I bought mid-year — is my assessment prorated?

**No.** The covenants are explicit: **no adjustments or prorations of assessments shall be made by the Association.**

The full year's assessment is charged against the lot, regardless of when during the year ownership changed hands.

**Why.** The covenants state that for purposes of levying, assessments are **considered as paid in advance** and are levied against the lot. The charge attaches to the property for the year, not to a period of ownership.

**So how does it get sorted out?** Between buyer and seller, usually at closing. It is a normal item to settle there, in the same way property taxes are. The Association does not divide the year for you, but nothing stops the parties agreeing who bears what.

**Get written confirmation before you close.** The covenants entitle any owner liable for an assessment to demand a certificate in writing, signed by an officer, stating whether the assessment has been paid — and that certificate is **conclusive evidence** of payment of any assessment it states to have been paid.

That is worth having. It protects you from an unpaid balance surfacing after you own the lot.

**Remember the lien follows the land.** An unpaid assessment is a continuing lien binding the property in the hands of the new owner, even though the personal obligation stays with whoever owed it.

**Assessments are due April 1** each year, and become past due at 12:01 a.m. on April 2.

*Source: Restrictive Covenants, Article V, Section 7.*