”

Red Rock Financial Services works with over 1,000 communities nationwide. The company continues to see an increase in demand for its services as communities struggle with collecting assessments.

“HOAs need to do what they can to operate, and if that means hiring a collection agency, then so be it. They should consider all their options,” Just said.

HOA collection agencies like Red Rock Financial Services are well-versed in HOA regulations and collections laws, he said. They are able to take on the day-to-day activities necessary to recoup the funds owed to the HOA, so the associations themselves don’t have to perform such tasks on their own. This frees up the directors to do what they volunteered to do and focus on effectively overseeing their community.

Link to CAMEO Newsletter:
http://cameo-nv.com/picture/97cameo_connection_2nd_qtr-2012.pdf

A Red Rock Financial Services employee recently went above and beyond the call of duty and, in the process, may have helped save a man’s life.

(PRWEB) June 07, 2012

“Because of her quick thinking and willingness to help and show compassion for this person, Coral may have saved this man’s life,” Just said.

The Greater Houston Neighborhood Association.

GHNA is volunteer grassroots homeowner educational group that focuses on education for improving common interest communities.

The guests today will be the, Mary Joe Butler, President of the GHBA Board, Stephanie Ferrante, Executive Director of Houston’s CAI chapter, and Joel Just, Trade Show educational speaker and Red Rock Financial Services President.

Hosted by Raquel Lozano, Red Rock Financial Services and GHNA Board Member. Check out the www.ghnatexas.org and www.caihouston.org websites for more information.

Tune in to CAI’s Community Spotlight radio show on Saturdays from 4-5PM on 650AM, THE Talk Station, or listen live on the internet at www.650houston.com.

Listen Here: 033112 Greater Houston Neighborhood Association