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
We certainly blogged in the past about Board members and managers getting arrested for stealing association funds. I’m on record as previously saying that I didn’t think this area was more prone to arrests than say lawyers, doctors or politicians. I may have been wrong. I don’t know what’s going on, but…
Read: Association crime is on the rise? → So you just bought your new condo unit or home and you want to make the place look great. Or, you have been living in your unit or home for what seems like forever and it’s time for one of those complete makeovers. How far can you go without getting association approval, and/or approval from your local…
Read: JUST BECAUSE IT’S YOUR HOME OR UNIT DOESN’T MEAN IT’S YOURS TO DO AS YOU PLEASE → Last week I blogged about how associations go about selecting counsel for the association. Lots of you gave some tips about what associations should be searching for in the law firm they eventually choose. Some of you thought track record was important. Others thought the won/loss record mattered most.…
Read: WHAT YOUR ATTORNEY EXPECTS FROM YOU → It’s the end of the summer. I watched my kids suck it up this week, pack their school bags and head off to school to return for another year of learning. Millions of kids across our state did the exact same thing. And if they can do it five days a week for the next ten months, each of you can do it for a…
Read: BACK TO SCHOOL TIME-PART 1 → Last week, we spoke about how difficult it is to obtain personal liability against an individual director of a community association. The plaintiff would basically need to show a crime, fraud or self-dealing. What about when the directors make decisions that may ultimately be incorrect but were made in…
Read: THE FLORIDA BUSINESS JUDGMENT RULE → So you want to be on the Board of Directors. Did you ever wonder whether or not by being on the Board, you are subjecting yourself to loss of your personal assets should your association get sued. Unless you’re truly a bad guy or gal, you have little to worry about. Getting personal liability against an…
Read: GETTING PERSONAL → Let’s say your condominium building needs a paint job. It just so happens that the President of the association is the owner of a general contracting firm. He tells the Board to stop racking their brains trying to find a company. He promises to have his company do the job right. He will certainly give…
Read: SHOULD THE BOARD HIRE A BOARD MEMBER'S COMPANY? → Funny how things work sometimes. Over the past 23 years, I have noticed an interesting pattern in Florida community associations. When money is tight and foreclosures are soaring, associations are far less likely to engage in litigation. Suddenly, nobody really cares what color someone painted their house…
Read: YOU MAY WANT TO WAIT BEFORE YOU LITIGATE → Ijust researched why golfers often times yell the word “FORE” when they’re about to hit a golf ball. It’s basically done as a warning to others to be on the lookout. It’s also very appropriate to yell to people who own or who are looking to own in community associations that mandate golf course membership.…
Read: FORE! → Over the last several years, the issue of delinquencies in our Florida community associations became worse and worse. The more people didn’t pay, the more the good paying owners had to pay. The more bank foreclosures, the less the association was receiving in badly needed revenue. The real solution to the…
Read: FINALLY - A REMEDY THAT WORKS FOR ASSOCIATIONS → Here we go. It’s election time again in your community association. Year after year, we see some of the same mistakes, so let’s just review some of the laws and rules the too often get violated and may wind up causing your election to be deemed invalid in your condominium association. How many Board…
Read: DON’T MAKE MISTAKES AT YOUR ELECTION → It’s true what they say……as you get older the years seem to go by quicker. This week, we stop and we take a moment to breathe. We are not blogging about any specific condo or HOA topic because the three bloggers need to do something much more important. And that is to thank each of you for continuing to…
Read: WISHING YOU A HAPPY AND HEALTHY HOLIDAY SEASON AND NEW YEAR → (4) MANDATORY NONBINDING ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION OF DISPUTES.—The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation shall employ full-time attorneys to act as arbitrators to conduct the arbitration hearings provided by this chapter. The…
Read: FLORIDA STATUTE 718.1255 → When I teach the topic of association records at our Condo Craze Board Certification seminars, I try to make the topic pretty simple. In sum, if the record relates in any way to the operation of the association, it is an official record of the association and must be maintained. Arbitration cases have…
Read: NO…………. YOU CAN'T SEE EVERY OFFICIAL RECORD. → Last week was interesting as far as politics goes. President Obama got tired of waiting for Congress to fix the immigration issues this country is facing, and decided to try to fix it on his own by signing an Executive Order. Needless to say, his opponents immediately yelled that the President has no such…
Read: THE POWER OF THE PRESIDENT → In three days from now we are supposed to sit around the table stuffing turkey down our throats while reflecting on all the things we should be thankful for. The easy ones are family and good health. Some might also be thankful for a new job, new car, new spouse or even new body part(s). How many of you…
Read: ARE THERE THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR IN YOUR COMMUNITY? → So Tuesday has come and gone. We can finally watch TV again without being told which political candidate is the lesser of two evils during every single commercial break. No more annoying pop up ads on the internet begging for money or spam e-mails begging for your vote. Election season is finally over.…
Read: NOW THE REAL ELECTION SEASON KICKS IN → Ioften choose a topic for the blog that corresponds to an upcoming holiday or a specific time of year. For example, we normally write about your right to fly the flag on or about July 4th of each year. The next holiday is only 4 days away, and it’s Halloween. The problem is…..how can you write a…
Read: SO…….WHO IS THE SCARIEST PERSON IN YOUR COMMUNITY? →Read it. Then watch it.
