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
Ijust got back from New York and New Jersey. My sister bought a beautiful condo in Jersey and I went to visit. She showed me around the community. Her specific condo building was in fantastic shape. Carpets in the hallway looked great. Walls looked good. Handsome to say the least. We then went to the…
Read: WHAT’S WORSE: OVER SPENDING OR UNDER SPENDING? → Many of you live in condominiums that have a “Master Association.” But what is a Master Association? Is it a condominium association? Is it a homeowner’s association? Is it neither? This question was recently addressed by the Third District Court of Appeal in Dimitri v. Commercial Center of Miami…
Read: SO JUST WHAT IS A “MASTER ASSOCIATION?” → 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? → Over the last two weeks, we spoke about the events that trigger turnover and what the developer’s responsibilities to the association are at turnover. Now comes the hard part. It is important to understand that the first Board of Directors comprised solely of the unit owners has an awesome responsibility.…
Read: Post Turnover: The Job of the New Board of Directors → Last week, we discussed when turnover from developer control to unit owner control is triggered. Relinquishing control of the Board of Directors is not the only responsibility of the developer at the time of turnover however. What Documents Must Be Turned Over by the Developer at Turnover? Generally…
Read: TURNOVER – PART 2 → 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 → Some years are quiet when it comes to the passage of new laws affecting Florida community associations. This was definitely not one of those years. Here are the new laws in summary form as a result of the passage of HB 841. 718.111 —- OFFICIAL RECORDS: The law now makes it clear that the association must…
Read: HERE THEY ARE………..THE NEW ASSOCIATION LAWS FOR 2018 → Boards of Directors love to have extra money in the bank. Who doesn’t? But the question is…… when is enough enough? Boards of Directors are required to simply pass a budget that pays the association’s bills. Anything collected, above and beyond what pays the bills is “Common surplus” which means the…
Read: BUT…….IT’S NOT THE ASSOCIATION’S MONEY! → Representative George Moraitis has again filed a bill, House Bill 1061, that would allow community associations to opt-out of the requirement not only of a fire sprinkler system, but also for an engineered life safety system. You may recall that this was an extremely popular bill last year as it seeks to…
Read: SOME OTHER COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION PENDING LEGISLATION → 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 → If you’re reading this today, I want you to do one thing…….smile. Yes, I understand your home and car is damaged. I understand your personal property has been destroyed. I understand we may be without power for a while. But you already survived. Others did not. Your spouse, children, parents, sisters,…
Read: WE WILL REBUILD, WE WILL OVERCOME AND WE WILL REMEMBER → 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 → Ihad the honor and pleasure of spending a few days in Tallahassee last week. I testified at hearings before the House of Representatives. I drafted proposed legislation and had several meetings with legislators and staff. One thing is very clear this legislative session. IF YOU ARE A BOARD MEMBER OR…
Read: LEGISLATIVE UPDATE → The bill prevents attorneys from representing a board if the attorney represents the management company. Since when does an attorney represent a board? An attorney represents an association, not the board. Moreover, the Florida Supreme Court governs the conduct of attorneys, not the Florida Condominium…
Read: TALK ABOUT GOING OVERBOAD FIXES-PART 2 → As we said last week, don’t be fooled by some of the new legislation that is supposed to crack down on condo crime. A bad board member or manager stealing some money from the operating account of a condominium is terrible and they deserve to be arrested and incarcerated. However, it is small potatoes to…
Read: HOW ABOUT WE FOCUS ON REAL CRIME? →Read it. Then watch it.
