The journey to becoming an attorney takes on many paths. For some, it is the family business. For others, they are inspired by someone they know. For Melissa McLain, it was a decision that just came naturally from an early age.
Melissa recalls fondly how her interest in becoming an attorney was not sparked by a singular life event, but fond times with her dad after school.
“My mom would work late in her role as a manager of a corporate accounting department at a large industrial equipment provider, so my dad was the one that would come home and make dinner, and it would always be 5:30 in the evening and we would be watching the nightly news,” Melissa recalled. “I remember watching it and would always discuss the topics with my dad and debate various issues with him. I also enjoyed studying the functions of the Judicial Branch and the Constitution in History class. I don’t remember a specific moment when I decided to be an attorney,” Melissa admits, “but I do remember little events that guided me in that direction.”
Melissa’s career as an attorney did not immediately start in POA law. Melissa’s career began in the mortgage industry. This time enabled her to gain experience in the foreclosure process. Unfortunately, this time in her career coincided with the Great Recession.
This period of her career has proved invaluable to Melissa. It provided great learning opportunities on how to handle and manage mortgage and non-judicial foreclosures, therefore making the transition to POA law that much easier.
“The underlying basics are similar,” Melissa explained, “The same concepts, just different documents controlling the entity’s authority. Where I had a deed of trust for the mortgage side, I have declarations, bylaws and governing documents on the POA side.”
The shift from the mortgage industry to POA law has proved to be seamless for Melissa. She has spent over a decade with RMWBH helping POAs navigate the legal complexities of collections and deed restriction violations.
Those complexities are becoming more difficult to navigate as regulation increases and some in the judicial system carry a negative view of POAs.
The increasing regulation of collection action from federal and state law is not only difficult to stay up to date on for those in the industry, but judges as well. “As attorneys, we are trying to work with the judges and educate them on the law because they may not be familiar with all aspects,” Melissa explained, “but also, we try to show the judges that our client is entitled to the relief we are requesting through foreclosure, even though it may not be a popular decision. It is something the client does not want to do but in order to collect the delinquent assessments it is what has to be done, otherwise every owner in the community is going to have to pay for this one owner’s actions.”
Along with the challenges at the courthouse, Melissa has found challenges in many foreclosure matters come from the homeowner’s lack of communication with the association.
Throughout her career, Melissa has found that many homeowners who fall behind on their assessments do so due to unforeseen circumstances. “Everybody has a story,” she says, recalling one particular case in which a homeowner fell behind on her payments due to the sudden murder of her son. “She had a choice of either paying for his funeral or paying her assessments and she admitted she got behind on everything because of the tough but understandable decision she had to make,” Melissa said.
In this case, Melissa was able to work with the homeowner who went back to the association and explained her circumstances and they were able to find a solution that allowed her to stay in her home. This experience reinforced Melissa’s belief that POA managers and board members should approach delinquent homeowners with empathy and a willingness to listen. “Work with your homeowners,” she advises. “They may have problems you’re just not aware of.”
Melissa’s empathetic approach throughout her career is a testament to her dedication to her craft and her clients. From her early days watching the nightly news with her father to her current role as an RMWBH Shareholder, she has consistently demonstrated a commitment to understanding both the law and the people it affects. As she continues to navigate the evolving landscape of POA law, Melissa remains focused on advocating for her clients while ensuring that homeowners are treated with fairness and compassion.
