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This course helps complete the state requirement for licensed CAMS, many of whom still need their third LU credit before the Sept. 30 deadline. The material is also excellent refresher material for board members. In addition, there will be a preview of the new 2021 legislation affecting community associations.
Provider #: 0005092 | Course #: 9630064
1 CE credit in LU
Presented by Allison L. Hertz, Esq., B.C.S. of Kaye Bender Rembaum
Tags: Events Meetings and Courses, Management News, Member Highlights
By: Shayla Johnson Mount / Becker
The Florida Legislature was especially busy this past session filing, debating, and ultimately passing several community association related bills. Below is an outline of those bills and the potential impact on your community association this year.
Thankfully, Senate Bills 295 and 1488 did not pass, both of which would have significantly revised and limited the ability of a condo or homeowners association to bring construction defect claims against developers and builders on behalf of its members. This year, the legislature revisited the controversial issue of regulating short term vacation rental (i.e.: Airbnb) through consideration of Senate Bill 1128 and House Bill 1011. These bills would have prohibited cities and counties from passing ordinances regulating or limiting an owner’s ability to use their home or unit as a short-term vacation rental. Although neither bill specifically addressed an association’s ability to pass rules or regulations regarding short-term rentals, it is likely that this issue will return next year for further debate before the Legislature. Prior to next year’s session, associations that are concerned with short-term rentals in their community should seriously consider amending their governing documents now as future versions of this bill may propose to limit an associations ability to regulate short-term rentals as well.
Shayla J. Mount is an Associate Attorney in Becker’s Community Association Practice Group. She focuses her practice on providing counsel and representation to homeowner and condominium associations throughout Central Florida. An experienced litigator,
she has handled collections litigation and served as general legal counsel for numerous homeowner and condominium association boards throughout Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Duval, and Sarasota Counties. Shayla regularly advises association boards on issues regarding vendor contracts and disputes, document amendments, and covenant enforcement issues.
She also has substantial experience handling a variety of civil litigation issues including small business and contracting actions, foreclosure defense, real estate transactions, and insurance disputes.
Tags: Condo and HOA Laws, Legal and Lobbing, Members Articles
Maintaining a positive resident experience throughout the pandemic and post-pandemic will require help from technology made specifically for property management.
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the day-to-day operations of our industry across North America, forcing us to dramatically alter our working methods and approach. Property managers have had to adapt and respond quickly to unprecedented operational challenges that make managing communities on-site impractical in a post-COVID-19 environment.
Many industry leaders expect their workforce to become permanent work-from-home employees after the pandemic ends, leaving no choice but to adopt tech or risk permanent closure.
Resident experience management software can help, but choosing the right solution requires a 5 step process and understanding of how technology is changing.
The first step is to map out the tasks that your staff need to do. It can be challenging to figure out what tasks even need to be mapped out. Tasks carried out by staff differ from association to association. From handling packages and screening visitors to dealing with service requests and processing amenity bookings. For each one of these tasks you must find a process that is efficient and works well not only for your team but also for the residents to alleviate frustration.
Question: Who can help you map these tasks out?
Answer: You can engage your property management team, a committee, or board members to help you understand what tasks need to be optimized.
The next step is to come up with the processes needed to handle each of the tasks. In the past this was cost-prohibitive. Only large associations or those with big budgets could afford to do something like this.
Question: Where do you start optimizing each task?
Answer: Begin by understanding what parts of the task are most time consuming or frustrating to residents. For example: if residents can’t access the availability of your amenities from wherever they are, at any time, they are more likely to be frustrated and less likely to make a booking. This will result in lost revenue for the association.
You need to work with someone who has done this before and has been successful at creating efficiencies within associations. This is the only way you will come up with an optimal process. There are consultants you can hire that offer services to associations along these lines.
The next step is to train the management team and all your staff. Training videos are extremely effective at explaining processes to team members and will save managers significant time.
Question: Who will train your team and ensure they are following the established processes?
Answer: Videos and online tutorials will help familiarize existing team members with the new process. This same content will be shown to new team members to facilitate their training and ensure everyone gets the same information. Making sure that every team member is following each established process is critical to ensure a consistent experience for residents and that no details are lost.
Next, you need to educate residents on the available tools and how to use them. Using a platform to house community content allows property managers to communicate more effectively with residents.
Question: Who will explain this to your residents?
Answer: Residents are already busy with their everyday lives. They need to have a quick understanding of where to go and what to do to accomplish these interactions. A single, easy-to-use, intuitive platform will help ensure that all residents know what to do.
Finally, you and your team need to execute the tasks.
Technology has developed significantly in the past five years and has become a huge time saver for property managers.
Question: What type(s) of technology do you need for these tasks, and what is currently out there?
Answer: Here are some suggestions for technology you will need to acquire to accomplish this. You will need to organize your resident information with a spreadsheet (Microsoft Office 365 and/or Google Sheets). You can create another sheet to record packages and deliveries, and their pick-up/drop-off information. You’ll need to be able to reach residents by email with important announcements using Constant Contact, MailChimp, or a similar platform. Service requests will require you to use an online form from Survey Monkey. You can create an additional form on Survey Monkey for each amenity you want to be able to have residents book online. Amenities will also need a shared calendar: a Gmail account will allow you to do that.
We don’t recommend the above as your association needs to leverage technology to save time, money, and be more modern. Reducing the number of manual interactions your team must do daily will enable them to save hundreds of hours each month.
Temporary closures are on the rise because of the lack of communication with residents and staff. While Microsoft Office 365, and MailChimp are popular solutions you might think to try, they aren’t built for the needs and challenges of property management.
We recommend using a resident experience management platform that is designed and built from the ground up, specifically for managers and residents, with the needs of property management industry in mind.
The benefits of such a platform are many:
Unfortunately, most managers are struggling with delivering great resident experiences as they don’t have a proper platform designed to fulfill their needs. What they have is either a static website or multiple tools that aren’t suited for managing a community, but as we are entering a post-pandemic environment with social distancing taking off, they need a resident experience management platform designed for managing modern HOAs and Condominiums.
Our best-in-class resident management platform is designed to make life easier for Front Desk and Building Staff, Residents, and Property Managers. Our web-based, modular solution is fully scalable and customized to meet the needs of any sized community. It also saves time and money while delivering better customer service to residents and board members.
Tags: Management News, Members Articles
Our consultants guide our clients from conception to realization of their fitness amenity. Through room layout (2D and 3D), budgeting, logistics, and installation. Unlike most companies, our work does not stop there, CFP sales and service department are available to assist clients with maintenance service and consulting for future fitness equipment needs.
Commercial Fitness Products, a Florida based organization, has been serving the fitness needs of our customers nationwide for over 27 years. Our primary focus is Multi-Housing & Hospitality, as such, we stay current on the latest industry trends, and are able to share ideas on how we may equip or improve any community fitness center. We provide more than just equipment…our goal is to delight your residents & guests by providing them an exceptional fitness environment.
Contact us: 954-747-5128
Website: http://www.commfitnessproducts.com/
Tags: Fitness Rooms Articles, Management News
The Future of Construction Projects in the Era of COVID-19 Public · Hosted by Becker & Poliakoff Join Becker on August 12 at 12 P.M. EST for an in-depth discussion on how COVID-19 continues to disrupt the construction industry in Florida and how best to protect yourself, your workforce, and your project. Becker Construction attorneys will examine timely topics such as: Safety preparedness, workforce illnesses, privacy concerns, and mask mandates Delays, work suspensions, and contract termination How to address COVID-19 in future contracts Insurance considerations Dispute resolut
FIDUCIARY DUTY AND BUSINESS JUDGMENT AND FRAUD PREVENTION Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2020 Time: 1:00 pm Location: Online Event via, Zoom Learn about your Fiduciary Duty as a Board Member, Business Judgment and Directors and Officers insurance. Find out the most common reasons for Board Members getting sued, and learn how to discover and prevent fraud in your Association.
Webinar Panel: Association Operations During Covid-19 Date: Aug 13 2020 Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Register Here Castle Group and Kaye Bender Rembaum invite you to join our next episode of Association Operations During COVID-19, which will include a focus on opening community amenities and more. Panelists are Craig Vaughan, Castle Group, President and Jeffrey A. Rembaum and Lisa A. Magill, Kaye Bender Rembaum, P.L. – Board Certified Attorneys in Condominium and Planned Development Law. Andrea Northrop, VP of Insurance Office of America, will cover Covid-19 insurance trends.
Q & A SESSION FOR FIDUCIARY DUTY AND BUSINESS JUDGMENT AND FRAUD PREVENTION Date: Thursday, August 13, 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 Fiduciary Duties.
HOA/CONDO BOARD MEMBER CERTIFICATION ONLINE CLASS Provider #0000811 | Course #9630016 | 2 ELE Credits If you are planning to serve on your homeowner association board, you probably know that you will need to comply with Florida’s certification requirements within 90 days of being elected. Our HOA Board Certification class is designed to satisfy the statutory requirement so that you are eligible to serve. More importantly, it will provide the tools and information you need to perform your job well and to avoid any potential liability associated with your new role. Topics Covered: Defining your fiduciary duty Analyzing association operations How to properly maintain the association’s books and records The pros and cons of alternative dispute resolution Avoiding common election pitfalls Preparing budgets and funding reserves Understanding financial reporting requirements Assessing insurance needs for common areas Defusing conflict within the community
Condo Craze & HOAs HOSTED BY – ERIC M. GLAZER, ESQUIRE SUNDAYS AT 11:00 a.m. ON 850 WFTL Aug 16th @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Condo Craze & HOAs HOSTED BY – ERIC M. GLAZER, ESQUIRE SUNDAYS AT 11:00 a.m. ON 850 WFTL The show is streamed live on the web at www.850wftl.com and on your mobile device. Presents a forum for Board members and owners to tell their side of the story. The show randomly has guest speakers who are experts on the daily problems associations encounter. All issues that our associations encounter each day are proper topics for discussion.
Condo Solutions Talk Radio with Peter Mollengarden, Esq. Date: Aug 17 2020 Time: 9:05 am – 10:00 am
As a result of the unexpected COVID-19 crisis and its ramifications on Florida’s community associations, there are lessons that can be learned. Early on, an unexpected issue many community associations faced was whether the board could rely on the emergency powers set out in the Florida Statutes to help protect both residents and property alike during this time of uncertainty (the “emergency power legislation”). The Condominium, Cooperative, and Homeowners’ Association Acts each provide that the board of directors is granted certain emergency powers in response to damage caused by an event for which a state of emergency is declared by the Governor. While local governments at the city and county level may similarly declare a state of emergency, the emergency powers only spring into existence upon the Governor’s issuance of an executive order declaring a state of emergency in response damage caused by event.
These emergency powers include, just to name a few, the ability to cancel and reschedule meetings, conduct such meetings with as much notice as may be practicable, levy assessments, restrict access to the property and so much more. More specifically, Sections 718.1265 as to condominiums, 719.128 as to cooperatives, and 720.316 as to homeowners’ associations, Florida Statutes, each provide enumerated emergency powers available to the board of directors that may be exercised “in response to damage caused by an event for which a state of emergency is declared…”. However, in light of COVID-19 pandemic the interpretation of the phrase “in response to damage caused by an event” created questions and confusion to both laymen and lawyers alike.
At issue was whether the emergency power legislation only applies to situations where there is actual property damage and/or as a result of a hurricane damage. Even if not necessarily intended for COVID-19 type situations, to many lawyers, including this author, there was no question that the emergency powers could be utilized by board members of Florida’s community associations in response to the instant pandemic. Nevertheless, others questioned whether the emergency power legislation should apply since it was initially drafted in response to hurricane type events, and not a medical event such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
By way of background, the emergency power legislation was drafted in response to the series of hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004, however, it took the Florida Legislature approximately four years to pass them into law. A plain reading of the emergency power legislation even demonstrates that these statutes were drafted with hurricane type damage in mind, and not other disasters, such as global pandemics. But, that does not mean they cannot be applied to other situations. In fact, on March 27, 2020, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes (the “Division”) issued an unexpected order that provided that the phrase “response to damage caused by an event” should not be considered when reading the emergency powers legislation. Then on May 20, 2020, the Division entered a second order explaining that its prior order would expire on June 1, 2020 which is slightly more than a month before the Governor’s state of emergency is set to expire on July 7, 2020. Without regard to whether the Division had the necessary authority to issue such orders in the first place, the result of its second order has attorneys asking, once again, does the emergency power legislation apply? While a great many lawyers experienced in the body of community association law believe so, that does not mean that a court would agree upon legal challenge. Candidly, it would be surprising if the court did not agree, but one never knows with certainty how a court will ultimately rule, most especially on issues of first impression, for which this certainly qualifies.
There is already legislative chatter about the need to revise the emergency power legislation to make it more adaptable to the different types of disasters that can occur. But, community association boards should be able to rely, right now, on the emergency powers in any situation where the Governor has declared a state of emergency where health of the members can be at issue. Even if the Florida legislature does amend the emergency powers to make it patently clear that the board may exercise its statutory emergency powers during a declared state of emergency for a pandemic, such an amendment will take time and that could mean anything but a fast fix. So, what is an association to do to prepare for the next unanticipated state of emergency?
Well, at least in this instance it is quite likely that your association can act much more quickly to amend the community’s declaration or bylaws, than the Florida legislature can to amend the Florida Statutes. With that in mind, the board can sponsor and the association membership can adopt an amendment to the declaration or bylaws that clarifies that the emergency powers set out in the Florida Statutes (with specific reference) apply to all states of emergency declared by the Governor to the extent the safety and welfare of the members and/or the property is at issue. In addition, or as an alternative, specific emergency powers can be drafted in the declaration or bylaws, too.
A few suggestions for consideration include:
If your association is interested in adopting such an amendment to your association’s governing documents, please be certain to seek out competent legal counsel that has the requisite expertise in the area of community association law.
Jeffrey Rembaum’s, Esq. of Kaye, Bender, Rembaum attorneys at law, legal practice consists of representation of condominium, homeowner, commercial and mobile home park associations, as well as exclusive country club communities and the developers who build them. Mr. Rembaum is a Certified Specialist in Condominium and Planned Development Law.
He is the creator of ‘Rembaum’s Association Roundup’, an e-magazine devoted to the education of community association board members, managers, developers and anyone involved with Florida’s community associations. His column appears monthly in the Florida Community Association Journal. Every year since 2012, Mr. Rembaum has been selected to the Florida Super Lawyers list and was also named Legal Elite by Florida Trends Magazine. He can be reached at 561-241-4462.
Tags: Condo and HOA, Condo and HOA Laws, Management News, Members Articles
Far too many community association boards completely overlook the significance of who is serving as the association’s registered agent. I’ve found associations whose registered agent is a former board member who is either deceased or who has moved away or a former law firm or lawyer who no longer represents the association.
Pursuant to Section 607.0501,F.S, the duties of a registered agent are to forward to the corporation at its official address any process, notice, or demand which is served on or received by the registered agent. If the registered agent fails in this regard, the association may miss crucial litigation deadlines as well as Code compliance hearings which can result in substantial damage to the association. Current board members and managers should also seriously consider whether they are up to the task of serving as Registered Agent as that role does come with potential liability.
Donna DiMaggio Berger is a Board Certified Specialist in Condominium and Planned Development Law as well as a Fellow in the College of Community Association Law a prestigious national organization which recognizes excellence and ethics in the field of community association law. Ms. Berger has counseled condominium, cooperative, timeshare, mobile home and homeowner associations throughout Florida. Her work with these communities includes covenant enforcement, covenant amendment, contract review and drafting, collections and foreclosures, as well as advising these associations about the statutory and documentary guidelines for the daily administration of their communities.
Ms. Berger has led various advocacy initiatives working with legislators and other public policy makers on behalf of those who live, serve and work in common interest ownership communities. She has testified before the Florida Legislature regarding community association law and frequently appears on radio talk shows and in print media discussing these issues.
Tags: Condo and HOA, Condo and HOA Laws, Law and Legal, Management News
By Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published August 3, 2020
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 assessments as well.
The association must accept even partial payments.
Suppose the assessments are $300.00 per month. An owner has not paid in 3 months and owes $900.00 plus late fees and interest. The owner sends in a payment for $300.00. Must the association accept the $300.00 payment? YES.
In Ocean Two Condominium Ass’n, Inc. v. Kliger, 983 So.2d 739 (Fla.App. 3 Dist.,2008) the court held that the refusal of a condominium association and its management company of tendered payments of undisputed maintenance fees by condominium unit owners was improper and rendered premature the association’s lien foreclosure action involving owners’ units.. The condominium statute provided that such payments were to be applied on account, without prejudice to association’s and unit owners’ respective positions. In this case, the dispute would have been reduced to an inconsequential amount, and association’s attorneys could not in good faith have filed to foreclose the miniscule claim remaining. West’s F.S.A. § 718.116(3).
The association should not worry about restrictive endorsements.
Same scenario as above, but this time, the owner writes “paid in full” on the $300.00 check. Should the association deposit the check? If they do, are they now prevented from suing for the $600.00 balance?
The condo and HOA statutes each provide the methods by which to apply assessments that are paid. Each statute makes it clear that they are to be applied in accordance with the statute, and any purported accord and satisfaction, or any restrictive endorsement, designation, or instruction placed on or accompanying a payment. In simple terms, after applying the payment, the balance is still owed despite the words “paid in full” or similar words being placed on the check.
The association must apply the monies in accordance with the statute.
Same scenario as above, but the owner has also incurred $200.00 in attorney’s fees, $10.00 in interest and $75.00 in late fees. How much does the owner owe to the association after making the $300.00 payment?
The statute says……….Assessments and installments on assessments which are not paid when due bear interest at the rate provided in the declaration, from the due date until paid. The rate may not exceed the rate allowed by law, and, if no rate is provided in the declaration, interest accrues at the rate of 18 percent per year. If provided by the declaration or bylaws, the association may, in addition to such interest, charge an administrative late fee of up to the greater of $25 or 5 percent of each delinquent installment for which the payment is late. Any payment received by an association must be applied first to any interest accrued by the association, then to any administrative late fee, then to any costs and reasonable attorney fees incurred in collection, and then to the delinquent assessment.
Since 2009, Eric has been the host of Condo Craze and HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show that airs at noon each Sunday on 850 WFTL.Eric Glazer graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 1992 after receiving a B.A. from NYU. He has practiced community association law for more than 2 decades and is the owner of Glazer and Sachs, P.A. a seven attorney law firm with offices in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando and satellite offices in Naples, Fort Myers and Tampa.
See: www.condocrazeandhoas.com.
He is the first attorney in the State of Florida that designed a course that certifies condominium residents as eligible to serve on a condominium Board of Directors and has now certified more than 10,000 Floridians all across the state. He is certified as a Circuit Court Mediator by The Florida Supreme Court and has mediated dozens of disputes between associations and unit owners. Eric also devotes significant time to advancing legislation in the best interest of Florida community association members.
Tags: Condo and HOA Accounting, Condo and HOA Collections, Condo and HOA Laws, Management News
by William Pyznar / The Falcon Group
“Painting” your building sounds simple enough. Most would anticipate the most important decision to be selecting which color to paint it. However, a lot of chemistry and physics will play an important role in how that “paint” performs and how long it will be sticking to your building, protecting it and looking good.
For starters, lets differentiate between “paint” and “coating”. All coatings are paints, but not all paints are coatings. Generally speaking, paint is used for aesthetics, and coatings are used for performance. Coatings are paints that serve a purpose beyond just the aesthetic color and finish. In addition to color and texture, coatings can provide waterproofing, elasticity, breathability, dirt shedding and corrosion prevention properties. With these additional properties typically comes added cost. As such, it is important to make sure you are selecting the correct coating with proper preparation and application techniques to get the best long-lasting performance and return on your investment.
Most coating failures can be attributed one of three issues:
Before selecting a coating material and process, first consider the condition of the existing conditions and how the existing coating is performing and the condition of the existing substrate. Also consider what characteristics and results you are looking to achieve. Looking a little deeper into each of the causes of failure. If there is an existing coating and the existing coating has failed, it is crucial to understand why before investing in recoating. If the existing coating is performing, but you are looking to recoat for aesthetics, waterproofing or other performance characteristics, it is also imperative to understand the existing coating to be able to select the proper material, preparation and application of the new coating.
Selecting the new Coating: Selecting the new coating will be governed by desired performance characteristics and chemistry. You need to determine which performance characteristics you need such as breathability, elasticity, waterproofing, corrosion resistance and dirt shedding. You then need to consider what materials you are going over. The new coating should be compatible with the existing surface chemically and physically.
For example, topcoats should generally be of the same generic type of curing mechanism as undercoats and you don’t want to apply a rigid coating over a flexible base. If it is anticipated that moisture escaping the concrete or wood substrate is a concern you may want to select a breathable material. If crack bridging and movement is a concern, you may want to select an elastic material. If existing layers of paint exist, you don’t want to keep applying layers of coatings so as to reduce the elasticity of the overall coating thickness. Latexes are generally less effected by moisture then oil-based coatings. Oil based coatings are not recommended for direct application on galvanized surfaces because the alkalinity on the galvanized surface will degrade the oil binder causing peeling.
Surface Preparation: Surface preparation is the single most important factor in determining coating durability. Proper preparation removes surface contaminants such as dirt, mildew chalking, salts and rust which can interfere with adhesion of the new coating. Proper preparation will also produce a surface profile that will promote good adhesion. There are varying surface preparation processes that are recommended, which vary with the surface such as existing coating, steel, wood or concrete and the condition of the surface such peeling or chalking coatings, fresh or old concrete, painted or bare wood, oiled or rusting steel, etc. There are dozens of preparation methods from blasting and sanding, washing with soap, chemicals or acid to making repairs of the surface itself. The selected methods are a function of the materials being used, the existing conditions and the environment.
Application: It is important to apply coatings immediately after preparation so as to avoid contamination of the surface. The grace period from preparation to coating will vary greatly with material and environment. For example, freshly blasted steel in a marine environment will start to form a corrosive film almost immediately. Whereas bare wood can be exposed to sunlight for up to two weeks before the sunlight causes photo-degradation of the wood, which must be sanded off to avoid adhesion issues.
Other considerations during the application process include access, weather conditions, including wind, precipitation, temperature and humidity, dust (natural or construction related), and the actual application methods such as brush, roller or spray. Application method will be governed by the type of material and the type and condition of the substrate, as well as the environmental conditions. It is important to achieve the specific millage in the application and the specific dry film thickness.
In summary, once you have selected a color scheme for your project, it is important to understand there is an extensive amount of legwork to fully understand what and how coatings should be applied to your building to get the most out of your investment and to avoid costly defects. A professional consultant with expertise in repairs and coatings can help guide this process and perform some simple field tests to identify the existing material type, moisture concerns and visible conditions to come up with the best long term specification for your investment.
WJP
The Falcon Group | Engineers, Architects & Reserve Specialists
Miami ph: 305.663.1970 x509 West Palm Beach ph: 561.290.0504
Tags: Building Maintenance, Management News
SFPMA works throughout the State of Florida, we are a multi-member organization for the Condo, HOA and Property Management industry. Through knowledge based Articles, Events and our Members Directory, Clients find the right information to make an informed decisions for their Florida properties.