The Declarant, for each Lot owned within the Property, hereby covenants, and each Owner of any Lot by acceptance of a deed therefore, whether or not it shall be so expressed in such deed, is deemed to covenant and agree to pay to the Association any assessment duly levied by the Association as provided herein.  Such assessments, together with interest, costs, late charges and reasonable attorneys’ fees, shall be a charge on the land and shall be a continuing lien upon the property against which each such assessment is made.  Each such assessment, together with interest, costs, late charges and reasonable attorney’ fees, shall also be the personal obligation of the person who was the Owner of such property at the time when the assessment fell due.  The personal obligation for delinquent assessments shall not pass to his successors in title unless the lien for such delinquent assessments had been properly recorded prior to the title transfer or unless expressly assumed by them.  Provided, however, that in the case of a sale of any Lot which is charged with the payment of an assessment or assessments payable in installments, the person or entity who is the Owner immediately prior to the date of any such sale shall be personally liable only for the amount of the installments due prior to said date.  The new Owner shall be personally liable for installments which become due on and after said date.

 

Any assessments which may be levied from time to time pursuant to the authority of the Board as set forth in Section 3.4.1 hereof, shall be fixed at a uniform rate for each Lot, except for assessments levied against an Owner for the purpose of reimbursing the Association for costs incurred in bringing the Owner or his Home and/or Lot into compliance with the provisions of this Declaration.  Declarant shall pay any assessment levied against any Lots owned by it.  An assessment against a Lot shall be the joint and several personal obligation of all Owners of that Lot.

 

 

The Board shall have the authority, without obtaining prior approval of the Owners to levy assessments in a given calendar year totaling not more than $75.00 per lot.  Assessments included in the foregoing calculation shall not include any assessments which are levied against an Owner for reimbursing the Association for costs incurred in bringing the Owner or his Home and/or Lot into compliance with the provisions of this Declaration.

 

The dollar amount specified in Section 6.3.1 shall be increased proportionately by the increase in the consumer price index for the City of Seattle, Washington, for All Urban Consumers, prepared by the United States Department of Labor for the base period, January 1, 1987, to adjust for any deflation in the value of the dollar.

 

Any assessment to be levied in a given calendar year which would cause the total for all assessments for the year to exceed the sum per Lot permitted by Section 6.3.1 shall require the calling of a meeting of the Association upon notice sent to all members not less that thirty (30) nor more than sixty (60) days in advance of the meeting, and the approval at such meeting of the levy of such assessment by a majority of the Lots represented at such meeting, provided a quorum is present as defined in the Bylaws.  In addition, any borrowing by the Association in any amount shall require the approval of the members in the manner set forth herein.

 

In any legal proceeding commenced pursuant to Section 7.1.1, and notwithstanding the assessment limitation provided for in Section 6.3.1 or the majority approval requirement provided for in Section 6.3.3, the court having jurisdiction over such proceeding shall also have jurisdiction and power to cause assessments to be levied and collected on an equal per Lot basis in such amounts as is reasonably necessary to cause the Project to be properly administered in accordance with the provisions of this Declaration and the Bylaws, or to cause the provisions of this Declaration and the Bylaws to be properly applied and enforced.

 

Assessments shall be payable in such reasonable manner as the Board shall designate.  Any assessment or installment thereof which remains unpaid for at least fifteen (15) days after the due date thereof shall bear interest at the rate of 12% per annum, and the Board may also assess a late charge in an amount not exceeding 25% of any unpaid assessment which has been delinquent for more than fifteen (15) days.

 

Any assessments collected by the Association shall be deposited in one or more insured institutional depository accounts established by the Board.  The Board shall have exclusive control of such accounts and shall maintain accurate records thereof.  No withdrawal shall be made from said accounts except to pay for charges and expenses authorized by this Declaration.

 

In the event any assessment or installment thereof remains delinquent for more than thirty (30) days, the Board may, upon fifteen (15) days’ prior written notice to the Owner of such Lot of the existence of the default, accelerate and demand immediate payment of the entire assessment.  The amount of any assessment assessed or charged to any Lot plus interest, costs, late charges and reasonable attorneys’ fees, shall be a lien upon such Lot.  A Notice of Assessment may be recorded in the office where real estate conveyances are recorded for the county in which this Project is located.  Such Notice of Assessment may be filed at any time at least fifteen (15) days following delivery of the notice of default referred to above in this Section 6.6.  The lien for payment of such assessments and charges shall have priority over all other liens and encumbrances, recorded or unrecorded, limited as provided in Section 9.1.  Suit to recover a money judgment for unpaid assessments or charges shall be maintainable without foreclosure or waiver of the lien securing the same.

 

Each Owner hereby waives, to the extent of any liens created pursuant to this Article, the benefit of any homestead or exemption law in effect at the time any assessment or installment thereof becomes delinquent or any lien is imposed pursuant to the terms hereof.

 

No Owner may exempt himself from liability for his Assessments by abandonment of his Lot.

 

The Board shall prepare or cause to be prepared, for any calendar year in which the Association levies or collects any assessments, and shall distribute to all Owners, a balance sheet and an operating (income/expense) statement for the Association, which shall include a schedule of assessments received and receivable, identified by the number of the Lot and the name of the Owner so assessed.  The Board shall cause detailed and accurate records of the receipts and expenditures of the Association to be kept specifying and itemizing the maintenance, operating, and any other expenses incurred.  Such records, copies of this Declaration, the Articles and the Bylaws, and any resolutions authorizing expenditures of Association funds shall be available for examination by any Owner at convenient hours of weekdays.

 

A certificate executed and acknowledged by the treasurer or president of the Board, or an authorized agent thereof if neither the president nor treasurer is available, stating the indebtedness for assessments and charges or lack thereof secured by the assessment lien upon any Lot shall be conclusive upon the Association as to the amount of such indebtedness on the date of the certificate, in favor of all persons who rely thereon in good faith.  Such a certificate shall be furnished to any Owner or any encumbrancer of a Lot within a reasonable time after request, in recordable form, at a reasonable fee.  Unless otherwise prohibited by law, any encumbrancer holding a lien on a Lot may pay any unpaid assessments or charges with respect to such Lot, and, upon such payment, shall have a lien on such Lot for the amounts paid of the same rank as the lien of his encumbrance.

 

The Declarant of Board, on behalf of the Association, may initiate action to foreclose the lien of, or collect, any assessment.  In any action to foreclose the lien of, or otherwise collect, delinquent assessments or charges, any judgment rendered in favor of the Association shall include a reasonable sum for attorneys’ fees and all cost and expenses reasonably incurred in preparation for or in the prosecution of said action, in addition to taxable costs permitted by law.

 

The Board shall prepare and record a satisfaction and release of the lien for which a Notice of Assessment has been filed and recorded in accordance with this Article upon timely payment or other satisfaction of all delinquent assessments set forth in the Notice, and all other assessments which have become due and payable following the date of such recordation with respect to the Lot as to which such Notice of Assessment was recorded, together with all costs, late charges and interest which have accrued thereon.  Fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) covering the cost of preparation and recordation shall be paid to the Association prior to such action.  The satisfaction of the lien created by the Notice of Assessment shall be executed by the president or treasurer of the Association or by any authorized representative of the Board.  For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “costs” shall include costs and expenses actually incurred or expended by the Association in connection with the cost of preparation and recordation of the Notice of Assessment and in efforts to collect the delinquent assessments secured by the lien and a reasonable sum for attorneys’ fees.