New! On-Line Payment Options for Common Fees
Imagineers is pleased to announce the availability of a new online credit card / electronic check payment option for our association clients. Over the past several years, we have received frequent inquires from community boards and homeowners requesting an option to pay their common fees using a credit card or electronic check. In the past, this payment option was not practical as the costs involved were prohibitive. We have recently teamed up with a service provider that now allows for a cost effective secure method for offering this service.
If your board elects to initiate this option for your community, homeowners can start to make payments on-line by accessing that option through the association's existing password-secured community web portal provided by Imagineers. The payments received through this option are deposited directly into the association's bank account by the service provider. Imagineers will receive an electronic file daily which will indicate each and every transaction; this will also update the homeowner's account and the association's cash account balance. We have fully implemented this payment option at select communities and their feedback and response has been very positive.
The benefits of this new online payment option to your board and association include the following:
1. Additional payment convenience to homeowners: Homeowners will have the option to pay their common fees by credit card or an electronic check. This is helpful to homeowners that prefer to pay online. The online payment involves a conveyance fee. The amount of the conveyance fee is indicated to the customer prior to execution of the transaction. The conveyance fee for the electronic check is $2.00 per transaction. The fee for credit card payment option varies based on the amount of your community common fee but generally ranges between $5 to $15 per transaction.
2. No transaction charge or exposure to your association: The conveyance fee for the online payment does not get charged to the association. It is instead charged directly to the unit owner when they elect to use the service and is paid to the service provider. The service provider is the credit card merchant and not the association. There is no concern about bounced checks as the service provider's software checks the availability of funds before the customer is allowed to complete the transaction.
3. Effective tool to help boards reduce delinquencies: The online payment option is a convenient method for homeowners to pay common fees. It provides a fast and easy method for homeowners to avoid a late fee when they simply may have forgotten to make their payment in a timely fashion. It may also help to decrease delinquencies as homeowners that have temporary cash flow concerns would now have the option to finance their fee payments through their credit card account.
The cost to your association to be able to offer this payment option to all of your homeowners is $125 per year. The $125 annual fee covers Imagineers annual cost(s) to the service provider and administrative costs for creating and maintaining an account for the association. This fee would be billed annually as a lump sum fee at the beginning of the year. If you would like to utilize this tool for your community, simply advise your association manager to add this feature to your community's web portal.
Thank you for reading the Imagineers Board Newsletter. If you have any question or need any additional information on any articles provided in this newsletter, please contact us at 1-800-560-7268.
Imagineers LLCEmail: Gpassacantando@imagineersllc.com
Phone: 1-800-560-7268
Fax: 860-236-3951
Web: http://www.imagineersllc.com
