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Find Blog Articles for Florida’s Condo, HOA and the Management Industry. 

Allstate Resource Management specializes in wetland management in South Florida and preventative weed control to maintain a healthy wetland environment.

Allstate Resource Management specializes in wetland management in South Florida and preventative weed control to maintain a healthy wetland environment.

  • Posted: Dec 22, 2021
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Allstate Resource Management specializes in wetland management in South Florida and preventative weed control to maintain a healthy wetland environment.

Wetlands are frequently mandated by state and county statute. When you work with Allstate, you can be assured that we are following all regulations and mandates for wetland preserves and wetland management in South Florida.

Did you know! In Florida there are more 400 water recycling projects, making our state a national leader in the use of reclaimed water. The treatment process eliminates harmful substances, but leaves traces of nitrogen and phosphorous that act as fertilizers when reclaimed water is applied to lawns and landscape. Reclaimed water can cause spikes in algae growth on lakes.

Call us at 954-382-9766 for more information on causes for algae growth

 

May your days be filled with peace, hope, and joy this holiday season.

As always, thank you for your business, loyalty, and support.

Sincerely,

All of us at Allstate Resource Management

 

 

Allstate Resource Management has over 25 years of experience in maintaining the health of lakes, ponds, wetlands, and stormwater systems. We have continued since our inception to be the leader in resource management. Our services include lake management, wetland management, stormwater drain cleaning and maintenance, erosion control, fish stocking, native plantings, debris removal, water quality, aquatic pest control, and upland management. All of our technicians are thoroughly trained and certified in order to meet the strict standards imposed by governmental agencies. This ensures that your property will be treated by only the most competent individuals who are proud of the services we render.

In addition to providing a healthy habitat, we specialize in the installation and maintenance of beautiful color lit fountains, bringing beauty and enjoyment to any lake or pond.

We also offer support services for property managers and HOA’s including educational presentations and CEU programs. Our approved courses offer continuing education credit to CAMs. Find us on the SFPMA Members Directory.

 A stormwater system is a tool for managing the runoff from rainfall. When rainwater lands on rooftops, parking lots, streets, driveways and other surfaces that water cannot penetrate, the runoff flows into grates, swales or ditches located around your property and neighborhood. These grates, swales and ditches carry the runoff into stormwater ponds. A stormwater pond is specifically designed to help prevent flooding and remove pollutants from the water before it can drain into the groundwater or into streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, or the ocean.
Call us today to talk to one of our Stormwater Specialists at 954-382-9766 or info@allstatemanagement.com

Colleen Sullivan
Marketing Manager
www.allstatemanagement.com
6900 SW 21st Court, Building #9
Davie, Florida 33317
Phone: (954) 382-9766

 

 

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Need some help getting ready for for your tax planning meeting? We have developed the YEAR END TAX PLANNING GUIDE

Need some help getting ready for for your tax planning meeting? We have developed the YEAR END TAX PLANNING GUIDE

  • Posted: Dec 21, 2021
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Need some help getting ready for for your tax planning meeting?

We have developed the YEAR END TAX PLANNING GUIDE, to help you uncover tax planning opportunities to

Download a copy of this important guide just click here.

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DECONSTRUCTING THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT A Plain English Explanation by Kaye Bender Rembaum

DECONSTRUCTING THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT A Plain English Explanation by Kaye Bender Rembaum

  • Posted: Dec 19, 2021
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DECONSTRUCTING THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT A Plain English Explanation

by Kaye Bender Rembaum /  Rembaum’s Association Roundup

If your community association has engaged the services of a contractor, engineer, architect, or other construction or design professional to perform a maintenance, repair, replacement, or capital improvement project, you know the process can be overwhelming. No matter the mad rush to execute the contract as soon as possible, when beginning such projects, no matter how big or small, the board needs to ensure the contract adequately protects the association. Even the smallest of projects can have unexpected, disastrous consequences. A few of the more common provisions which every board member should understand follow.

The Indemnity Provision

In today’s extremely litigious world, it is important that your association does what it can to protect itself against unforeseen claims that can arise out of the contractor’s performance of the work. For example, assume a crane fell on the building being repaired, the contractor accidentally damaged the elevator shaft, or worse still, a life is lost. An indemnity provision provides that the contractor will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the association from and against claims arising out of or resulting from the performance of the work by the contractor or any of its employees, subcontractors, suppliers, etc.

Indemnification provisions can be tricky to understand. The general contractor, engineer, and design professionals (aka the architect) may seek to avoid and/or cap their overall liability. Even a small contract can have significant consequences if the negligence of the contractor causes significant damage or injury.

Rarely does the inclusion of a single word have disastrous consequences; however, a recent trend we have seen in many contracts is the contractor requiring the indemnity obligation to be limited only to damage caused by the contractor’s “sole” negligence. As events which cause loss or damage rarely occur by the “sole” actions of an individual, this provision significantly diminishes the contractor’s responsibility to indemnify the association. The association should look out for any indemnity provision which provides that the contractor is only responsible to indemnify for its “sole” negligence. Without getting into too much complexity, Florida is a “contributory negligence” state. This means each party is responsible to satisfy a judgment against them in proportion to their responsibility for the blame. So, if the contractor is found to be 33 percent responsible for an accident, then it pays 33 percent of the final judgment award. But, if the contract indemnity provision required sole negligence, the contractor would pay nothing at all because the accident was not “solely” caused by the contractor. Youch!

Another trend we see is the contractor limiting its liability to damage caused by its “gross negligence,” which by definition excludes “simple negligence.” As a brief explanation, simple negligence is when a person fails to take reasonable precautions that any prudent person would take in similar circumstances and their actions cause harm (for example, a driver who runs a stop sign and causes an accident). Gross negligence is extreme indifference or reckless disregard for the safety of others (for example, driving 100 mph in a parking lot and injuring a pedestrian). As any claims arising out of the work are likely to result from the contractor’s simple negligence, this heightened standard is not favorable to the association.

If the contractor is insistent on limiting its liability, the association may consider limiting the contractor’s indemnification obligation to the maximum payable under the contractor’s insurance policy. This way, the contractor is not on the hook for unlimited liability, but the association has some decent protection as claims can be covered up to the maximum amount payable under the insurance policy. However, in the event of a catastrophic loss or casualty event, even the amount payable under the insurance policy may not be enough to protect the association.

In addition to these limitations, “design professionals” have the added benefit of statutory authority to further limit their liability in a contract (they must have better lobbyists). Section 558.0035, Florida Statutes, provides a procedure by which a design professional can exclude any “individual liability” for damages resulting from negligence occurring within the course and scope of a professional services contract. In other words, the design professional will not be personally liable to the association for any negligence in its design if the contract includes a provision that excludes such personally liability. Section 558.002(7), Florida Statutes, defines a “design professional” as a person who is licensed in the state of Florida as an architect, landscape architect, engineer, surveyor, geologist, or a registered interior designer. Therefore, if your association is contracting with any of the foregoing design professionals, you will likely need to negotiate this provision.

You should also be aware that disputes over the enforceability of the indemnification clause do not automatically include prevailing party attorneys’ fees unless the indemnification provision specifically provides that, in the event of a dispute concerning the applicability of the indemnification, the prevailing party must be indemnified for their attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses incurred in enforcing their right to be indemnified.

Insurance Provisions

To ensure there are sufficient funds to satisfy an indemnity judgment in favor of the association, it is important that the association require the contractor to carry certain minimum insurance. Therefore, the contract should contain a clause which provides that the contractor will maintain such general liability insurance as will protect the contractor and the association from claims that may arise out of or result from the contractor’s operations under the contract documents in the amounts set out in the contract. Additionally, the association should ensure that the contractor obtains sufficient workers’ compensation coverage.

There are a couple of terms with which you should be familiar:

  • Certificate Holder: The certificate holder is merely entitled to the proof of insurance, nothing more. When the policy holders have their insurance agents issue a certificate of insurance to the entity that hired the contractor to do the work, that entity becomes a certificate holder. It is simply the contractor’s way of saying, “I have insurance.” Certificates show that the contract has the insurance policies in the limits shown on such certificate. It also provides that the certificate holder is entitled to know if the policy lapses.
  • Additional Insured: An additional insured is provided the same coverage and rights under the policy as the named insured. In other words, when you become an additional insured, you are entitled to the same insurance protections as the original policy holder. Therefore, in the event of loss, the association may file a claim on the contractor’s policy through its status as an additional insured.

Thus, the contract should not only require that the contractor carry insurance but also provide that the contractor is obligated to provide a certificate of insurance evidencing the insurance coverage and containing an endorsement listing the association as an “additional insured.”

In addition to the insurance requirements for the contractor, your association may consider purchasing builder’s risk insurance for the project. Builder’s risk insurance is designed to protect the owner of a construction site from loss and damage. This should be further discussed with the association’s insurance agent.

Paying the Contractor

During a major construction project, the association’s contractor will likely be working with several subcontractors to complete the work. The process for payments in such projects is set out in §713.13, Florida Statutes. (For a more detailed discussion on the construction payment process, you can read my prior article, “Construction Progress Payments: The Hidden Trap,” at rembaumsassociationroundup.com, originally published in the Florida Community Association Journal, February 2020 edition.)

By way of brief explanation, when the project commences, the association records a “Notice of Commencement” identifying the contractor and the legal description of where the work is being performed. The purpose of the Notice of Commencement is to inform all subcontractors and suppliers that if they intend to provide goods and/or services to the property, and if they want to have proper legal standing to record a lien against the property in the event they are not paid, the subcontractor and/or supplier must serve a “Notice to Owner” to the association. The Notice to Owner informs the association of all subcontractors working under the general contractor and all suppliers who provide suppliers and materials to the job site.

In exchange for payments to the general contractor, the general contractor provides the association with “partial payment affidavits” for each payment and a “final payment affidavit” upon conclusion of the work at hand. The subcontractors and suppliers provide the association “partial releases” for the payment received from the general contractor using the general contractor as the delivery conduit to deliver the partial release to the association. This method ensures that subcontractors and suppliers cannot later claim that they were not paid. However, in order to ensure this protection, it is important that the contract requires the contractor to provide the subcontractors’ and suppliers’ partial releases contemporaneously with the association’s progress payment. With the partial releases in hand, in the event the contractor does not pay the subcontractors and suppliers, the association is fully protected.

Some general contractors insist on providing the association with the partial releases from the subcontractors and suppliers one payment behind. This should be a red flag to your association because it means if the contractor fails to pay the subcontractors and suppliers after receiving payment from the association, the association will still have to pay the subcontractors and suppliers. In such event, the association will end up having to pay twice for all or part of the same work.

Prevailing Attorney’s Fees

Another important consideration is the prevailing party attorneys’ fees provision of the contract. An attorneys’ fee provision generally provides that in the event of litigation to enforce the terms of the contract, the prevailing party is entitled to recover their attorneys’ fees. However, this provision must be carefully worded to ensure that your association will be able to recover its attorneys’ fees.

Termination

Most contracts provide that the association may terminate the contract for cause. The termination for cause provision should include examples of conduct by the contractor which would entitle the association to terminate the contract for cause. In addition to termination for cause, we recommend the inclusion of a “without cause” termination provision. This provision gives the association an out in the event the contractor is not working out, but the contractor’s conduct does not rise to the level which would allow dismissal for cause.

Generally, if an association terminated an agreement without good cause, and unless otherwise spelled out in the contract, the contractor would likely be entitled to approximately 15 to 22 percent of the contract price for its anticipated lost profit and overhead.

Payment and Performance Bonds

Another way the association can protect itself is by requiring the contractor to obtain “payment and performance bonds,” which are most often purchased together as a set. While doing so typically adds three to five percent to the total contract price, it is well worth it. In addition, if the contractor is not able to provide such a bond because the bonding companies will not bond the contractor, it is very telling because not every contractor is bondable.

A “performance bond” is a surety bond issued by a bonding company or bank to guarantee the satisfactory completion of the work by the contractor. It acts to protect the association in the event the contractor fails to complete its contractual obligations.

A “payment bond” guarantees the contractor will pay all laborers, material suppliers, and subcontractors engaged by the contractor for the work. In the event the association pays the contractor, but the contractor fails to pay the laborers, material suppliers, and/or subcontractors, the surety will step in to pay same.

Force Majeure

Many contracts contain force majeure language which provides that the parties will not be responsible to the other if they are unable to fulfil the terms of the contract due to events beyond the control of the parties. Most often, a force majeure event adds delay to the targeted project completion date and avoids claims for breach of contract due to the delay. Such events may be acts of God, flood, fire, hurricanes, war, invasion, terrorist acts, government order or law, actions, embargoes, or blockades, etc. Of late, for reasons that need no explanation, pandemics are added to this list, too.

The above discussion is not meant to be all inclusive. There are so many other important provisions to consider, but space is limited. To ensure your association is protected, the association should always rely on its legal counsel to review the association’s contracts and make the necessary revisions to assist in the  protection of the association.

The Kaye Bender Rembaum Team Remains Available To You and Your Community Association

Happy Holidays from all of us at Kaye Bender Rembaum

 

Kaye Bender Rembaum

We are dedicated to providing clients with an unparalleled level of personalized and professional service regardless of their size and takes into account their individual needs and financial concerns. Our areas of concentration include

1200 Park Central Boulevard South, Pompano Beach, FL. Tel: 954.928.0680
9121 North Military Trail, Suite 200, Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Tel: 561.241.4462
1211 N. Westshore Boulevard, Suite 409, Tampa, FL. Tel: 813.375.0731

Find us on the Members Directory and Sponsors of SFPMA

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ONLINE MEETINGS EQUAL… By Rafael Aquino

ONLINE MEETINGS EQUAL… By Rafael Aquino

  • Posted: Dec 16, 2021
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ONLINE MEETINGS EQUAL…

By Rafael Aquino

Online meetings were common practice within the business community; however, it was less seen in the association world.  Some would say because the technology was too difficult for many, others would say, our owners wouldn’t allow it, etc. The reasons against certain groups were plentiful.  However, after the challenges we dealt with Covid, many Board Members quickly realized the vast benefits of hosting online meetings.  Some advantages are increased attendance, more accessible access to foreign/out-of-state buyers, and more transparency.

From a management perspective, there have been many advantages as well.  It is much easier for management to present to the membership, invite vendors/contracts to attend meetings, and provide a better quality of life for the CAM.  For instance, the CAM no longer has to worry about staying after work for a Board meeting; now, they can drive home, spend some time with the family and then jump on the meeting from home.  Further, they don’t have to worry about the potential drive home after the meeting.  These small perks are enormous for the quality of life for the CAM.  Happier CAM equals happier staff and higher productivity for the association’s operations.

As the Co-Founder and CEO of Affinity Management Services, Rafael P. Aquino leads his team to redefine excellence. They serve community associations efficiently

and effectively with dedication and passion. Rafael’s energy and positive spirit is the foundation of Affinity Management Services’ company culture, which instills enthusiasm and excitement when providing expert advice to its board members and relieving the day-to-day burdens of running a community association.

Since 2007, Rafael has developed a work culture that values responsive and high-quality services. He has led his team by following a proactive vs reactive philosophy. The same approach Rafael instills in the day to day operations of each association. Today, Affinity Management Services maintains its success and benefits as a result of the foundation Rafael has built and continues to foster by providing educational seminars, continuing education classes for association managers and board members alike.Rafael and his team help condominium and homeowners’ associations save money and improve their communities. His calm, personable, and service-oriented nature helps him to establish strong relationships with ease. Rafael is known as a sincere and honest leader who looks out for the best interests of his clients and communities, and he strongly advocates for their needs. His role requires coordination and communication, as such he takes logical and intelligent steps to approach challenges head-on.As a graduate of Florida International University’s electrical engineering program and a licensed community association manager, Rafael’s education and skills equip him with unique insights to tackle complex problems through critical thinking. He understands how each component within a system works together in order to effectively arrive at solutions, techniques, and conclusions. Therefore, as he manages the multiple challenges of running a community association management company, he understands how each property is its own unique system and tailors’ specific services to assure that all their needs are met.

For more information about Rafael P. Aquino and Affinity Management

Services please visit www.ManagedByAffinity.com or call 1-800-977-6279

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Five Simple Steps To Get Your Home RentReady 

Five Simple Steps To Get Your Home RentReady 

  • Posted: Dec 16, 2021
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Five Simple Steps To Get Your Home RentReady

Follow these five simple steps to a Rent Ready home. Many property managers and landlords in Florida believe that a quick sweep through the home makes it a rent ready home for a new resident.
But this is not enough as things are not as simple as they may seem. Here are five simple steps to ensure that your home is in tip-top shape and ready for a new occupant:
Step One: ReKey the Locks
Yes, you must re-key the locks between each New Tenant. Sure, you collected the keys from the the last tenant, but did they make spares? All outside locking doors should be re-keyed between each resident. Additionally, rotate the codes on any garage doors, access gates, exterior property gates, and mailboxes.
Step Two: Maintenance Assessment
A thorough maintenance assessment is absolutely vital. If you can’t do it yourself, we can send a professional through to assess any items that may need repair. They should evaluate all accessible pipes and electrical functionality, light bulbs and fixtures.
Moreover, they must check on garbage disposals, cabinets, windows and screens, window treatments, heating and cooling devices, doors, etc. Last but not the least, the evaluation should also include checking and replacing furnace filters and batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. The more detailed evaluation, the better!
Step Three: Major Upgrades or Home Repairs
As we all know, extensive and costly repairs are tricky to complete with a resident in the home. Assess the condition of all flooring materials, paint, countertops, bathtub surrounds, major appliances, roofs, gutters, and chimneys/fireplaces.
If the bathrooms or kitchen is outdated it will certainly lower the RentalValue of your property. Now would be the time to make those changes and evaluate what increase in rent you could obtain for upgrades.
Step Four: Exterior Clean Up
Don’t just look inside, look outside, too! Haul any debris from the yard, trim the trees, prune the bushes, and cut the grass. A fresh coat of paint on the fence, or a new front door can make a big impact to rental potential. In-expensive lights, a large mirror in a dimly lit hallway are worth invest in enhancing your CurbAppeal!
Step Five: Professional Cleaning
A clean and neat look to the house makes all the difference in how the home shows and how quickly it rents. Even the best Pembroke Pines tenants don’t often clean well enough.
Hire a professional cleaning service for the job and a truck mounted steam clean service for the carpets and any furniture in need of deep-cleaning. Walk around the house and see if it is the sort of house you would like to rent? And then get busy cleaning!
Getting your house rent ready for the next rotation can be a little more difficult than just taling a quick sweep around the property. RealPropertyManagementPremier can help you get your property in tip-top shape and ready without any hassles.
Thanks for the article: https://www.facebook.com/RealPropertyManagementPremier
Call (954) 800 4433 and talk to our experienced property manager today, if you need help in RentingYourPembrokePinesProperty easily.
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Is there a contactless authentication solution? by iDentyTech Solutions America

Is there a contactless authentication solution? by iDentyTech Solutions America

  • Posted: Dec 16, 2021
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Is there a contactless authentication solution?

by iDentyTech Solutions America

 

A lot of people don’t like to touch things or put their fingers or hands where other people have been. These reasons could be personal, such as the dislike of germs, or even religion. There are industries that require a sterilized work environment, and again touching a keypad or putting your eye in an iris reader it’s not convenient. But what if you could present your hand to a sensor and without touching it, your biometric palm vein map could be read?

This is a biometric technology that authenticates you on the basis of vein pattern recognition, rather than iris scans or fingerprint. The world’s first “contactless vein authentication” technology offers even more security and ease of use and overcomes previous problems related to security concerns.

The PalmSecure sensor is a biometric authentication device that provides the highest level of security using palm vein authentication technology. This technology is now able to be used in a wide range of situations thanks to reductions in size, reductions in cost, and simplification of development.

PalmSecure emits near-infrared rays that are absorbed by deoxidized hemoglobin present in blood flowing through a user’s palm veins. This causes an image of the palm to be captured as a vein pattern, which is then verified against the user’s pre-registered pattern to grant (or deny) access to a physical location or computer network.

Advantages

> Contactless
Because of its contactless feature, it is very hygienic and stress-free for even public use.

> High security & applicability rate
Difficult to forgery the palm vein data because it is inside the body. Almost everyone can use it. The only system on the market that gives 100% the ability to enroll and authenticate any person.

>Easy to use
Just hold your palm over the device, it captures your vein pattern instantly and will operate with all genders and ages.

>Authentication accuracy
The palm vein authentication realizes advanced authentication accuracy because the palm vein pattern has many and large sizes of blood vessels. False Rejection Rate: 0.01% and False Acceptance Rate: 0.00008%

>Advanced algorithm
The algorithm creates several tens of thousands of Minutia points, encrypting each image before converting it into a template allowing for unique encryption keys for specific solutions.

 

Ready to see how this technology can work for you, and your communities?

Contact me today!

Rodrigo Perez
(305) 505-7132
Rodrigo@identytech.com

Find us on the Members Directory on SFPMA

 

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We are House of Floors – family owned and operated since 1989. “We don’t just sell flooring, we sell service”.

We are House of Floors – family owned and operated since 1989. “We don’t just sell flooring, we sell service”.

  • Posted: Dec 14, 2021
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We are House of Floors – family owned and operated since 1989. “We don’t just sell flooring, we sell service”

Brothers in Business.
It is truly a blessing to be a part of a successful family business that has been doing it for over 30 years. So here is a weird statistic: if you were to line up the amount of flooring in square feet that House of Floors’ has installed, it would reach to the Moon and back 5 times. The number reason for our success is we put the client first. We, as a family, have unanimously agreed to put the client first!! This is one of the pillars of our success.

https://www.houseoffloorsweb.com/

 

Proud of our hard working installation crews who are dedicated to supporting Property Managers throughout Florida. Our culture is built on pride of customer service. At House of Floors we are just one spoke in the wheel for our Property Management clients.

 

Wishing our friends, clients, vendors, and all our associates a peaceful and relaxing holiday.

 

Also Owners of Flash Restore.

Flash Restore

844-Flash-24

Flash provides Fire, Water and Mold Mitigation and Remediation and we do it right every time.

At Flash we have developed a unique set of Standard Operating Practices that are supported by a strong back office team, and well trained field technicians. It is imperative that we perform the highest-quality work, and just as important that we can prove our work to our customer. A Scope and Estimate are always provided for review, communication and documentation begins as soon as we get eyes on a job, and daily progress updates are sent each day of an open job. Finally, each job performed by Flash is documented in detail in our Evidence Documentation Packet (EDP) (Remote owners especially appreciate this process).

Success is best measured by customers that request additional work, refer Flash to others and/or are willing to commit to longer term relationships. The feedback and response from Property Managers, Insurance Carriers, Hygenists/Assessors and Homeowners have been overwhelmingly positive. We’re different, and we’ll prove it.

Once a water-related emergency occurs, it’s critical to act quickly. Water moves fast and does incredible damage and remember water will flow until something stops it. Once it hits a surface like a wall, molding, or the foundation, it starts to fill up, and it can wick up into drywall, wood, and plaster in a matter of hours. That’s why it is critical to contact the professionals at Flash Restore as soon as possible. They are always available, even in the middle of the night. Remember, the more time that passes, the more damage that can occur.

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Need A New Commercial Roof in South Florida? by PSI Roofing

Need A New Commercial Roof in South Florida? by PSI Roofing

  • Posted: Dec 14, 2021
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Need A New Commercial Roof in South Florida?

by PSI Roofing

Commercial Roof Replacement With PSI Roofing

PSI Roofing has built a successful history of installing high-quality commercial roofing systems with unmatched attention to detail for customers who demand the best the industry has to offer.

Our clients range from office buildings, manufacturing and industrial warehouses, condominium associations, healthcare facilities, storage facilities, schools and universities, shopping centers, churches, federal government and armed forces facilities. Check out our portfolio of completed projects!

 

Commercial Re-Roofing System Installation Types

The following are types of roof systems installed by PSI:

  • Modified and Built-Up — The traditional multi-ply system with granulated finishes including cold and hot applications
  • TPO — Mechanically attached or fully adhered rubber laminated systems
  • PVC — Mechanically attached and fully adhered PVC scrim systems
  • Liquid-applied membrane and coatings — Acrylic, urethane, silicone; with reinforced, non-reinforced or reflective components
  • Shingles — All types
  • Metal Roofs — Flat seam, standing seam
  • Tiles — All types

Once your project is under way, you will have online access to all information about your re-roof project through our Client Portal Service.  This option provides access to all relevant job documentation.  This includes job progress photos, maintenance history, building condition and equipment inventory, warranty information, and invoice status that are interlinked with a rational database.  All information  is kept on secured remote servers in order to protect your sensitive data and is accessible through a secure web portal through our website.

 

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Unpaid Fines Can Have Consequences,” News-Press by Joseph E. Adams of Becker

Unpaid Fines Can Have Consequences,” News-Press by Joseph E. Adams of Becker

  • Posted: Dec 14, 2021
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Unpaid Fines Can Have Consequences,”

Joseph E. Adams | 12.13.2021

Q: What happens is I refuse to pay a fine for violating the association’s governing documents? (R.N., via e-mail)

A: A duly levied fine is due after a board appointed fining committee confirms, at a properly noticed fining hearing at which the accused can state his or her case, a fine proposed by the board. Pursuant to amendments to the statute enacted in 2021, the fine is due 5 days after notice is sent to the person who owes the fine.

Assuming the procedures outlined under statute and the association’s governing documents are followed, the association may take action to collect the fine. The condominium and cooperative statutes prohibit unpaid fines from becoming a lien against a unit. The statute for homeowners’ associations, by comparison, provides that no fine of less than $1,000.00 can be secured by a lien against a parcel, presumably meaning that fines of $1,000.00 or more may become a lien against parcel, if authorized by the governing documents.

In most cases, a lawsuit in small claims court is the proper venue to collect an unpaid fine. The statute for homeowners’ associations provides that in any legal action to collect a fine, the prevailing party is entitled to recovery of their attorneys’ fees from the non-prevailing party, as determined by the court. While the statutes for condominiums and cooperatives do not contain the same language, it is generally believed that the generic provisions of those statutes allow for the recovery of attorneys’ fees for legal actions brought under the statute.

Fines are “monetary obligations” and, if left unpaid, can also result in the suspension of voting and common area use rights, and disqualification from board service. Unpaid fines can also be disclosed on the “estoppel certificate” that the association provides in connection with the sale of the unit, a process which is primarily aimed at ensuring that assessments and other charges applicable to the unit are properly calculated, accrued, and prorated between a buyer and seller, so that a “clean” and insurable title can be issued.

 

Q: Can an association charge late fees on past due assessments? (B.K., via e-mail)

A: Yes, if late fees are authorized by the documents governing your community.

The respective laws governing Florida condominium, cooperative, and homeowners’ associations allow for an administrative late fee of up to the greater of $25 or five percent of each late assessment installment, if authorized by the declaration or the bylaws. Assessments and installments on assessments that are not timely paid also bear interest as provided in the declaration or bylaws. If the community documents do not provide an interest rate, interest accrues at the rate of 18 percent per annum.

Payments on delinquent accounts received by the association must first be applied to any interest accrued, then to any administrative late fees, then to any costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in collection, and then to the delinquent assessment.

 

Q: Our homeowners’ association board says that we cannot have an ice cream truck in the community because our governing documents prohibit solicitation in the community. Is that true? (K.S., via e-mail)

A: It sounds like your board could use some good humor.

“No solicitation” clauses are generally aimed at prohibiting door-to-door types of activities. The legally correct answer will depend on several factors, including whether your roads are private or public, whether the community is gated, and the easement language in your declaration of covenants.

In the board’s defense, there is certainly reasonable cause for concern with children running up to the truck, potential accidents, and the like. If the association owns the roads, it would be a party to get sued in the event of a mishap or tragedy.

Perhaps a reasonable compromise would be to permit the truck to park in a certain common area for a stated period of time, and allow the patrons to come and get their ice cream from the truck only while safely parked and the motor turned off.

 

Joseph Adams is a Board Certified Specialist in Condominium and Planned Development Law, and an Office Managing Shareholder with Becker & Poliakoff. Please send your community association legal questions to jadams@beckerlawyers.com. Past editions of the Q&A may be viewed at floridacondohoalawblog.com.

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Providing the Ultimate Resident Experience During the Holiday Season

Providing the Ultimate Resident Experience During the Holiday Season

  • Posted: Dec 14, 2021
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Providing the Ultimate Resident Experience During the Holiday Season

Community Associations are the perfect place to build community spirit— especially during the holidays. Here are a few suggestions on how to get your residents connecting, collaborating, and spreading holiday cheer with our Resident Experience Management platform.

Rules regarding holiday displays

Community guidelines and rules help lay the foundation for a successful community. Your community may choose to develop a holiday and religious display rule that is easy for residents to follow and simple to enforce.

Our Resident Experience Management platform’s following built-in features can help you with your community association’s rules and regulations:

  • Quick Votes
    Board members can gather the opinion of residents on whether they believe your community association would benefit from a rule for holiday and religious displays. Our Quick Votes feature can help you provide immediate feedback on religious displays in your community.
  • Discussion Forum
    If your community decides it would benefit from a rule, include community consensus in the rule and request feedback from residents throughout the process.
    Our Discussion Forum feature can help build a connected community and you can invite residents to discuss topics related to holiday and religions displays.
  • File Sharing
    Ensure that your new policy is consistent with your association’s governing documents as well as state and local laws.
    You can securely store and share your policy using our File Sharing feature.
  • Newsletter
    Communicate new information to all residents after the policy is adopted. You can use our Newsletter feature to distribute such information.

Events and activities

Events and activities can be a great opportunity for your residents to get to know one another. Residents can avoid multiple bookings of a party room with our Amenity Bookings feature, which lets them see availability at their convenience.

 

Parcels and deliveries

Many residents in community associations have been frequent targets of package theft during the holiday season. We recommend using our efficient package delivery system to deter thieves and ensure packages are kept safe:

  • Barcode Scanner
    When a courier truck pulls up with gifts and packages, your concierge or security guard can pull out our barcode scanner to efficiently scan every package. After each item has been identified, they push one button to quickly email, call, or text residents to let them know that their packages have arrived.
  • Digital Signature Pad
    As residents pick-up their gifts and packages, they sign on a digital signature pad to permanently and securely confirm their identity.
    Property Managers and other administrative staff can quickly search for any package in the system (picked up or not) to find all of the details. Items left for pick-up by residents are also managed in Concierge Plus. Each item is recorded with a unique number, and our system will even print a tag to apply to the item so it can easily be found in your storage area. As soon as the item is picked up, the resident will be notified by email, phone call, or text!
  • Digital Display Screens
    You can use our digital lobby display screens to alert residents that gifts and parcels are available for pick-up. These screens are an incredible enhancement to a lobby or mail room.
  • Smart Package Lockers
    With our API integration you can use third-party smart package lockers to use the same resident database you already have in Concierge Plus. Residents will be notified via, email, call, or text, once a parcel has been put in the smart parcel locker.

Overnight guests and parking

During the holidays, residents are often visited by friends and relatives who make an extended stay.

Using our Entry Instructions feature, residents can manage instructions on a per suite/unit basis and add friends or relatives that need access to their suite. Residents can also add specific instructions to make sure specific individuals are not allowed access.

More guests also mean extra cars will need to be parked and residents hosting guests should check the rules on visitor parking.

With our Resident & Visitor Parking feature, your team can manage visitor parking, track vehicle details, and even print visitor parking passes using an optional printer. They can even differentiate between daytime and overnight passes!

 

Deliver the ultimate resident experience

Let us show you how you can deliver the ultimate resident experience with our Resident Experience Management platform. Start automating manual processes and become the trusted advisor for your community association. You can book a meeting with us by clicking here.

 

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It’s the Manager’s Fault…Or Is It? by rembaumlaw

It’s the Manager’s Fault…Or Is It? by rembaumlaw

  • Posted: Dec 13, 2021
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It’s the Manager’s Fault…Or Is It?

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Few professions have more demands placed upon them than that of the Florida licensed community association manager (CAM). Depending on whom you ask, the CAM is the organizer, rules enforcer, keeper of secrets (meaning confidential and statutorily protected information not limited to the medical record of owners and attorney-client privileged information), best friend, the “bad guy” (a frequent misconstruction), and the first person in the line of fire when things go wrong; in other words, the one who takes all the blame and gets little credit when things go right.

When things at the association go wrong, what comment is most likely heard? “It’s the manager’s fault!” But, is it? Unless the manager failed to carry out a lawful directive from the board, breached a management contract provision, or violated a Florida statute, then in all likelihood, the manager has no culpability. CAMs are licensed by the State of Florida pursuant to Part VIII of Chapter 468 of the Florida Statutes, and there are statutory standards by which CAMs must conduct themselves.

Pursuant to §468.4334, Florida Statutes, “[a] community association manager or a community association management firm is deemed to act as agent on behalf of a community association as principal within the scope of authority authorized by a written contract or under this chapter. A community association manager and a community association management firm shall discharge duties performed on behalf of the association as authorized by this chapter loyally, skillfully, and diligently; dealing honestly and fairly; in good faith; with care and full disclosure to the community association; accounting for all funds; and not charging unreasonable or excessive fees.”

As set forth herein, statutory standards provide guidance to CAMs as to how they should conduct themselves. They must discharge their duties with skill and care and in good faith. They must act with loyalty to their association employer and deal with the association both honestly and fairly. They must provide full disclosure, which can be interpreted as both keeping the board informed of current events and providing disclosures of any conflict of interests. They must be able to account for all funds, too, which means both assessment income and expenditures; in other words, they must mind the budget.

Best practices for CAMs include becoming extremely familiar with the governing documents of the association (including the declaration, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and rules and regulations) and the financials of the association, walking the physical property, engaging with their team and residents, as well as providing weekly status updates to the board regarding all ongoing association business. If you are a CAM and do these things, then you have an opportunity to shine and stand head and shoulders above your peers and competition. This weekly status report is an excellent communication tool yet seems to be a rarity. CAMs should also make themselves available to owners. However, when an owner becomes offensive or insulting, the CAM should politely and firmly request that the owner communicate respectfully and in a professional manner. A CAM should always be financially transparent and should be extremely familiar with the management contract to fully understand her obligations and authority; for example, the limitation to spend association funds. Finally, the CAM should strive to keep a written record of her activities.

The two most obvious and biggest ways to get in trouble include committing acts of gross misconduct or gross negligence in connection with the profession or contracting on behalf of an association with any entity in which the CAM has a financial interest that is not disclosed. Disciplinary actions against a CAM fall under the purview of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Section 455.227, Florida Statutes, governs grounds for discipline, penalties, and enforcement.

For example, the following activities constitute grounds for which disciplinary actions may be taken by the DBPR (this list is not all inclusive):

(i) making misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent representations in or related to the practice of the CAM’s profession; (ii) intentionally violating any rule adopted by the DBPR; (iii) being convicted or found guilty of, or entering a plea of guilty or nolo contendere (“I do not wish to contend”) to, a crime in any jurisdiction which relates to the practice of, or the ability to practice, a CAM’s profession; (iv) having been found liable in a civil proceeding for knowingly filing a false report or complaint with the DBPR against another CAM; (v) attempting to obtain, obtaining, or renewing a license to practice a profession by bribery, by fraudulent misrepresentation, or through an error of the DBPR; (vi) failing to report to the DBPR any person who the CAM knows is in violation of the laws regulating CAMs or the rules of the DBPR; (vii) aiding, assisting, procuring, employing, or advising any unlicensed person or entity to practice a profession contrary to law; (viii) failing to perform any statutory or legal obligation; (ix) making or filing a report which the licensee knows to be false; (x) making deceptive, untrue, or fraudulent representations in or related to the practice of a profession or employing a trick or scheme in or related to the practice of a profession; and  (xi) performing professional responsibilities the licensee knows, or has reason to know, the licensee is not competent to perform.

The Florida Administrative Code, in Rule 61E14-2.001, also provides standards for professional conduct which are deemed automatically incorporated as duties of all CAMs into any written or oral agreement for community association management services. A CAM must adhere to the following standards:

  1. comply with the requirements of the governing documents by which a community association is created or operated
  2. only deposit or disburse funds received by the CAM or management firm on behalf of the association for the specific purpose or purposes designated by the board, community association management contract, or the governing documents of the association
  3. perform all community association management services required by the CAM’s contract to professional standards and to the standards established by §468.4334(1), Florida Statutes
  4. in the event of a potential conflict of interest, provide full disclosure to the association and obtain authorization or approval; and
  5. respond to, or refer to the appropriate responsible party, a notice of violation or any similar notice from an agency seeking to impose a regulatory penalty upon the association within the timeframe specified in the notice.

In addition, during the performance of community association management services pursuant to a contract with a community association, a CAM cannot withhold possession of the association’s official records or original books, records, accounts, funds, or other property of the association when requested in writing by the association to deliver the foregoing to the association upon reasonable notice. However, the CAM may retain those records necessary to complete an ending financial statement or report for up to 20 days after termination of the management contract. Additionally, a CAM cannot (i) deny or delay access to association official records to an owner, or his or her authorized representative, who is entitled to inspect and copy the association’s official records within the timeframe and under the applicable statutes governing the association; (ii) create false records or alter the official records of an association or of the CAM except in such cases where an alteration is permitted by law (e.g., the correction of minutes per direction given at a meeting at which the minutes are submitted for approval); or (iii) fail to maintain the records for a CAM, management firm, or the official records of the association as required by the applicable statutes governing the association.

How do you know if your association requires a licensed community association manager? Pursuant to §468.431, Florida Statutes, if the association has 10 or more units or has a budget of $100,000 or more and the person is conducting one or more of the following activities in exchange for payment, the person must be a licensed CAM:

  1. controlling or disbursing funds of a community association
  2. preparing budgets or other financial documents for a community association
  3. assisting in the noticing or conduct of community association meetings
  4. determining the number of days required for statutory notices
  5. determining amounts due to the association
  6. collecting amounts due to the association before the filing of a civil action
  7. calculating the votes required for a quorum or to approve a proposition or amendment
  8. completing forms related to the management of a community association that have been created by statute or by a state agency
  9. drafting meeting notices and agendas
  10. calculating and preparing certificates of assessment and estoppel certificates
  11. responding to requests for certificates of assessment and estoppel certificates
  12. negotiating monetary or performance terms of a contract subject to approval by an association
  13. drafting pre-arbitration demands
  14. coordinating or performing maintenance for real or personal property and other related routine services involved in the operation of a community association, or
  15. complying with the association’s governing documents and the requirements of law as necessary to perform such practices.

However, a person who performs clerical or ministerial functions under the direct supervision and control of a CAM or who is charged only with performing the maintenance of a community association and who does not assist in any of the management services described above is not required to be licensed.

So, whose fault is it when things go awry? A CAM’s role is far different than that of a rental complex manager who often has decision-making authority. The CAM does not have that same type of decision-making authority. The CAM must take direction from the board and perform pursuant to the obligations set out in the management agreement and Florida law. It is the board of directors of the community association that actually makes the decisions. So, while the uninformed might blame the CAM, you now know that the buck stops with the board of directors. If you have further questions regarding a CAM’s responsibility, then please discuss this with your association’s lawyer.

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