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Find Blog Articles for Florida’s Condo, HOA and the Management Industry.
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Shawn G. Brown, Esq., BCS from our Tampa location will answer your questions live on Zoom!
RSVP Free HERE
The theme for this Lunch & Learn is Association Operations. Topics to include Cyberstalking & Defamation in Community Associations.
Be sure to ask a question on the registration form, and it may be picked to be addressed live. Shawn will also take questions live, during the discussion!
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Let’s not forget the HVAC Tech on the roof. We were on this roof today at 4:30 am so we can have a few good hours of no sun on our backs.
This is the second half of the Duct and HVAC cleaning and remediation. Cleaning the Air Handler is a critical part of the process. Cleaning Ducts without cleaning the machine that moves the air is just a receipe for re-contamination of the entire system.
Just another job at the Boca Raton Mall this week. Grateful for all the Remediation and Restoration companies that trust Flash Air Care to work side by side on their Mold Remediation projects.
Tags: Air Conditioning Articles
by PSI Roofing / Paulo Souza ,Poul Folkersen
Each year, millions of dollars are wasted on unnecessary roof replacement due to lack of ongoing maintenance. 90% of early roof failures are caused by lack of proper roof maintenance. Small leaks can cause extensive damage to the interior of your building as well as the roof system itself and may not be detected for some time. Regular maintenance can prevent unforeseen costs and extend the life of your roof by up to 30%.
The best way to extend the life of your roof is to have a roofing company perform regular roof inspections and maintenance. All roofing manufacturers require regular inspections and maintenance to maintain coverage. Regular inspections can also prevent costly problems from issues not covered by the manufacturer’s guarantee. Such as damage from vandalism, damage done to the roof by other contractors, or structural deterioration. PSI Roofing provides roof maintenance in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and surrounding areas. We offer one, three and five year warranties on your new roof to take care of any outstanding problems not covered by the manufacturer.
When PSI Roofing performs your annual roof maintenance, we can lock in your cost and provide a watertight leak free guarantee. This guarantee will cover any repairs that are needed during the term of your maintenance program.
Our team will perform a roof inspection report and generate a survey report with preventative maintenance and the recommended scope of work which will greatly prolong the life of your roof.
The weather and harsh elements in the South Florida area will wear on your roof system. PSI will provide solutions such as applying a reflective coating or re-graveling bare areas, which will protect your roof from additional deterioration and therefore extending the life of your roof.
HOA debt collection and community association management are two very highly-regulated industries. Between sweeping federal regulations like the FDCPA, state statutes dictating operational and communication requirements, local city or county rental ordinances, and of course, individual community governing documents, there is a lot of governance in the HOA and condo association world.
This abundance of legislation can make it hard for board members to know what steps they’re allowed to take (and when!) regarding HOA debt collection.
When an owner goes delinquent on their HOA dues, the community usually has a security interest and the ability to foreclose and take limited title to a property. Before they exercise the security interest, and even before they can send a unit into collections, there are specific steps that must be taken. These steps are called “Condition Precedent.”
A condition precedent is defined as “a condition or an event that must occur before a right, claim, duty, or interest arises.” In plain English, certain tasks must be completed before an anticipated action can occur (like a collection effort). You can’t take a vacation until you’ve saved up enough money, right? Same concept.
If your management team does not get the condition precedent right, then your HOA or condo association cannot send a file to collections. Period, end of story. So these are very important steps of the collections process.
Condition precedent can vary widely depending on what part of the country you are in and what other legal restrictions your community is under. This will mostly depend on where your HOA or condo association is located, but it can also be impacted by what your own governing documents state.
Some states require a host of steps that need to be taken before a community association can move a file to a collection agency. Some of these steps include but are not limited to:
While this list covers many common condition precedent requirements, every state will vary. If your association misses a step, it could very well mean that you will lose any progress you’ve made and be bumped back to step one. Community association management firms should understand what their communities are expected to do legally before sending a unit into collections.
Axela Technologies has a team of experts who understand all of the condition precedent steps needed and can help educate on this exact matter. Whether you’re a management company looking to help your associations stay on track, or a board of directors seeking out HOA debt collection assistance, Axela can help.
When you are ready to recover your money, avoid the hassle and get a professional to help. Click here for a free, no-risk consultation with an Axela collections specialist.
SOME OTHER NEW LAWS CONDOS MUST FOLLOW – PART TWO
By Eric Glazer, Esq.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE INSPECTION REPORTS
Upon completion of a phase one or phase two milestone inspection and receipt of the inspector-prepared summary of the inspection report from the architect or engineer who performed the inspection, the association must distribute a copy of the inspector-prepared summary of the inspection report to each unit owner, regardless of the findings or recommendations in the report, by United States mail or personal delivery and by electronic transmission to unit owners who previously consented to receive notice by electronic transmission; must post a copy of the inspector-prepared summary in a conspicuous place on the condominium property; and must publish the full report and inspector-prepared summary on the association’s website, if the association is required to have a website.
THE DEVELOPER’S TURNOVER REPORT
Notwithstanding when the certificate of occupancy was issued or the height of the building, the developer must provide a milestone inspection report in compliance with s. 553.899 included in the official records, under seal of an architect or engineer authorized to practice in this state, and attesting to required maintenance, condition, useful life, and replacement costs of the following applicable condominium property common elements comprising a turnover inspection report:
POWERS OF THE DIVISION
So let’s say the developer is ignoring all of these new safety laws. Does the DBPR have any power to do anything about it?
(1) The division may enforce and ensure compliance with this chapter and rules relating to the development, construction, sale, lease, ownership, operation, and management of residential condominium units and complaints related to the procedural completion of milestone inspections under s. 553.899.
However, Once The Developer Has Turned Over…
(2) However, after turnover has occurred, the division has jurisdiction to investigate complaints related only to financial issues, elections, and the maintenance of and unit owner access to association records under s. 718.111(12), and the procedural completion of structural integrity reserve studies under s. 718.112(2)(g).
So………..if your Board ignores these new safety laws and you want to do something about it…..it’s off to court.
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We all know by now the myriad of new safety laws condos that are 3 stories or more are required to follow. They include mandatory fire sprinklers or an engineered life safety system (for buildings 75 feet or higher only), a Phase One Milestone Inspection after 30 years and every ten years thereafter (25 years if the building is on the coast), a likely Phase Two Inspection which will result in required repairs to the structure and of course structural integrity reserve studies performed by an architect or engineer and the mandatory full funding of reserve accounts.
There’s actually more to know.
OFFICIAL RECORDS TO INCLUDE AND BE POSTED ON THE ASSOCIATION’S WEBSITE:
A copy of the inspection reports for the milestone inspections and the structural integrity reserve studies and any other inspection report relating to a structural or life safety inspection of the condominium property. Such record must be maintained by the association for 15 years after receipt of the report.
NO LONGER IS THERE THE ABILITY
TO WAIVE RESERVES OR USE THEM FOR OTHER PURPOSES
It was always ridiculously easy to waive the funding of the reserve account. All it took was a lousy majority of a quorum. Those days are now over and reserve accounts must be fully funded, like it or not.
The same rule finally applies to developers. Before turnover of control of an association by a developer to unit owners other than a developer under 718.301, the developer-controlled association developer may not vote the voting interests allocated to its units to waive the reserves or reduce the funding of the reserves.
You can no longer vote to use reserves set aside for one category to be used to repair another category. Effective December 31, 2024, members of a unit-owner controlled association may not vote to use reserve funds, or any interest accruing thereon, that are reserved for items listed in paragraph (g) for any other purpose other than their intended purpose.
(g) Structural integrity reserve study.
BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY – THIS IS SCARY
(h) Mandatory milestone inspections.—If an association is required to have a milestone inspection performed pursuant to s. 553.899, the association must arrange for the milestone inspection to be performed and is responsible for ensuring compliance with the requirements of s. 553.899. The association is responsible for all costs associated with the inspection. If the officers or directors of an association willfully and knowingly fail to have a milestone inspection performed pursuant to s. 553.899, such failure is a breach of the officers’ and directors’ fiduciary relationship to the unit owners under s. 718.111(1)(a). Again, If you’re an officer or director, this new law should scare you to death. If you fail to do the milestone inspection, you have automatically breached your fiduciary duty. This could potentially result in individual liability against a director should the failure to do the reserve study result in collapse or injury.
Tags: Condo and HOA
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