1. Creation of the Lien and Personal Obligation of Assessments. Every Owner of any Lot, by acceptance of a deed therefore, whether or not it shall be so expressed in any such deed or other conveyance, and every other Owner of any Lot which is made subject to the terms and conditions of this Declaration, is deemed to covenant and agree to pay to the Association.
(a) Annual assessments or charges;
(b) Special assessments for capital improvements.
(c) Initial capital assessment.
Such assessments shall be fixed, established and collected from time to time as hereinafter provided.
The initial capital assessment, the annual and the special assessments, together with such interest thereon, costs of collection thereof, and reasonable attorney's fees as may be established by the Association, shall be a charge on the land and shall be a continuing lien upon the Lot and the improvements thereon, against which each such assessment is made. Each such assessment, together with such interest and costs and reasonable attorney's fees, shall also be the personal obligation of the Person who was the Owner of the Lot at the time the assessment became due. The personal obligations of an Owner for delinquent assessments shall not pass to his successors in title unless expressly assumed by them and then only with the consent of the Association. The liability for all assessments by the record Owners of each Lot shall be joint and several.
2. Purpose of Assessments. The assessments levied by the Association shall be used exclusively for promoting the health, safety and welfare of the Owners and the Subdivision; enforcing these covenants and the By-Laws, rules, regulations of the Association; providing the services and facilities for the purposes of or related to the maintenance, use and enjoyment of the repairing, maintaining and replacing the stormwater system, subdivision signs, and landscaping and fencing located at the entrance to the property.
3. Amount of Annual Assessment.
(a) Initial Annual Assessment. The initial annual assessment shall be ONE HUNDRED AND 00/100 ($100.00) DOLLARS per Lot effective May 18 1998.
(b) Increase by Association. From and after the date specified in subparagraph (c)(1) above, the maximum annual assessment may be increased effective January 1 of each year by the Board of Directors, without a vote of the Membership of the Association, by a percentage which may not exceed twenty (20%) percent of the amount of the Assessment for the previous year.
(c) Increase by Members. From and after the date specified in subparagraph (c)(2) above, the annual assessment may be increased by an affirmative vote of a majority of the Members who are in person or by proxy, at a meeting duly called for such purpose, written notice of which, setting forth the purpose of the meeting, shall be sent to all Members not less than thirty (30) days nor more than (60) days in advance of the meeting.
(d) Criteria for Establishing Annual Assessment. In proposing the annual assessment for any assessment year, the Board of Directors shall consider all current costs and expenses of the Association, any accrued debts, and reserves for future needs.
(e) Lots Owned by Declarant. Declarant shall be exempt from the payment of the annual assessment for any unsold Lots for a period of two years after the date such Lots are platted of record in the Office of the Register of Deeds of New Hanover County as Lots in the Subdivision. Upon the expiration of two years from the date of recordation of said plat or plats, the obligations of the Declarant to pay the pro rata share of the annual assessment of the year remaining shall be due, and accrual of the obligation to pay assessments to the Association shall not begin until that date.
4. Special Assessments for Capital Improvements. In addition to the annual assessments authorized above, the Association may levy, in any assessment year, a special assessment applicable to that year only for the purpose of defraying, in whole or in part, the costs of construction or reconstruction, unexpected repairs, or replacement of a capital improvement upon the Common Area, including the necessary fixtures and personal property related hereto, provided that any such assessment shall have the assent of a majority of the votes of the Members who are voting in person or by proxy at a meeting duly called for this purpose, written notice of which, setting forth the purpose of the meeting, shall be sent to all Members not less than thirty (30) days nor more than sixty (60) days in advance of the meeting.
5. Uniform Rate of Assessment. Both annual and special assessments must be fixed at a uniform rate for all Lots, on a per Lot basis, and may be collected on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis as determined by the Board of Directors.
6. Date of Commencement of Annual Assessment. Due Dates. The annual assessments provided for herein shall be paid in monthly, quarterly or annual installments and the payment of such shall commence as to each lot on May 18, 1998. The Board of Directors shall fix the amount of the annual assessment against each Lot at least (2) months in advance of each annual assessment period. Written notice of the annual assessment shall be sent to every Owner subject thereto thirty (30) days in advance of each annual assessment period. The due dates shall be established by the Board of Directors. The Association, upon demand at any time, shall furnish a certificate in writing signed by an officer of the Association setting forth whether the assessments on a specified Lot have been paid. A properly executed certificate of the Association as to the status of assessments on a Lot is binding upon the Association as of the date of its issuance.
7. Initial Capital Assessment. Each initial Owner of a Lot agrees to pay an Initial Capital Assessment in the amount of One Hundred and no/100 Dollars (100.00), for the purpose of establishing the capital improvements fund of the Association. Said amount will be collected at closing of the sale of each Lot by the Declarant and shall be paid to the Association, to be maintained in a separate interest-bearing account.
8. Effect of Nonpayment of Assessments, Remedies of the Association. Any assessments or portion thereof which are not paid when due shall be delinquent. If the assessment or any portion thereof is not paid within (30) days after the due date, the same shall bear interest from the date of delinquency at the rate of (12%) per annum and in addition, a late fee shall be assessed in such amount as may be determined by the Board of Directors, with the initial late fee being $5.00. The Association may bring an action against the Owner personally obligated to pay the same, or foreclose the lien against the Lot in the same manner as provided in North Carolina for the foreclosure of deeds of trust, and, in either event, interest, costs and reasonable attorney's fees of any such action shall be added to the amount or such assessment. No Owner may waive or otherwise escape liability for the assessment provided for herein by non-use of the Common Area or abandonment of his Lot.
9. Subordination of the Lien to Mortgages and Ad Valorem Taxes. The lien of the assessments provided for herein on any Lot shall be subordinate to the lien of any first mortgage and ad valorem taxes on each Lot. The sale or transfer of any Lot shall not affect the assessment lien; however, the sale or transfer of any Lot pursuant to such mortgage foreclosure or any proceeding in lieu thereof, shall extinguish the lien of such assessments as to payments which became due prior to such sale or transfer. No sale or transfer shall relieve such Lot from liability for any assessments thereafter becoming due or from the lien thereof.
10. Exempt Property. All Properties dedicated to, and accepted by, a local public authority and all Properties owned by a charitable or nonprofit organization exempt from taxation by the laws of the State of North Carolina shall be exempt from the assessments created herein, except no land or improvements devoted to dwelling use shall be exempt from sold assessments.
