2026 Fees and Policies Overview
Most of the information on this page is based upon the older published PDF from 2024 that can be downloaded from here. This page contains additional information that is not in the PDF, such as the links to our PayPal and Venmo accounts. The contents of this page is based upon the 2025 HOA Fees and Policies page, with a few updates and changes.
The 2026 budget and the 2025 Profit & Loss can be viewed in this published PDF document. Please note that the fiscal year is not complete, so some expenses have not yet be paid for 2025Q4 so they are listed as estimates and are marked in bold.
For 2026, the fees are based on a non-discounted amount of $155. There is a $15 discounts available for updating your contact information along with a valid email address, for a net result of $140. If you have already provided an email address in the past, then you will be given the discounted rate.
For 2026, there are no discounts available for paying with cash or check.
To claim the $15 discount for updated contact information, including at least one valid email address, please see the following URL. Anyone who has already updated their contact information in 2025 will automatically receive the $15 discount. This uses Google Sheets and I will have to update QuickBooks manually. When I get your information updated, then I will modify your Invoice to reflect the new discount and then have QuickBooks send the updated invoice to your provided email address(es). Filling out the form on this website provides your consent for QuickBooks and other services the HOA uses (such as for news letters) to send you emails. The HOA may have your email addresses through regular email communications, but those email addresses cannot be used with QuickBooks due to lack of concent.
http://updateContactInfo.rossestatesohio.com
Please note: For 2026, the due date for payment of the HOA Fee is February 15, 2026. If you update your contact information on February 15, 2026, you will be given extended time to pay your fees. This is because I will need to manually update QuickBooks and email the updated invoice, so the timing may not be instant or perfect. If you also need extra time, please email me to avoid the late fees.
Direct all questions to: ross.estates.hoa.treasurer@gmail.com
The HOA Board has tried to be transparent with everything related to the HOA Fees, available discounts, and their related policies. As such these policies may be verbose, but are similar in detail and complexity as compared to older policies. By providing as much information as we can, we hope to demystify how these topics will be handled.
See information below about:
- HOA Fees Information for 2026
- Alternative Payment Methods
- A Notice about the usage of PayPal and Venmo
- Paying with QuickBooks Merchant Portal:
- credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, ACH (bank transfers), and others.
- Quick Payment QR Code Links
- Paying with Venmo
- Paying with PayPal
- Cash or Check Payment Direction
- HOA Drop Box for Fees and other Documents
- No discount for paying with Cash or Check
- Discount: $15 for updating Contact Information (Increased for 2026)
- Late Fee: $25
- Late Fee Interest Rate: Prime plus 2% Compounded Annually
- Processing and Submitting Liens and foreclosures in 2026
2026 HOA Fees: $155.00
Due date: February 15, 2025
Late Fee: $25
Interest Rate: Prime + 2% compounded yearly
No discount when paying in full with Cash or Check.
$15 Discount: When providing an update to your contact information, and providing your email address. If contact information was updated in prior years then you will automatically have this discount applied to your account. The discounted HOA Fees are $140.
Acceptable forms of payment: Cash, Check, PayPal, Venmo, and credit cards. Electronic payments can be made through QuickBook’s merchant portal by using the URL provided from the invoices sent by email.
Please note that at any time, a homeowner can reach out to any board member requesting help with payments, setting up a payment schedule, or indicating they are experiencing a hardship, etc. Reaching out to a HOA Board Member, along with setting up a payment plan, will put a halt to the addition of new late fees and liens. Failure to follow through will result in reapplying any late fees, interest, and/or liens, that were put on hold.
Please see the detailed information on these items for full terms and conditions.
Alternative Payment Methods
When paying by the QuickBooks Merchant Portal, Venmo, PayPal, or another service that subtracts their service fees from the amount paid, the amount paid will be credited as paid in full. The use of these services may charge the HOA service fees, or subtract their transaction fees from the amount paid to the HOA. The HOA will honor your payment amount.
When paying with the QuickBooks Merchant Portal, those fees are charged to the HOA as separate service fee. For Venmo and PayPal, since they subtract it from your payment, your account will be credited with a credit memo for the amount that was withheld to ensure your full amount paid goes towards your invoice. The creation of the credit memo is a manual process and can take a few days to process.
Using these alternative payment methods will not result in additional charges to cover the transaction fees; they are built-in to the HOA Fees.
A Notice about the usage of PayPal and Venmo
It needs to be made perfectly clear that although the PayPal and Venmo accounts are business accounts tied to Ross Estates HOA, the rules and regulations that both PayPal and Venmo imposes on these business accounts means that I, being Scott Tabar, am personally held fiscally and criminally liable if anything related to these accounts violates the PayPal and/or Venmo, and/or the US Government's polices and laws. It's also my personal credit ratings that are on the line too, not to mention my personal Venmo and PayPal accounts are also at risk of being frozen or terminated.
The opportunity to pay with PayPal and/or Venmo is a privilege, and not a right.
Therefore, the existence of these accounts are based upon my good will to be used in good faith in accordance with the aforesaid policies and laws. If I choose to shut them down, delete them, or reject any transactions, and/or refund any attempted use of these accounts that I feel may violate the rules and regulations that are imposed by Venmo and/or PayPal, of which may put me at risk of harm, then the Ross Estates HOA will have ZERO say in the actions I must take to protect my assets.
Therefore, to follow the rules and regulations, as imposed by Venmo and Paypal, all transaction fees that are taken by Venmo and Paypal are covered 100% by the HOA. You do not have to pay any additional fees or amounts to cover these transaction fees. These transaction fees have already been built in to all Fees. If fees are paid that predates 2024, then the HOA will absorb their costs to remain compliant.
I don't like the fact that the business accounts are setup with the corporate entity's EINs and bank accounts, but their policies also force ONE PERSON (me) to be held fiscally and criminally responsible for all activities that go through these accounts. So if I reject a payment and refund it, please find a different form of payment. If I have to reject a payment, I will try to notify you.
Paying with the QuickBooks Merchant Portal
The only way you can access the QuickBooks Merchant Portal, is by clicking on the link that will be included in the invoice that is sent to your email account or a downloaded PDF of your invoice. Paying with the Merchant Portal, will give you an option to pay with any credit card, ApplePay, or direct transfer from your bank (ACH). I think they now even support PayPal and Venmo directly so you do not have to use the HOA accounts (see below). The transaction fees for these payments will be charged to the HOA and will be covered 100% so you don't have to worry about transaction fees.
If you were mailed an invoice, and you want to pay with the QuickBooks Merchant Portal, then you need to update your contact information and provide at least one email address. Updating your contact information will result in a $15 discount being applied to your invoice, and the updated invoice will be emailed to you. You will then have a link within the email to pay your invoice with the QuickBooks Merchant Portal.
Paying with Venmo - 2026 Fees
Ross Estates HOA, Inc. Venmo ID: @RossEstatesHOA
Ross Estates HOA, Inc. Venmo webpage and QR Code:
https://account.venmo.com/u/RossEstatesHOA
When paying with Venmo, the only discount that you can use is the $15 Discount for Updating your Contact Information. This discount does not expire and can be used at any time. It is preferred that you claim the discount prior to paying with Venmo to ensure you will be credited for the discount. You will receive an email with an updated invoice with the discount reflected in the totals. If you first pay with Venmo, then update your contact information, any over payments will be applied to your account as a credit.
The amount that you need to pay is $155 without any discounts. With the $15 discount for providing updated contact information with at least one email address, the payment amount will be $140. If you make a payment to Venmo for less than what you owe, then you will be liable for the difference and the outstanding balance, and may be eligible for a $25 late fee.
Please note any credits or unpaid balances, will now be reflected on your invoice. Please pay the actual BALANCE DUE as shown on the invoice. If updating your contact information, it may be best to wait until a new invoice is sent to you.
You will be credited for the amount that you pay Venmo. The service fees that Venmo will take out of the payment amount, prior to passing the payment on to the Ross Estates HOA, will be treated as a discount to ensure your account is paid in full. That includes fees that Venmo may take before paying Ross Estates HOA, and will include any fees Venmo may charge to transfer funds to our bank account, if any.
Paying with PayPal - 2025 Fees
Ross Estates HOA, Inc. PayPal ID:
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/my/profile
Ross Estates HOA's PayPal.me
When paying with PayPal, the only discount that you can use is the $15 Discount for Updating your Contact Information. This discount does not expire and can be used at any time. It is preferred that you claim the discount prior to paying with PayPal to ensure you will be credited for the discount. You will receive an email with the attached Credit Memo to confirm you have it. If you first pay with PayPal, then please claim the discount as soon as you can so we can ensure you get the discount.
The amount that you need to pay is $155 without any discounts. With the $15 discount for providing updated contact information with at least one email address, the payment amount will be $140. If you make a payment to PayPal for less than what you owe, then you will be liable for the difference and the outstanding balance, and may be eligible for a $25 late fee.
Please note any credits or unpaid balances, will now be reflected on your invoice. Please pay the actual BALANCE DUE as shown on the invoice. If updating your contact information, it may be best to wait until a new invoice is sent to you.
You will be credited for the amount that you pay PayPal. The service fees that PayPal will take out of the payment amount, prior to passing the payment on to the Ross Estates HOA, will be treated as a discount to ensure your account is paid in full. That includes fees that PayPal may take before paying Ross Estates HOA, and will include any fees PayPal may charge to transfer funds to our bank account, if any.
Cash or Check Payment Directions
When paying by Cash or Check, you have a couple of options on sending us your payment. You can mail it to the HOA’s PO BOX, or drop them off at the HOA’s drop box. We suggest that cash should not be sent through the mail.
Please make checks payable to Ross Estates HOA.
The PO BOX address:
Ross Estates HOA PO BOX 14 Ross, OH 45061
The HOA’s drop box is located at:
1210 Pond Ridge Cir
The drop box is mounted to the garage door frame closest to the street, and may not be visible from the street. On the inside of the lid are directions on how to notify the treasurer when making a deposit, along with various contact methods.
If dropping off cash, it would be best to email the treasurer first so a receipt can be generated, otherwise one will be emailed if email address is on file.
HOA Drop Box for Fees and other Documents
As an alternative to mailing HOA Fees and other documents to our PO BOX, you may utilize the HOA Drop Box that is located at the HOA Treasurer's residence. Please do not use the USPS mail box along the road, there is a dedicated box intended for member usage 24/7 by the garage door.
The drop box is located at 1210 Pond Ridge Cir and is attached to the garage door pillar (not visible from the street). The box is a tan, locked box, There are instructions inside the lid on how to notify the treasurer when you make a payment, or drop off a document, if desired.
Use of the drop box will help expedite getting documents to the board of directors 24/7. There are instructions inside the lid on how to notify the treasurer of deposits so they can be processed right away, even after hours.
Please include your name, address, and method of contact such as email or phone number. If you would like a confirmation, or a receipt, and it will be sent as soon as the documents are retrieved.
You will be sent an receipt through email by QuickBooks as your payment is processed. If you update your contact information after making a payment, I will have QuickBooks send the receipt after the fact, along with an updated statement showing all of the details.
No Discount for Cash or Check
Unfortunately, we can no longer provide any discounts for paying with check or cash.
In the past, this has caused a lot of trouble and extra work to apply the discounts manually, and most of the time, would result in credits being applied to many accounts. A large amount of time was spent in the past updating invoices, generating statements, sending out emails, and applying credits. This was always a manual process that involved many steps, and there is no way to automate it since the invoice does not know what method of payment will be.
A source of this confusion was the amount that would be paid by cash or credit, was not the amount reflected on the invoice. If a payment was made without the discount, but it should have been applied, I would ensure every one would get the discount since I did not want the HOA to over charge anyone if they could have claimed a discount.
We realize a lot of homeowners would use the multiple discounts, and by eliminating the cash and check discount, would result in higher HOA Fees this year. As a result, the discount for providing contact information with valid email addresses has been increased to $15. It's not the same as a $20 total discount when combining the two in the past; we realize that, and we apologize for that.
Discount: $15 for Updating Contact Info
http://updateContactInfo.rossestatesohio.com
The $15 discount will apply when updating your Contact Information with one or more valid email addresses using the specified Google forms for Updating Contact Information. The limitation for this discount is that you must fill out the form, and you must provide one or more valid email addresses. The offer of this discount will not expire.
The $15 discount will be applied manually by the treasurer and could take a few days to apply. If you are at risk of a late fee, the due date will be extended for you.
If you have not paid your HOA Fees yet, then I will update your invoice and have QuickBooks email you the update. In that version of the invoice, you will be given URLs you can click on pay online.
If you paid your invoice first, then a credit memo will be issued to your account. A refund check may be sent, but that is up to the digression of the HOA and treasurer, along with the timing.
Providing an email address is consent to be contacted through email by any members of the HOA board, and to receive invoices and reports by email too. Communications may include, but not limited to invoicing, billing, payment confirmation, newsletters, information about events going on in the neighborhood, etc. The HOA may setup a mailing list to facilitate bulk mailings to all members. The HOA will not share any email addresses with other neighbors, contractors, or other 3rd parties, except through conducting official HOA business, such as establishing a mailing list.
If the homeowner does not respond to email inquiries, the HOA reserves the right to fallback to sending communications through the contact/billing address on file. The HOA is not responsible for incorrect email addresses that are provided. If an error is discovered, you can update your contact information, including updates to the email address. You can withdraw your email address from usage at any time by updating your contact information through the google forms, plus you should also email the HOA treasurer to ensure that the removal is processed within QuickBooks. If a credit memo is issued, and then if consent to using email addresses is revoked, the credit memo may be terminated/canceled/reversed.
The $15 discount can only be used once per homeowner per address. If we already have your contact information updated in QuickBooks, the $15 discount will be automatically applied on your invoices, so you will receive this discount yearly.
Late Fee: $25
The due date for the 2025 HOA Fees is February 15, 2026, and the Late Fees is $25.
It should be clearly noted that this late fee can be halted/waived if the homeowner reaches out to any board member requesting help, informs us they are going through hard-times, or needs to spread out the payments by setting up a payment schedule. If the amount due cannot be paid in full, then the HOA Board may require a signed contract (digitally signed as permitted by Ohio and Federal laws) enumerating the requirements of mutually agreed upon payment schedule and terms.
If there is a risk of missing the due date, it would be best to contact a Board Member to waive the risk of a late fee, interest, or liens.
The HOA Board is willing to be flexible if that could provide help.
Late Fee Interest Rate: Prime plus 2%
The Late Fee Interest Rate is compounded yearly, and shall be applied upon the due date of the current fiscal year. Late fee interest rates should be applied, in accordance to the HOA bylaws and the State of Ohio’s Revised Code, to any balance that remains from prior fiscal years: invoices, late fees and interest, lawyer fees, lien fees, foreclosure fees, and any other charges that have been incurred.
The Late Fee Interest Rate doesn’t apply to the current fiscal year’s HOA Fees or the Late Fee since the penalty would have already been applied for the year, or waived.
The interest rate shall be based upon the published US Prime Interest Rate on the current fiscal year’s due date (see above), plus 2% (two percent), compounded annually.
For reference, the Feds set the rate is 6.75 percent on December 11, 2025.
The formula that will be used to calculate the interest is based upon the standard formula for compounding interest:
A=P[1+r/n)nt
Where: P= unpaid balance, r=(prime + 2%), n=1 (compounding periods per year), t= 1 year
Processing and Submitting Liens in 2026
In 2024, the HOA submitted 5 liens.
For 2026, there are a few liens that will be eligible to be submitted.
About 2 weeks after the due date for the 2025 HOA fees, processing will begin to identify outstanding balances that will be submitted to our lawyers for Liens.
Eligible accounts for Liens will be all accounts that had an Late Fee Interest Rate applied. The list will be handed over to the Lawyer for processing liens. All charges and expenses related to processing the Lien, including, but not limited to, any lawyer fees, cost of sending letters by the lawyers, cost of filing each lien, cost of lien removal, and etc, will be added to the Lien amount, as permitted by the HOA bylaws and Ohio Laws. Once charges and expenses are incurred, and/or once the HOA is liable for them, they will become un-waivable. The Lien process may be cancelled prior to filing the lein, but all expenses and costs incurred up to that point, and related to terminating the Lien, will become liable for the homeowner to pay with no exceptions.
The estimated costs of a lien is as follows as of late 2024:
- Sending out a collection letter by registered mail: $110
- Filing fees for the lien: $330
- Lien removal fee: $50
It should be clearly noted that at any time, a homeowner can reach out to any board member requesting help with payments, setting up a payment schedule, or indicating they are experiencing a hardship (as covered above) and that act itself, along with setting up a repayment plan, will put a halt to the addition of any new late feels or liens. Failure to follow through will result in the lien process being resumed and may incur additional expenses.