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
Avery interesting case was just decided by Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal. RIVIERA-FORT MYERS MASTER ASSOCIATION, INC., v. GFH INVESTMENTS, LLC. 2020 WL 7767856. To simplify, in a mixed-use community, meaning a community made up of commercial property and residential housing, the Master…
Read: MASTER ASSOCIATION V. SUB ASSOCIATION – WHO WINS-PART 1? → The three bloggers always take the last two weeks off of the air. After writing 50 weeks of columns, a two week break is well deserved. This year the Covid crisis cause us to write about things that we never thought we would have to write about and hopefully will not have to write about them ever again. It’s…
Read: WISHING YOU HEALTH, HAPPINESS AND JUST SAYING THANK YOU → This is the time of year when I’m at my busiest, typically running from annual meeting to annual meeting. So, what is supposed to occur at the annual meeting? Often times the answer is right there in your bylaws. The agenda is already prepared for you. Just properly notice the meeting and follow the…
Read: BEFORE YOU CANCEL THAT ANNUAL MEETING → Hard to believe that in two weeks it’s going to be 2020. Weren’t we all just worrying about Y2K? Was that really 20 years ago? Time flies when you’re having fun, and that is exactly what all three of us have each and every week when we get the opportunity to blog about new topics and share our thoughts with…
Read: 2019 - COMING TO A CLOSE → While the nation’s election may be over, the elections in your community associations are just about ready to get started. So, here are some things to know…… In a condo, you don’t need a quorum of owners in attendance at the annual meeting in order to have the election. As long as 20% of the eligible voters…
Read: STAYING WITH ELECTIONS → The question of whether or not an association may deny a proposed renter who seeks to live in a community may depend upon where the condominium of HOA is located. To simplify, Section 8 Housing is a government program that helps pay the rent for a family that can’t afford it. The government pays the rent…
Read: CAN AN ASSOCIATION DENY SECTION 8 HOUSING? → No matter who you’re voting for in November, there is no doubt that the eyes of the nation are on Florida. Some of you might be eager put up your lawn signs or even signs in your window. But before you do………. by choosing to move into a condo or an HOA, know that you do so at your own risk. There’s no doubt…
Read: BEFORE PUTTING UP THAT ELECTION SIGN……….. → Unfortunately, it looks as if we will still need to social distance when it’s time for our annual elections. So how do we do this practically? In a condominium, it’s much easier than an HOA to run the election with social distancing because the procedures allow for mail-in ballots. The association must…
Read: SO HOW ARE ELECTIONS GOING TO WORK? → In light of the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday and the controversy surrounding filling the Supreme Court vacancy, I thought it best to discuss the procedures required by our laws when there is a vacancy on a condo or HOA board of directors. For condominiums and HOAs: Unless otherwise provided in…
Read: DOES THE 8 YEAR RULE APPLY IN YOUR CONDOMINIUM? → 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 → Sorry, but I’m just not interested this week about blogging about condos or HOAs. Not with the devastation I see on my TV. Not with the destruction I see to the city I grew up in. This week, we have larger, national issues to focus on. It simply bothers me when people post that our country is broken. No…
Read: WE'RE STILL THE BESE OF THE BEST → So things are coming back to normal little by little. Although, I still need a dam haircut. If I wait another week or two, I figure my dog and I can go together. To his groomer. The ”emergency powers” given to Boards of Directors expire today. The Governor is allowing public places to slowly re-open.…
Read: TO OPEN OR NOT TO OPEN → My how we love to gamble. For some, you don’t even have to leave the community. Perhaps the most common form of gambling in our condos and HOAs is running a Bingo game. Before starting bingo in your community however, here’s what you need to know: 4) The right of a condominium association, a cooperative…
Read: BINGO! → You’re under a virtual quarantine? Haven’t been to work in a while? Feeling a little trapped in your home? If you’re a Board member…….when the going gets tough……..that’s no time to shirk your responsibilities and turn off the world. In fact, believe it or not, now may be the perfect time to attack…
Read: YOU CAN STILL BE PRODUCTIVE →Read it. Then watch it.
