Florida condo & HOA news
Plain-English Florida condo and HOA law updates for owners, volunteer board members, managers, and everyone navigating community-association life.
Read the latest articles ↓From the front lines
Written by Eric M. Glazer · Florida attorney
Do you believe that your real estate taxes too high? Why not appeal your tax bill as a group? Under Florida Law, a condominium association can file a property tax appeal petition on behalf of all of the unit owners in the condominium. Once a petition is filed, the Value Adjustment Board sets the case for…
Read: SAVE MONEY! APPEAL YOUR REAL ESTATE TAXES AS A GROUP → s we said last week, The Florida Legislature is in session, and there have been some community association bills filed, but nothing to write home about. CCFJ and I have been working together to hopefully get legislation passed this year that will help communities. For example: Requiring HOAs to use the…
Read: SO WHAT'S IN STORE THIS YEAR AT THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE? PART-2 → It’s the end of the summer. Millions of kids across our state have to suck it up and return to school. And if the kids have to endure school for the next ten months, all of you can endure a measly three hours. I’m talking of course about Condo and HOA Board Certification and Legal Update Course. There’s a…
Read: IT’S BACK TO SCHOOL TIME-PART 5 → As promised a few weeks back, we need to discuss some very interesting pitfalls associations sometimes fall into in the area of collections. In light of the fact that mortgage delinquencies are at an all-time high, rest assured that owners will in a short while begin falling behind on condo and HOA…
Read: MORE ABOUT COLLECTIONS → Irecently explained how lucky the banks are when they foreclose on a unit or a home and take back ownership. The law protects them, and despite how much the unpaid condo or HOA assessments are, the bank is only responsible for the lesser of one year of assessments or 1% of the mortgage. Many of you are…
Read: WAIT – IT GETS WORSE → So here is what you need to know in a nutshell: Mortgage defaults are soaring. In fact, homeowners stopped paying mortgages in record numbers in April. It was the largest one month increase ever recorded. Under Florida law, that spells financial disaster for our condos and HOAs. Keep this in mind as you…
Read: FORECLOSURES AND WHY OUR CONDOS AND HOAs MAY BE IN TROUBLE → So this blog will discuss the collection process from the association’s perspective. It will tell you what the association must do if it wants to attempt to collect from an owner who is not paying their assessments. It does not tell you what to do if the bank already started foreclosure proceedings or if…
Read: THE COLLECTION PROCESS–PART 1 → We all remember just how bad our communities suffered about a dozen years ago during the great recession. Our firm represented condominiums where nearly half of all units went into foreclosure. It was terrible for community associations. The paying owners were often times forced to pay double to make up…
Read: WILL IT BE THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS ALL OVER AGAIN? → When it comes to Florida Statute 720, there’s no question that you would rather be the developer than the homeowner. At least The Florida Condominium Act has a drop-dead seven year deadline where the developer must turn over majority control of the Board of Directors to the unit owners. If you’re an HOA…
Read: IT'S BETTER TO BE THE DEVELOPER IN AN HOA-part 1 → Fall is the time when Boards and their managers start scrambling to make next year’s budget. Here’s a few tips: Remember that in a condo, the budget must be mailed to the owners 14 days in advance of the budget meeting. In an HOA the association shall provide each member with a copy of the annual budget or…
Read: TIME TO MAKE THE BUDGET → It’s the end of the summer. Millions of kids across our state have to suck it up and return to school. And if the kids have to endure school for the next ten months, all of you can endure a measly three hours. I’m talking of course about Condo and HOA Board Certification and Legal Update Course. There’s a…
Read: IT’S BACK TO SCHOOL TIME-PART 4 → Ihate beating around the bush, so I want to get to the point. A financial crisis is coming and it’s going to be a big one. It’s also going to hit those that can least afford it. It’s going to result in massive amounts of foreclosures. It’s going to result in countless cases of elderly persons being…
Read: SHOULD RESERVES BE MANDATORY? → All of you know how terrible the condo and HOA statutes are in terms of the association’s ability to collect unpaid assessments when a bank forecloses on a unit or home. If the bank gets back a unit in foreclosure, they owe the association the lesser of 1% of the mortgage or 1 year of assessments.…
Read: YOU MAY BE CHEATING YOURSELF OUT OF MONEY → This year, The Florida Legislature starts early. In fact, it is already in session. So what’s in store for community associations in...
Read: SO WHAT’S IN STORE FOR 2018? → But we don’t have money to fix our roof. I can’t believe how expensive it is to replace the landscaping. Why is our deductible so high? After what just happened in that Hollywood Nursing Home, shouldn’t generators be required in 55 and over communities? These are just some of the comments and questions I’ve…
Read: SPEND NOW OR SPEND LATER → SO WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE NEW LAWS? It certainly was a busy year for condo legislation. HB 653 was vetoed at the last minute by...
Read: SO WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE NEW LAWS → In June of 2015, The Florida Supreme Court decided what a licensed community association can do, without being accused of practicing law without a license. The truth is…..The Florida Bar tried hard to curtail what community association managers can do without a license to practice law, while the community…
Read: COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION ATTORNEYS AND MANAGERS NEED TO WORK TOGETHER → KAREN: A Jupiter police chief Frank Kitzerow is currently facing a lawsuit from his homeowners association who claims the chief owes them thousands in delinquent assessments. The lawsuit was filed with the Palm Beach County Circuit Court on April 19th claiming Kitzerow owes $1,600 in association fees after…
Read: POLICE CHIEF →Read it. Then watch it.
