Section 1. Creation of Lien and Personal Obligation. Each Owner of any Lot, by acceptance of a deed therefor, whether it shall be so expressed in each deed, is deemed to covenant and agree to pay to the Association (1) annual assessments or charges; (2) special assessments for capital improvements; and (3) special assessments for legal fees and damages. If the Owner fails to timely pay assessments within thirty (30) days of the date specified by the Association, the annual and special assessments, together with any interest, costs and any reasonable attorneys' fees incurred to collect such assessments, shall be a lien on the land and shall be a continuing lien upon the property against which such assessment is made. Each such assessment, together with any interest, costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred in attempting to collect the assessment, shall also be the personal obligation of the person who is the Owner of such property at the time when the assessment fell due. The personal obligation for delinquent assessments shall not pass to successors in title unless expressly assumed by them. The Association shall record such liens in the Office of the King County Auditor.

 

Section 2. Purpose of Assessments. The assessments levied by the Association shall be used exclusively to promote the recreation, health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Properties and for the improvement and maintenance of the Common Maintenance Areas as provided in Article IV.

 

Section 3. Annual Assessment. Annual assessments shall be levied equally on all Lots. Fifteen percent (15%) of the annual assessment, or such higher percentage as may be charged, shall be allocated and paid to the Declarant for management services provided by the Declarant to the Association or by a professional management firm. Such allocation of funds to the Declarant shall cease when the Development Period expires and the Association assumes collection costs, bookkeeping, and other management responsibilities which are described with particularity in the Bylaws of the Association.

 

Section 4. Computation. It shall be the duty of the Board to prepare a budget covering the estimated costs of operating the Association during the coming year, which shall include a capital reserve. Within thirty (30) days after adoption by the Board of Directors of the budget, the Board shall set a date for a meeting of the members to consider ratification of the budget, not less than fourteen nor more than sixty days after mailing of the summary. Unless at that meeting, seventy-five percent (75%) or more of the Owners reject the budget, in person or by proxy, the budget shall be ratified, whether or not a quorum is present. In the event the proposed budget is rejected or the required notice is not given, the periodic budget last ratified by the owners shall be continued until such time as the Owners ratify a subsequent budget proposed by the Board.

 

Section 5. Revised Budget. If the financial circumstances of the Association materially change during any year, the Board may prepare a revised budget for the balance of the year. Within thirty (30) days after adoption by the Board of Directors of the revised budget, the Board shall set a date for a meeting of the members to consider ratification of the revised budget, not less than fourteen nor more than sixty days after mailing of the summary. Unless at that meeting, seventy-five percent (75%) or more of the Owners reject the revised budget, in person or by proxy, the revised budget shall be ratified, whether or not a quorum is present. In the event the revised budget is rejected or the required notice is not given, the periodic budget last ratified by the owners shall be continued until such time as the Owners ratify a subsequent budget proposed by the Board.

 

Section 6. Special Assessments for Capital Improvements. In addition to the annual assessments authorized above, the Association may levy, in any assessment year, a common assessment, applicable to that year only, for the purpose of defraying, in whole or in part, the cost of any construction, reconstruction, repair or replacement of a capital improvement upon the Common Maintenance Areas not provided by this Declaration, including fixtures and personal property related thereto. Within thirty (30) days after adoption by the Board of Directors of the special assessments for capital improvements, the Board shall set a date for a meeting of the members to consider ratification of the special assessment, not less than fourteen nor more than sixty days after mailing of the summary. Unless at that meeting, seventy-five percent (75%) or more of the Owners reject the special assessment, in person or by proxy, the special assessment shall be ratified, whether or not a quorum is present.

 

Section 7. Special Assessments for Legal Fees and Damages. In addition to the annual and special assessments authorized above, the Declarant, during the Development Period, or the Association may levy in any assessment year a special assessment for the purpose of defraying, in whole or in part, (1) the cost of legal fees and costs incurred in legal actions in which the Association is a party, (2) the cost of legal fees and costs incurred in any action in which a member of either the Board or Committee is named as a party as a result of a decision made or action performed while acting in behalf of the Association, or (3) any other reasonable expenses incurred by the Association. Within thirty (30) days after adoption by the Board of Directors of the special assessment for legal fees and damages, the Board shall set a date for a meeting of the members to consider ratification of the special assessment, not less than fourteen nor more than sixty days after mailing of the summary. Unless at that meeting, seventy-five percent (75%) or more of the Owners reject the special assessment, in person or by proxy, the special assessment shall be ratified, whether or not a quorum is present.

 

Section 8. Uniform Rate of Assessment. Both annual and special assessments must be fixed at a uniform rate for all Lots and must be collected on an annual basis.

 

Section 9. Date of Commencement of Annual Assessment; Due Dates. The annual assessments described in this Article shall commence upon the recording of this Declaration. The first annual assessment shall be adjusted according to the number of months remaining in the calendar year. The Board of Directors shall determine annually the Annual Assessment to be assessed against each Lot. Written notice of the annual assessment shall be sent to every Owner subject to such assessments. The due date shall be established by the Board of Directors. The Association shall, upon demand and for a reasonable charge, furnish a certificate signed by an officer or the administrator of the Association setting forth whether the Assessment on a specified Lot has been paid.

 

Section 10. Effect of Non-Payment of Assessments; Remedies of the Association. Any assessment not paid within thirty (30) days after the due date shall bear interest at the rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum. Each Owner hereby expressly vests in the Association or its agents the right and power to bring all actions against such Owner personally for the collection of such assessments as debts and to enforce lien rights of the Association by all methods available for the enforcement of such liens, including foreclosure by an action brought in the name of the Association in like manner as a mortgage of real property. Such Owner hereby expressly grants to the Association the power of sale in connection with such liens. The liens provided for in this section shall be in favor of the Association and shall be for the benefit of the Association. The Association shall have the power to bid in an interest at foreclosure sale and to acquire, hold, lease, mortgage and convey the same. The Owner is responsible for payment of all attorneys' fees incurred in collecting past due assessments or enforcing the terms of assessment liens. No Owner may waive or otherwise escape liability for the assessments provided herein by non-use of the Common Maintenance Areas or abandonment of his Lot.

 

The Association shall have the right to suspend the voting rights of an Owner for any period during which any assessment against the Lot remains unpaid for a period of thirty (30) days, for any infraction of the terms of either this Declaration, the Articles or the Bylaws of the Association.

 

Section 11. Subordination of the Lien to Mortgage. The lien for assessment provided for in this Article shall be subordinate to the lien of any first mortgage. Sale or transfer of any Lot shall not affect the assessment lien. However, the sale or transfer of any Lot pursuant to a mortgage foreclosure, or any proceeding in lieu thereof, shall extinguish the lien created pursuant to this Article as to payments which become due prior to such sale or transfer. No sale or transfer, however, shall relieve such Lot from liability for any assessments which thereafter become due or from the lien thereof.

 

Section 12. Exempt Property. Property owned by Declarant and the City of Sammamish shall be exempt from the assessments provided for in this Article.

 

Section 13. Budget Deficits During Declarant Control. In the event there is a deficit between the actual operating expenses of the Association (but specifically not including an allocation for capital reserves), and the sum of the annual, special and specific assessments collected by the Association in any fiscal year, Declarant, may, in its sole discretion, contribute funds to the Association in order to satisfy the shortfall, or any portion thereof.