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SFPMA Industry Articles | news, legal updates, events & education! 

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

NEW Continuing Education Course Offering! How Sustainable Lake Management Creates Happier, Healthier Communities (1 CE Credit).

NEW Continuing Education Course Offering! How Sustainable Lake Management Creates Happier, Healthier Communities (1 CE Credit).

  • Posted: Mar 03, 2022
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NEW Continuing Education Course Offering!

How Sustainable Lake Management Creates Happier, Healthier Communities (1 CE Credit).

You may have noticed the positive effects on your health and happiness when spending time around the water, but do you know the science behind this phenomenon? Humans have an undeniable connection to waterbodies. This underscores the importance of continuous freshwater management and the prioritization of sustainable techniques.

In this presentation, attendees will learn:

  • Common lake & pond challenges property managers face in their communities
  • Best practices to implement in lakes and ponds on a recurring or annual basis
  • New technologies to make freshwater management more efficient & cost-effective
  • Strategies that help enhance increase property values & enhance brand image

Partner with the aquatic management experts at SOLitude for your continuing education needs in 2022. Reply to this email to schedule a presentation in your area today!

Contact SOLitude Lake Management

SOLitude Lake Management is a nationwide environmental firm with local offices throughout the U.S. We are dedicated to making water a more healthy and beautiful part of our world. In that pursuit, SOLitude offers sustainable solutions that improve water quality, enhance beauty, preserve natural resources and reduce our environmental footprint. Do you have a lake, stormwater pond, wetland, or fisheries management question or concern?

Call us at 866-996-3294 or simply fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you right away.

Join Becker Shareholders Steven H. Mezer, J. David Ramsey, and Senior Attorney JoAnn Nesta Burnett for this online class: 2/17 at 1:00 PM EST!  Emotional support animals on the property despite pet or animal restrictions.

Join Becker Shareholders Steven H. Mezer, J. David Ramsey, and Senior Attorney JoAnn Nesta Burnett for this online class: 2/17 at 1:00 PM EST!  Emotional support animals on the property despite pet or animal restrictions.

  • Posted: Feb 15, 2022
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Join Becker Shareholders Steven H. Mezer, J. David Ramsey, and Senior Attorney JoAnn Nesta Burnett for this online class:

2/17 at 1:00 PM EST!

Emotional support animals on the property despite pet or animal restrictions.

Register Today!

2/17 at 1:00 PM EST! Join Becker Shareholders Steven H. Mezer, J. David Ramsey, and Senior Attorney JoAnn Nesta Burnett for this online class where you will learn about the Fair Housing laws on the state, federal and local level that impact community operations and actions with respect to requests to maintain emotional support animals on the property despite pet or animal restrictions.

Participants will learn about the Fair Housing laws on the state, federal and local level that impact community operations and actions with respect to requests to maintain emotional support animals on the property despite pet or animal restrictions.
Some topics to be discussed:
• Fair Housing Act and Disability Accommodations
• Evolving Law of “Prescription Pets”
• Establishing a Handicap
• Competing Definition of Service Animal Under ADAAA and FHAA
• What to do When the Disability is Not Obvious
• What a Disabled Person Needs to Provide in Order to Own a Service Animal
• Innate Qualities of Service Animal
• Failing to Make Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications
• What to do when “Skeptical” Information is Provided
• Damages and Penalties for Discrimination
• Register Now
CEU INFORMATION
Florida
Provider: #0000811
Course: #9630287
Credit: 1 ELE
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GET BOARD CERTIFIED AND FULFILL YOUR 2021 LEGAL UPDATE CREDITS FROM YOUR HOME!  December 16th – 6:00 p.m.

GET BOARD CERTIFIED AND FULFILL YOUR 2021 LEGAL UPDATE CREDITS FROM YOUR HOME! December 16th – 6:00 p.m.

  • Posted: Dec 13, 2021
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GET BOARD CERTIFIED AND FULFILL YOUR 2021 LEGAL UPDATE CREDITS FROM YOUR HOME!

December 16th – 6:00 p.m.

GUEST SPEAKERS:
C.P.A. MARC GERSTLE
INSURANCE EXPERT: GREG WALTZ
L.C.A.M.: RAFAEL AQUINO

Managers: Our Course is now approved for Three 2021 Legal Update Credits.

Course Number: 9630640

CONDO AND HOA EDUCATION IS ON-LINE! GET BOARD CERTIFIED FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME.
REMEMBER, IF YOU DON’T GET CERTIFIED WITHIN 90 DAYS OF GETTING ON THE BOARD – YOU ARE OFF THE BOARD.
GET CERTIFIED BY TAKING OUR ON-LINE CLASS. WE HAVE CERTIFIED OVER 20,000 FLORIDIANS ALL ACROSS THE STATE. LEARN ALL ABOUT CERTIFICATION, THE AS AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME LANGUAGE, BUDGETS, RESERVES, FLORIDA’S NEW EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL LAWS, MANAGER DO’S AND DON’TS, SCREENING AND APPROVING, ACCESS TO RECORDS AND MUCH MUCH MORE.

NEXT CLASS:

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16th, 6:00 P.M.

TO REGISTER: CLICK HERE:

OR CALL OUR OFFICE AT: 954-983-1112

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Six Requirements You Need to Get Your Property Management License in Florida

Six Requirements You Need to Get Your Property Management License in Florida

  • Posted: Dec 10, 2021
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Six Requirements You Need to Get Your Property Management License in Florida

To launch a career as a property manager in Florida, you must first obtain an appropriate license, but Florida does not offer a property management license. Rather than a property management license Florida requires you to obtain a real estate sales associate license to meet the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) requirements.

To become licensed in Florida, you need to first meet the requirements to enter an approved educational program. Once you’ve completed the program successfully, you apply for a license. After being electronically fingerprinted, you’ll need to take and pass the licensing exam. You do not need a license if you are only managing personally owned properties. Some rental properties, however, need a licensing by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants. If a property owner hires a salaried employee to manage the property no broker’s license is required, but if they are paid by commission or transactional basis they must have a license.

 


This course satisfies the 16-hour CAM pre-licensing requirements to become a community association manager in Florida.


Community Association Managers (CAMs) differ from property managers. CAMs must hold a valid Community Association Manager license. Obtaining this FREC license follows a similar process, but requires a different educational program. A CAM manages:

  • a ten or more unit association,

  • an association with greater than a $99,999 budget.

Check each applicant’s license status before hiring any person. Use the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Licensee Search webpage to determine their licensing.

Property Management License in Florida

The first step in how to obtain a property management license in Florida is meeting the requirements to enter the higher education program. You need to already have graduated from high school or earned your general education diploma (GED). Also, you must be at least 18 years old. These minimums allow you to apply for entry to an approved real estate sales associate pre-licensing course.

Property Management License Florida Course

You will need to successfully complete the real estate sales associate pre-licensing course approved by the Florida Real Estate Commission. More than one possible course exists and the one you complete must contain a minimum of 63 hours of coursework. This is the introductory coursework to the larger licensing educational structure. It provides the foundation for other courses. You may complete the courses via correspondence, online or in person, depending on the options the school you choose offers.

Complete Your Application.

Complete and submit form DBPRRE1 which is the Florida application for a real estate sales associate license. You can fill it out online by visiting the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation website. Click the link for “Apply for a License.” You can complete it online or print it and submit it by fax or mail. The appropriate application fee must accompany it.

Submit Your Electronic Fingerprints

You must submit your electronic fingerprints via a FREC approved electronic fingerprinting site. You can obtain the sites closest to you by phoning 877-238-8232. You then visit them to submit your prints and pay the fingerprinting fee.

Ace Your Real Estate Sales Associates Exam

Sit for your Florida real estate sales associates exam. To qualify for a license, you must score at least a 75 percent on the test.

Receive Your License

Once you have passed the exam, you will receive your real estate license via postal mail. It typically takes seven to 10 business days to receive this in the mail.

Further Licensing Options

Beyond obtaining the sales associate license that functions effectively as a Florida property management license, you can also obtain higher licenses. You can obtain a broker’s license after 24 months as a real estate sales associate after completing a 72 classroom hours brokers course and a 60 hour post-licensing course which both must be FREC approved. For a license as a CAM, successfully complete a course of 18 hours education.

If you searched for how to get a property management license in Florida, you now know why you could not find it online. For property management, you need a sales associate license. To manage a community, you’ll need a CAM, also known as, a property association management license Florida requires. Florida property management license requirements differ depending on the size and/or budget of the community association.

While it is not a quick process, you can obtain your real estate license in about two years. That is the time it takes to complete about 60 hours of college coursework, assuming you complete 12 hour semesters. Some schools structure the courses in such a way that you must complete the classes in a specific order and cannot register for more than 12 hours per semester. After completion of the school program, passing your license exam is the only hurdle. You can enter a career in property management in Florida within two years.


Prolicense Florida is the leading online school for Licensed Community Association Managers (LCAM). We teach through interaction, which is proven to be a far more effective method of learning than attending classes or reading a boring book. Our content delivery platform, makes it easy for you to engage with the content providing a highest success rate at the State exam.

Licensing Partner for CAM Education: for SFPMA.COM and Clients all over the State of Florida. Learn more…..

 


 

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“The Great Resignation: A New Idea for Keeping Employees On the Job,” Human Resources Executive by Becker

“The Great Resignation: A New Idea for Keeping Employees On the Job,” Human Resources Executive by Becker

  • Posted: Oct 16, 2021
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“The Great Resignation: A New Idea for Keeping Employees On the Job,” Human Resources Executive

Ned Bassen / Becker 

By now, it appears well-established that employers generally may require COVID-19 vaccines for employees returning to work and may ask employees physically entering the workplace if they have been diagnosed with or tested for COVID-19. Employers also may require employees to come to work post-pandemic for legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons.

With the return to work looming, while many employers are discussing a “hybrid” remote/in-office work combination future, some employers either want employees back to the office full-time or for larger periods of time than employees would like.

But, what are employers’ rights when employees, especially millennials, don’t want to come back to the office and want to instead continue working remotely for their organization?

Not everyone wants to return to the pre-pandemic, 9-5 office lifestyle.

How (and sometimes when) to bring employees back into the office is a vexing decision that employers are currently or soon to be facing, along with how to give employees flexibility.

One recent study found that a “whopping 58% of workers say they would “absolutely” look for a new job if they weren’t allowed to continue working remotely in their current position.

The U.S. Department of Labor has reported that workplace resignations set a 20-year record in April 2021, with 4 million employees quitting their jobs. The global employment website Monster has said that 95% of employees are considering changing their jobs. (Read more on that here.)

Resigning employment has now reached such a new high level that quitting work post-pandemic has been labeled “The Great Resignation of 2021.”

What should employers do to ease the burden from employee departures when there will be difficulty finding qualified replacements?

To view the complete article, please click here.


 

For over 45 years, Ned Bassen has honed his expertise in labor and employment law. He is well-versed in litigating on behalf of and counseling defense contractors, financial institutions, universities and other nonprofit institutions and representing individuals accused of wrongdoing in connection with employment. His defense in such matters has included bankruptcy, employment discrimination, unlawful competition, poaching, corporate raiding, misappropriation of trade secrets, non-competes and other restrictive covenants, false claims, employment defamation and arbitration in the U.S. and internationally.

To learn more about Ned, please click here.

 

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December 8th, 9th and 10th Virtual HOA, Condo and HARASSMENT, CYBER-STALKING, DEFAMATION & SLANDER Events by Kaye Bender Rembaum

December 8th, 9th and 10th Virtual HOA, Condo and HARASSMENT, CYBER-STALKING, DEFAMATION & SLANDER Events by Kaye Bender Rembaum

  • Posted: Dec 07, 2020
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Virtual:

  • HOA Board Certification Course,
  • Condo Board Certification Course and
  • Board & Property Management Seminar on  “HARASSMENT, CYBER-STALKING, DEFAMATION & SLANDER IN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS” 

Virtual HOA Board Member Certification Course

WEBINAR Florida

Virtual HOA Board Member Certification Course Tuesday, December 8, 2020 from 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Join us for this Virtual HOA Board Certification Course taught by Emily Gannon from Kaye Bender Rembaum. We will also have a “Board Member Best Practices” presentation during the course presented by Campbell Property Management. This session is for Board Members of Homeowners Associations only – NOT Condo Associations.

Register Today

 


 

CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION BOARD MEMBER CERTIFICATION by Kaye Bender Rembaum

WEBINAR Florida

CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION BOARD MEMBER CERTIFICATION  December 9th  5:30 pm – 8:00 pm Course #: 9630075  |  Provider #: 0005092  |  2 CEs in IFM or ELE Join us for this Virtual Condo Board Certification Course taught by Allison L. Hertz from Kaye Bender Rembaum. We will also have a “Board Member Best Practices” presentation during the course presented by Campbell Property Management. This session is for Board Members of Condominium Associations only – NOT Homeowners’ Associations. Hosted by Campbell Property Management. Webinar Online

Register Today

 


 

WEBINAR- “HARASSMENT, CYBER-STALKING, DEFAMATION & SLANDER IN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS”

WEBINAR Florida

WEBINAR- “HARASSMENT, CYBER-STALKING, DEFAMATION & SLANDER IN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS”  December 10th  11:00 am – 12:30 pm Harassment, Cyber stalking. Defamation & Slander in Community Associations: What the $%@# Did You Say to Me? Instructor: Shawn G. Brown, Esq., BCS An informative seminar covering various forms of communication and threats in Community Associations, including Facebook, Twitter and Next Door; how it affects those directly involved, how it affects the community, and how it affects the operations of the association; and what types of communication are protected. Note that there is no CE credit for this webinar.

Register Today

 

 

 

 


 

State of Florida Property Management Associations events brings attendees from all over the State of Florida – information, insights, and expertise, where amazing relationships are formed.  Members and Clients tell us the time spent with their peers at events are invaluable.  We’d love to hear from you- for questions, comments, or ideas, Note: as of now these members events are virtual, we hope to soon have in class education events in the future.

contact:  membership@sfpma.com

 

 

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October 7 & 8th @ 1:00 pm AMENDING YOUR GOVERNING DOCUMENTS by Katzman Chandler

October 7 & 8th @ 1:00 pm AMENDING YOUR GOVERNING DOCUMENTS by Katzman Chandler

  • Posted: Oct 06, 2020
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AMENDING YOUR GOVERNING DOCUMENTS by Katzman Chandler

WEBINAR Florida

AMENDING YOUR GOVERNING DOCUMENTS by Katzman Chandler

Provider 0007237 • Course 9628489 • Credits 2 Hours

Manager Continuing Education Human Resource Credits

Date/Time Wednesday, October 7, 2020 1:00 pm

Are your Governing Documents up to date? Find out what needs to be updated or deleted, and how to go about the process of having an amendment written, approved and registered.


Q & A SESSION FOR AMENDING YOUR DOCUMENTS by Katzman Chandler

Q & A SESSION FOR AMENDING YOUR DOCUMENTS by Katzman Chandler

Date: Thursday, October 8, 2020 Time: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Location: Online Event via, Zoom You have questions, we have answers!

Come join our Q & A Session to answer all your questions about Amending your Documents.

 

 

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COVID-19 & Technology: Resident Communication, Virtual Meetings & Electronic Voting

COVID-19 & Technology: Resident Communication, Virtual Meetings & Electronic Voting

  • Posted: May 03, 2020
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COVID-19 & Technology: Resident Communication, Virtual Meetings & Electronic Voting

On April 7th, 2020 we had a live webinar

More than 200 people attended the webinar and it was requested that we record it and allow others to watch it.

You can watch the recorded webinar and learn about how to communicate with your residents in an age when we are practicing social distancing and the benefits of hosting a virtual meeting.

We covered several topics including:

Helping your team and residents stay safer by implementing digital  communication channels instead of physical interactions with community staff.

Alleviating the additional stress of situations like COVID-19 by leveraging  technology to organize and run your condo more effectively.

Reducing costs and efforts by hosting virtual meetings.

Here is the link: Watch and Learn

https://ding.conciergeplus.com/webinarcovid19andtechnology

Peter Pietrzkiewicz
sales@conciergeplus.com

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Concierge Plus: technology for modern property management

Concierge Plus: technology for modern property management

  • Posted: Apr 28, 2020
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Concierge Plus: technology for modern property management

by Chris Cooney
Senior Sales Executive — Concierge Plus
T: 305-850-7676 x128 — M: 786-667-0056

 

Our property management platform makes life easier for property managers and security companies by increasing efficiencies, improving resident service, and automating administrative processes so your condo or HOA runs more efficiently.

 

In less than a week, you’ll be handling maintenance requests, amenity bookings, visitor parking, package tracking, resident announcements, and resident information on a secure website, accessible to you at anytime from anywhere. Take your condo online today! Our dedicated Customer Success Specialist team will train your building staff, including on-site training at your location.

 

Improved Workflow

Improved Workflow

We make it a snap to handle service requests, amenity bookings, package deliveries, tracking visitors, and visitor parking.

Convenient Online Access

Convenient Online Access

Say goodbye to paper and binders by digitizing administrative tasks, while giving residents easy online access to many services.

Feature-Rich, All-in Pricing

Feature-Rich, All-in Pricing

Embrace a platform offering control and total flexibility, as well as competitive pricing, product updates and great customer service.

 

Discover the most cost-effective solution on the market

Competitive pricing is just the beginning. Concierge Plus is designed to save you time, money, and effort. Say goodbye to inefficient administrative tasks, mountains of paperwork, and time-consuming processes.

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BOARD CERTIFICATION FOR CONDOMINIUMS, COOPERATIVES AND HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATIONS VIA ZOOM ONLINE

BOARD CERTIFICATION FOR CONDOMINIUMS, COOPERATIVES AND HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATIONS VIA ZOOM ONLINE

  • Posted: Apr 18, 2020
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BOARD CERTIFICATION FOR CONDOMINIUMS, COOPERATIVES AND HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATIONS VIA ZOOM ONLINE

by Katzman Chandler

Date: Thursday, April 23, 2020
Time: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Location: , ZOOM ONLINE

Provider: 0007237
Course: 9626870
Instructor
William and Susan Raphan
Credit Information
2 Hours Manager Continuing Education Elective Credits

Learn the basics of Fiduciary duty, financial reporting and budget preparation, meetings and meeting notices, elections, fraud prevention, and much more! Enjoy a fun class while at the same time fulfilling the State’s Board Member certification requirements online with us via Zoom!

 


Partners, Attorneys and Paraprofessionals, we at Katzman Chandler strive to provide excellence and expertise in the area of Community Association Law, and our Name Partners have successfully done so for more than three decades.

In addition to providing exceptional levels of communication, personalized service, and a true passion for representing our clients’ interests, we endeavor to build meaningful and enduring relationships with each and every Community Association that joins the Katzman Chandler family of clients.

It is important to us that we get to know your Community, its Board of Directors and its management agents, so that we may render thoughtful advice and craft solutions that best fit the individual and unique needs of your Association. At Katzman Chandler, we understand the importance of being large enough to serve your Community’s needs, yet small enough to offer unparalleled personalized attention to every Community Association that we represent.

 


 

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