A Fox Business story circulating nationally reports that cash-strapped homeowners associations are accelerating collection cases and pursuing more foreclosures against delinquent owners. Surrey Ridge faced the same duty to collect assessments—and chose the opposite method.
We fired the attorney and the management company
The Board fired the Association’s prior attorney through a formal Board resolution. Through a separate Board resolution, it also fired the paid management company and transitioned Surrey Ridge to direct, self-managed oversight.
These were not symbolic changes. The Board accepted responsibility for homeowner accounts, statutory notices, Association records and daily administration.
We learned the law before administering it
The Board built its collection process around Section 720.3085, Florida Statutes. Account balances were reconstructed from source records, notices followed the required sequence, mailing evidence was retained and each escalation step received its own review.
Following the statute protected the Association and the homeowner. A lawful process should create opportunities to resolve an account—not manufacture surprises.
We rejected unsupported charges
An amount does not become valid merely because it appears on a ledger or demand letter. The Board separated assessments from interest, mailing costs, recording expenses, attorney fees and other charges. Unsupported fee claims were challenged instead of being passed on to homeowners without any scrutiny.
We educated and advocated
Homeowners received clear information about the collection process, ways to pay and how to prevent further escalation. When an account needed reconciliation, a Board representative reviewed it directly with the homeowner using a master forensic ledger carefully rebuilt from the account’s opening balance through the current date.
Advocating for homeowners was not acting against the Association. Board members are Association members, neighbors and residents within the community. We carry out this volunteer responsibility knowing that those same members selected us and put us here.
We kept foreclosure from becoming the goal
The final delinquent account had reached a recorded lien and the statutory pre-foreclosure stage. The authority to escalate was real, but foreclosure was never the desired outcome.
The homeowner paid the reconciled balance in full. The account reached zero, the lien was released and no home was sold through an Association foreclosure.
Volunteer does not mean unprepared
Surrey Ridge directors bring approximately 70 logged hours of education, including DBPR-approved Board courses and PHTA-certified pool-operator training. They also bring business, technical and project-management experience to the work.
The results are measurable
Comparable year-over-year spending across property management, janitorial, pool vendor and maintenance, and legal services fell 92% during the first half of 2026. Those savings strengthened the Association and helped complete a major emergency wall reconstruction without a special assessment.