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
When the foreclosure crisis was at its peak, developers were complaining that they were in effect stuck with numerous condominium projects that simply weren’t selling. They wanted the ability to at least try and save the project by converting it into a rental community instead of being forced to maintain it…
Read: FLORIDA LEGISLATURE CORRECTS FLAWED TERMINATION PROCESS → Every now and then, the courts of our state issue an opinion in a case involving a condo or HOA that is very important and certainly worth mention. On June 1st, the 4th District Court of Appeals issued a decision in Pundit 2 Joint Venture v. Westwood Gardens HOA that does not bode too well for some…
Read: HOW ONE ASSOCIATION LOST BIG BY FAILING TO UPDATE THEIR DOCS. → The long awaited decision by The Florida Supreme Court is finally in regarding what a licensed community association can do, without being accused of practicing law without a license. The Florida Bar tried hard to curtail what community association managers can do without a license to practice law, while…
Read: THE LAWYERS V. THE MANAGERS --- SO WHO WON? → As the weather begins heating up, our thoughts inevitably turn to the hurricane season that we deal with each and every year. Associations all across the state hope and pray that they’re able to escape the wrath of a storm for another year and that luck remains on their side. They have their fingers…
Read: DID YOU CORRECTLY WAIVE YOUR RESERVES? → This year’s legislative session is boring to say the least, when it comes to pending community association legislation. There is one bill however, Senate Bill 736, which is generating a lot of noise. In sum, when someone is selling a home or a condo unit, it is imperative for the buyer to obtain what is…
Read: THE FIGHT FOR EVEN MORE OF YOUR MONEY → 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 → 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 → It appears as if the foreclosure crisis is coming to a close. You made it through. You survived. You were one of the few that paid the mortgage payments each month, paid your taxes, paid your assessments, paid your insurance and you were nothing short of a model unit owner. Sorry…….you still have to go.…
Read: JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE SAFE → We always talk about apathy in community associations. Nobody wants to run for the Board. Nobody wants to serve on a committee. Nobody wants to even vote in the annual election. Usually, apathy is more prevalent in communities where the populace believes all is OK. If the place generally looks good, the…
Read: APATHY CAN BE MORE DANGEROUS TO A COMMUNITY THAN YOU THINK → It’s officially hurricane season here in Florida. Pretty soon, the media will be trying to scare the bejesus out of us the minute a single cloud rolls off of Africa’s west coast. We all know how lucky we’ve been for close to a decade now, but one day our luck will again run out. Imagine for a moment that…
Read: WHEN YOUR BELONGINGS AND YOUR DOCS GO OUT THE WINDOW → KAREN: GOOD AFTERNOON, AND WELCOME BACK TO CONDO CRAZE AND HOAS HERE ON 850 WFTL. I’M KAREN CURTIS, AND I’M HERE AGAIN TODAY, AS WE ARE EACH SUNDAY AT NOON, WITH ATTORNEYS ERIC GLAZER AND SCOTT SHAPIRO FROM GLAZER AND ASSOCIATES, P.A. A LAW FIRM PRACTICING COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LAW THROUGHOUT FLORIDA.…
Read: CONDO CRAZE AND HOAS - WEEK 223 → My column two weeks ago regarding the estoppel fee bill and what has happened since, has proven a point made long ago by fellow blogger Jan Bergemann. The community association laws are written by, directed, guided and championed, not by the people who live in these communities, but rather by the people…
Read: WHO TO TURN TO FOR HELP-PART 1 → My column two weeks ago regarding the estoppel fee bill and what has happened since, has proven a point made long ago by fellow blogger Jan Bergemann. The community association laws are written by, directed, guided and championed, not by the people who live in these communities, but rather by the people…
Read: WHO TO TURN TO FOR HELP-PART 2 → There are so many ways a developer can build a community: The developer can build separate buildings but record only one declaration of condominium that all units are governed by. In that case, there would be only one condominium and only one condominium association. The developer can build multiple…
Read: THE MOST CONFUSING CONDOMINIUM OF THEM ALL → You may remember that about two years ago, a Miami Dade Grand Jury was convened to investigate condominiums and the DBPR. The findings were scary. The Grand Jury found condo crime was rampant and that The Department of Business and Professional Regulation was not part of the solution, but rather part of…
Read: NEW GRAND JURY REPORT SAYS ALL IS WELL → It’s that time of year again when The Florida Legislature convenes in order to debate and pass new laws. There’s always at least a few bills that have something to do with our Florida community associations. Over the next few weeks, we will discuss the bills that have been filed, track their progress and…
Read: THE LEGISLATURE IS NOW IN SESSION → It seems as if the foreclosure crisis is certainly not as bad as it once was, even though Florida is still the worst state in the nation, with approximately one in every 346 homes in foreclosure. The percentage of delinquencies in our community associations are certainly down from where they were just a…
Read: COLLECTIONS LAW UPDATE → Sometimes, a unit owner will take the position that the association can’t take certain action against them because they have “vested rights.” At least in their mind, the owner thinks that a certain right they have can’t be taken away from them, can’t be modified and can’t be messed with in any manner. Here…
Read: SO WHAT ARE VESTED RIGHTS →Read it. Then watch it.
