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 have blogged before about the battle brewing in Tallahassee between Community Association Managers and The Florida Bar. In fact, we are awaiting a decision from The Florida Supreme Court concerning what activities a community association manager can perform and which actions go too far and constitute the…
Read: SOME CLARITY FOR CAMs MAY BE COMING → Several years ago, our firm was involved in a lawsuit representing many condominium unit owners against their association, alleging that material alterations were made without a 75% vote of the unit owners before the material alterations were made. We alleged that the amount of the assessments for these…
Read: MATERIAL ALTERATIONS CLARIFIED ---- MAYBE → Originally, I was going to blog about resolutions that Board members should make for 2014, but that topic has been written about a million and one times. Everyone seems to have suggestions about how to be a better Board member. Let’s flip it around this time and resolve to be better unit owners, neighbors…
Read: A NEW YEAR AND SOME NEW RESOLUTIONS → HOA owners who never heard of Florida’s Marketable Record Title Act, better known as MRTA, better get to know this topic well. To simplify what the Act stands for, it basically means that your governing documents in your homeowner’s association can literally expire and disappear after they have been…
Read: HEY HOA OWNERS – YOU NEED TO MEET MRTA → It’s the time of year when Boards are concentrating on passing the association’s new budget. In a Florida condominium, the budget must contain fully funded reserve accounts that shall go into effect, unless a majority of a quorum of unit owners vote to waive or reduce the funding of reserves. Reserves must…
Read: RESERVES: SHOULD WE FUND THEM OR SHOULD WE WAIVE THEM? → It’s that time of year again — number crunching time. Time to figure out if everyone is going to be paying a little more next year in their monthly or quarterly assessments. Here are some things to keep in mind: In a condo — when the budget is mailed to the owners, the budget must show the reserves as…
Read: TIME TO PREPARE THE ANNUAL BUDGET → Let’s pretend that we’re taking a law school exam today. I’ll give the fact pattern and look for the answers from you. Facts: The Cheatem Blind Condominium needs a new roof. With no vote of its Board, directors Sam Shyster and Carlos Crook execute a contract with Carlos’ own roofing company. The…
Read: WHO CAN GET DISCIPLINED AND WHY? → As we all know from even our early school days, this country was founded upon the principle of no taxation without representation and one man one vote. After achieving the ability to govern ourselves as a nation, women and minorities fought for and ultimately obtained the right to vote as well. It’s pretty…
Read: LOSING YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE → As our listeners of the Condo Craze and H.O.A.’s radio show know, we’ve been spending some time recently telling them how they can make their property ready for a hurricane, so that if a storm hits, they can weather it. We’ve spoken about preparing your roof, electricity, plumbing, interior furnishings and…
Read: IS YOUR BUDGET READY FOR A HURRICANE? → The amount of hats that a community association manager often has to wear is amazing. Simultaneously, he or she needs to serve as the number cruncher, interior designer, police man, collection agency, master of ceremonies, complaint department, tech expert, unit owner liason and of course chief cook and…
Read: MANAGING THE MANAGER → No matter who you plan on voting for in a few weeks, we can probably all agree that this has been the nastiest campaign that most of us have ever witnessed. The mud slinging won’t stop until the last ballot is counted and we’re certainly none the wiser for it. It makes you think though what each would say…
Read: SUPPOSE IT WAS OBAMA V. ROMNEY IN YOUR OWN ASSOCIATION'S ELECTION? → Can you tell a third person that it’s OK to drive your neighbor’s car without your neighbor’s consent? Can you tell a third party that it’s OK to wear your neighbor’s clothes without your neighbor even knowing about it? If you think these are silly questions, then you have to ask why some associations and…
Read: CAN YOU GIVE AWAY WHAT'S NOT YOURS? → The common complaint about a Board member is that of the typical “condo commando” who is more or less a drill sergeant, and who tries to run the place like an army barracks, inspecting every nook and cranny and looking to pick a fight with any willing participant. While that may be the stereotypical…
Read: THE OTHER KIND OF BOARD MEMBER → The first thing a Board member must do, before learning all the laws, reading your docs and memorizing the rules is to immediately grow a thicker skin. Often times, Board members hear residents say things like “so where has all our money gone” or “if you knew what you were doing, we wouldn’t need another…
Read: WATCHING WHAT YOU SAY → The Florida condominium statute provides that: Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, the officers shall serve without compensation and at the pleasure of the board of administration. Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, the members of the board shall serve without compensation. The Florida HOA statute…
Read: SHOULD BOARD MEMBERS GET PAID? →Read it. Then watch it.
