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

Funding Construction Projects (Loans, Assessments & Reserves) Presented by Synovus. Course provided & taught by Kaye Bender Rembaum’s Kerstin Henze, Esq.

Funding Construction Projects (Loans, Assessments & Reserves) Presented by Synovus. Course provided & taught by Kaye Bender Rembaum’s Kerstin Henze, Esq.

  • Posted: Mar 27, 2024
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Funding Construction Projects (Loans, Assessments & Reserves)

MARCH 28 | 11am Est | Live via Zoom

Presented by Synovus. Course provided & taught by Kaye Bender Rembaum’s Kerstin Henze, Esq.

If you have difficulty seeing the graphics below, CLICK HERE for details and/or to RSVP.

Funding Construction Projects

Date & Time:   Mar 28, 2024 11:00 AM in 
Hosted by Synovus Bank. Course provided by Kaye Bender Rembaum. Funding Construction Projects (Loans, Assessments and Reserve Spending) Course# 9630148 | Provider# 0005092 | 1 CEU in IFM or ELE Instructor: Kerstin Henze, Esq.
Attendees will learn about the process of funding construction projects. The primary focus of the program is to review with attendees the different sources of funds that may be available to address construction projects and the procedures to be followed to properly utilize those sources of funds. Attendees will learn tips to avoid pitfalls when planning for large projects. Synovus’ community association specialist will be on hand to cover the lending aspects of the seminar.
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Budget preparation time is upon us! We strongly encourage, that every year around this time, association managers and Boards review and ensure that your capital reserve study is accurate and up-to-date.

Budget preparation time is upon us! We strongly encourage, that every year around this time, association managers and Boards review and ensure that your capital reserve study is accurate and up-to-date.

Budget preparation time is upon us! We strongly encourage, that every year around this time, association managers and Boards review and ensure that your capital reserve study is accurate and up-to-date.

This is one of the most important decisions a board will make for the future of their association. It is an easy and effective way to ensure your community’s capital replacement items are being properly funded with minimal impact on the individual homeowners. 

With the recent update to the Capital Reserve Study Standards, the impact of inflation and supply chain issues over the past few years (in some cases resulting in costs as much as 50% higher for some typical components), it is even more critical to have an updated reserve study to ensure the financial health of your community.

To stay on track for a healthy financial future, it is recommended that your Reserve Study be updated every three (3) years.

The Falcon Group Capital Reserves team consists of 6 CAI Certified Reserve Specialists (RS) as well as a Professional Reserve Analyst (PRA) designation awarded by the Association of Professional Analysts.

Contact our Reserve Specialists today for a new or updated reserve study!

 

Contact Us:

Tampa Bay

1211 1st Avenue, N.
Suite 106
St. Petersburg, FL 33705

P (813) 438-3568

West Palm Beach

5651 Corporate Way
Suite 4
West Palm Beach, FL 33407

P (561) 290-0504

Miami

15405 NW 7th Avenue
Miami, FL 33169

P (305) 663-1970

Capital Reserve Study ( what is involved )

The primary purpose of a Reserve Study is to offer recommendations as to the amount of money a community, building or other organization should set aside on a yearly basis for the future replacement or major refurbishment of their commonly owned elements.

The Falcon Group believes that a properly funded capital reserve program is the right formula for keeping a community’s physical assets in prime condition while providing some key benefits to residents. We strongly recommend updating your Capital Reserve Study Every 3 years.

A regularly updated Reserve Study can provide the following benefits:

  • Maintaining and/or increasing property values by maintaining exterior appearances through timely repair or replacement of common elements.
  • Facilitating project efficiency and cost effectiveness, as well as, minimizing disruptions and unit owner inconvenience by allowing the association to secure contractors to complete an entire project during a finite and desired schedule.
  • Reducing the likelihood of member dissatisfaction associated with the passage of large or sudden assessments.

All of our Capital Reserve Studies are prepared under the direction of a Reserve Specialist (RS) and/or a Professional Reserve Analyst (PRA).

The Falcon Group has prepared over 3,500 Capital Reserve Studies. Each Capital Reserve Study we perform is a customized analysis, prepared in coordination with our Reserve Specialist (RS) and our client, and is based on a “real-world” methodology for each item in regards to:

  • Inspection

  • Evaluation for repair or replacement

  • Evaluation for anticipated “Useful Life”

  • Integrated into a repair or replacement plan and budget

 

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Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Attorney at Maus Law Firm is here to support you.

Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Attorney at Maus Law Firm is here to support you.

  • Posted: Feb 26, 2024
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Suffering a personal injury is a daunting experience, and it requires an empathetic and personal approach.

Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury Attorney at Maus Law Firm is here to support you.

We believe in fighting for your rights and ensuring you get the compensation you deserve, tailoring our approach to your unique situation.

Personal Injury Lawyer
205 West Davie Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States, Florida
(954) 784-6310
jmaus@mauslawfirm.com
mauslawfirm.com

 

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CEU course “Navigating the FFHA: Assistance Animal or Pet?” next week on Feb. 20th. Alan Schwartzseid of KBR Legal.com

CEU course “Navigating the FFHA: Assistance Animal or Pet?” next week on Feb. 20th. Alan Schwartzseid of KBR Legal.com

  • Posted: Feb 20, 2024
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We are presenting the CEU course “Navigating the FFHA: Assistance Animal or Pet?” next week on Feb. 20th. Alan Schwartzseid from KBR Legal.com will be the instructor.

Use the link to enroll for free: 

Navigating FFHA | Assistance Animal or Pet?

Feb 20, 2024 02:00 PM
Presented by Alan Schwartzseid, Esq., of Kaye Bender Rembaum Learn about the HUD regulations and Florida Legislation pertaining to assistance animals, as well as common issues concerning assistance animals and addressing requests by residents for reasonable accommodations. Provider #: 0005092 | Course #: 9631847 | 1 CE credit in OPP or Elective
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Join our webinar Feb 22 @ 12Noon, on ‘Planning the Project: What to Look for in a Contractor.’

Join our webinar Feb 22 @ 12Noon, on ‘Planning the Project: What to Look for in a Contractor.’

  • Posted: Feb 20, 2024
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This Thursday, February 22, discover the secrets of successful projects! Join our webinar on ‘Planning the Project: What to Look for in a Contractor.’

Gain insights on selecting the right contractor for your property management needs.

Register now:  

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Understanding Your Lake “Our Lake Was Never Like This Before”

Understanding Your Lake “Our Lake Was Never Like This Before”

A lake is a living, and ever evolving thing. Many people think a lake is static and unchanging like a swimming pool.
Often, we hear “I’ve lived on this lake for years and it’s never been like this before. What’s going on?”
The simple answer is: You’re lake is getting older and as it matures it’s going to go through changes. This is
especially true in South Florida since most of our lakes are man made, shallow and quite new in comparison to the natural lakes that occur in other parts of the country.
To add to the situation, our lakes are connected directly to storm water drains and canals, increasing sources of input. Community lakes may provide nice scenery but their primary purpose is to catch and hold rainwater from storms so our neighborhoods don’t flood. That water carries with it anything it picks up as is flows across our properties, down the streets, and through our developments. Items such as dirt, fertilizer, grass clippings, pet waste, leaves, and petroleum products are carried into our lakes via storm flow and accompanying winds where they begin to accumulate.
Everything from lake depth to water chemistry is changed (ever so slightly) every rainy season. Year after year the subtle changes build until finally, the cumulative result becomes visually obvious. Another source for change that often goes unnoticed is the constant barrage of new weeds and plants introduced to our lakes by wildlife. Waterways provide an oasis and convenient habitat for migrating water birds. Every season they travel great distances, hopping from lake to lake; carrying new weeds and transferring them to each water body as they go.
Therefore, if the observation is “Our lake wasn’t like this 5 years ago.” The response is “That’s because it’s not the same lake it was 5 years ago.” The long standing relationship Allstate has had with many of its customers has given us tremendous experience in handling the changes that naturally occur with community lakes over time. Feel free to contact us and let our staff work with your specific waterway needs.
Author: Stephen Montgomery, Allstate Resource Management
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“Condo Craze & HOA’s” on YouTube with Eric Glazer Sundays 11am-12noon.

“Condo Craze & HOA’s” on YouTube with Eric Glazer Sundays 11am-12noon.

  • Posted: Feb 14, 2024
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“Condo Craze & HOA’s” on YouTube with Eric Glazer Sundays 11am-12noon.

February 18 @ 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

“Condo Craze & HOA’s”

on YouTube with Eric Glazer

Sundays 11am-12noon.

Eric M. Glazer

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 five attorney law firm with offices in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.

Eric is Board certified by The Florida Bar in Condominium and Planned Development Law and the first attorney in the State that designed a course that certifies both condominium and HOA residents as eligible to serve on a Board of Directors and has now certified more than 20,000 Floridians all across the state.

Mr. Glazer 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.

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Elevate Your HOA and Condo Collections with Axela!

Elevate Your HOA and Condo Collections with Axela!

  • Posted: Feb 02, 2024
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Discover why Axela stands out as the ultimate choice for managing your community’s finances and collections.

Axela is here to revolutionize your HOA experience from streamlined processes to advanced features.

 

HOW THE FUTURE COLLECTS

Axela Technologies is dedicated to helping create streamlined accounts receivable and collections tools for management companies, condo and homeowners associations and others in the real estate industry.

Our proven collection tools help community associations realize higher returns and lower delinquency ratings.

Axela is not a debt collector. But, our team understands collections and has expertise in the real estate accounts receivable space. Axela licenses its software to specially-selected third-party collection agencies who emphasize a culture of debtor choice and empowerment and compliance with applicable law, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Our focus is on building tools that assist community association capital recovery. Our team of developers is constantly working to build new and improved technologies to ease and speed up the collections process.

Integrates with your Accounting Platform

In order for Condo and HOA collections to be successful, action must be taken quickly, and information must be accurate. Our tools integrate with various accounting software to gather the data required to begin a collections file.

Accurate, Up to the Minute Records

Using Axela’s software, you can effortlessly gather thousands of data points from our integration partners to have a complete picture of what position a delinquent unit and its owner are in.

The tools available in Axela’s toolbox range from calculating the value of a property, to determining if it’s in an equity position, to assistance in locating a unit owner and determining their financial position.

Respectful Treatment of Homeowners

We empower the engagement of your HOA members in a respectful manner to resolve your cash flow issues. When owners are not paying their assessments you need a HOA collection solution NOT a lawyer.

Committed to Condo & HOA Collections Technology and Advancement

An HOA collection agency must use an FDCPA-compliant process, first and foremost. But our exclusive focus on Community Associations and Management Companies makes us go deeper than the basic requirements when designing collections tools.

Our team has years of experience in the industry, from directly managing condos and HOAs, to serving on boards, to working with other industry vendors.

We work constantly to cultivate relationships in the industry so you can benefit from technologies built to suit your specific needs.

 Axela’s platform can easily review your delinquency issues and provide a customized collections plan.

We help recover funds utilizing information acquired from your association, third-party data aggregators, and credit reporting agencies.

We will refer you to highly trained and accredited collectors who work respectfully with your association members to resolve delinquencies as quickly as possible.

Call Us
 305-392-0389

Technical Support
 support@axela-tech.com

Sales & General Inquiries
 admin@axela-tech.com

 

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Deep Dive on Insurance Deductibles – by Cohen Law Group

Deep Dive on Insurance Deductibles – by Cohen Law Group

  • Posted: Feb 02, 2024
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In almost every homeowner’s insurance contract, there is a deductible that the homeowner is
required to pay before insurance proceeds become due and owing. Many times, the amount of the
deductible is dependent on whether the claim is a hurricane loss or a non-hurricane loss. Although
homeowners can obtain lower deductible amounts, usually by paying higher premiums, a vast
number of policies in Florida contain higher deductibles for hurricane losses than non-hurricane losses.
A very basic way of looking at the deductible, if the homeowner has a deductible of $5,000 on a
hurricane claim, the loss must have a value of more than that $5,000 before the insurance company is
required to pay any funds for the loss. If the value of the claim is below $5,000 that is typically referred
to as being below deductible. If the claim is valued at $6,000 then the insurance company will reduce
the payment by the $5,000 deductible, as the homeowner is responsible for paying this for the repairs,
and will make a payment to the homeowner for $1,000.

I often speak with homeowners who will receive a small payment for their damages that was
reduced by the deductible. Many homeowners are under the impression that because the amount paid
was reduced by the amount of the deductible, that the deductible has been paid. This is not the case. In
its simplest form, if the homeowner needs $20,000 for the damages and there is a $5,000 deductible,
then the homeowner will receive $15,000 and will be required to pay out of pocket the $5,000
deductible.

Florida statute 489.147 (2023) addresses prohibited property insurance practices. The statute
states that the “consumer is responsible for payment of any insurance deductible.” Subsection (3) states
that it is a felony of the third degree to pay, waive, or rebate any part of the insurance deductible with
the intent to injure, defraud, or deceive.

It is important for homeowners to understand how their policy works and specifically, what type
of costs the homeowner could be liable for when shopping for insurance. Many times, I believe, it is
better to pay a little extra in premium for a lower deductible than to be subject to much larger hurricane
deductibles.

Brandon Pharis, Esq.

Cohen Law Group

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Now is the perfect time to start planning for the upcoming construction season!

Now is the perfect time to start planning for the upcoming construction season!

  • Posted: Jan 26, 2024
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Now is the perfect time to start planning for the upcoming construction season!

At Falcon, we understand the challenges communities face when it comes to site improvements. That’s why we offer comprehensive engineering services to help you tackle these projects effectively.
Contact us today for a free consultation and proposal and let us help you transform your community into a better place to live.

Are you tired of the deteriorating condition of the roadways in your community?

Is drainage becoming a major concern during heavy rains?

Are the retaining walls in your neighborhood showing signs of wear and tear?

If so, it’s time to take action! 

Planning and executing site improvement projects can be a complex process. From roadway resurfacing to tennis court replacement, these projects require careful planning and development.

Now is the perfect time to start planning for the upcoming construction season.

At Falcon, we understand the challenges communities face when it comes to site improvements. That’s why we offer comprehensive engineering services to help you tackle these projects effectively.

Our team can assist you with feasibility studies, design plans, construction documents, bidding, and even construction management services.

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Take advantage of the construction off-season to plan your site improvement project.

Contact us today for a free consultation and proposal and let us help you transform your community into a better place to live.

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The Falcon Group – An industry-leader providing professional, cost effective and innovative architectural and engineering designs, solutions and services through the use of highly qualified staff and outstanding customer service.

The Falcon Group – An industry-leader providing professional, cost effective and innovative architectural and engineering designs, solutions and services through the use of highly qualified staff and outstanding customer service.

The Falcon Group is an industry-leader providing professional, cost effective and innovative architectural and engineering designs, solutions and services through the use of highly qualified staff and outstanding customer service.

Our structural engineers will design, plan and execute your project, tailored to suit each individual’s specific needs and budgets. Our engineers will inspect all materials used to ensure the strength and stability of your structure from low-, mid-, to high-rise structures and facilities. Falcon’s engineers pride themselves on ensuring the services and recommendations provided to each of our clients are held at the desired level of individualized care and attention.

  • High Rise & Mid Rise Façade Inspections & Repair/Restoration/Replacement

  • Stucco & Exterior Insulation Finish Systems (EIFS) Evaluations & Repair

  • Mid Rise & Low Rise Siding Inspections & Repair Replacement

  • Roof Inspections & Repair/Replacement

  • Water Infiltration Investigation & Remediation

  • Window & Door Replacement Design

  • Balcony & Deck Repair/Restoration/Replacement

  • Foundation Inspections & Waterproofing

  • Firewall / Fire Separation Assembly Inspections & Remediation

 

View our new brochure, learn how we can help you with the services we provide. 

Falcon-Florida Brochure

MIAMI
15405 NW 7th Avenue in Miami, FL 33169
Phone: 305-663-1970
marketing@thefalcongroup.us
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA
5651 Corporate Way, Suite 4, West Palm Beach, Florida 33407
Phone: 561-290-0504
marketing@thefalcongroup.us
TAMPA BAY
1211 1st Avenue, N., Suite #106, St. Petersburg, FL 33705
Phone: 813-438-3568
marketing@thefalcongroup.us
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