Become our Member : JOIN SFPMA TODAY LogIn / Register: LOGIN/REGISTER
Find Blog Articles for Florida’s Condo, HOA and the Management Industry.
Gain insights on selecting the right contractor for your property management needs.
What Does Shoreline Erosion Look Like?
Shoreline erosion is one of the most difficult, if not impossible, problems for pond owners to control. And while a new shoreline can be engineered, proactive management is much easier and more cost-effective. To keep your shoreline healthy for as long as possible, it’s important to understand the signs of shoreline degradation – some more obvious than others.
Imagine digging a small hole in your yard. What would it look like a month later? How about a year? Chances are, it will look indistinguishable from the surrounding earth because it has filled back in. Your pond undergoes the same process, though it may take decades before you notice that its capacity to hold water has decreased since the first time you saw it.
Deep ruts and steep, crumbling drop-offs are an obvious sign of erosion, but the appearance of “peninsulas” and irregular contours along the bank may be an early clue of degradation. The formation of islands, often covered in emergent plant growth, can also indicate that the waterbody is unevenly filling with sediment.
Once sediment has eroded into a waterbody, it tends to stay there. Over time, it will become incorporated with pollutants, animal waste, and decomposing plant matter, creating a thick muck on the bottom. As depth and volume slowly decrease due to the build-up, there is a greater risk of flooding during heavy rainstorms.
As water levels drop and shoreline deterioration worsens, it’s not uncommon for roots and stormwater pipes to become visible. In addition to being aesthetically displeasing, this could result in significant property damage and leave property owners liable for any injuries that occur as a result.
Even if the shoreline appears to be in good condition, solids suspended in the water column could be a sign of erosion. Though this is common after it rains, as stormwater picks up sediment when it flows into the water, prolonged cloudiness may be cause for concern.
Burrowing animals like muskrats, Norway rats, invasive armored catfish, and some mole species are both a sign and a cause of shoreline erosion. Not only do the channels they dig weaken the shore and increase the risk of collapse, but they also make it easier for water to escape.
Erosion is a natural phenomenon that occurs in every waterbody, but human activity can significantly speed up the process. Partnering with an aquatic expert to implement proactive solutions is essential to maintain a stable shoreline.
In addition to regular monitoring, professionals recommend cultivating a buffer of native vegetation around the entire perimeter of a waterbody, allowing them to grow approximately knee-high to lessen the force of rainwater as it washes over the shoreline. Beneficial buffers also have complex root systems that help hold soil in place.
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.
Hosted by GRS Community Management. Course provided by Kaye Bender Rembaum.
If you do not see the graphic below, CLICK HERE to learn more and to RSVP free for
Condominium Board Member Certification on Feb. 15.
Presented by GRS Management | Provided by Kaye Bender Rembaum (0005092) | Course # 9630075 | Instructor: Kerstin Henze, Esq.
This webinar covers the essentials of condominium board membership, updated regularly to remain current with legislative amendments to Florida’s Condominium Act. In addition, this webinar satisfies Florida’s requirement for new condominium board members. It also serves as an excellent refresher course. Licensed CAMS will receive two (2) CE credits as IFM or ELE. Kerstin Henze is stepping in for Alan Schwartzseid.
Enroll for free HERE.
Get ahead of the curve to future-proof your community or help your clients as a CAM with this new and interesting course focused on Electric Vehicle Charging for your community! You will learn about the process involved in how a condominium association should go about having EV Charging Stations implemented in their properties. You will also learn the process of how a load study is performed, the power requirements and electrical infrastructure that is necessary, the permitting needed and the options for metering and payment systems available for associations.
There will be door prizes and delicious hot breakfast for CAMs and community association board members who register and attend.
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.
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.
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.
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
Tags: Collections
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
Our online education program is designed to give you the knowledge and skills needed to excel in this field.
Don’t miss this opportunity to earn your license and boost your career!
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 don’t 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.
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.
If you need to verify a License in Florida:
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.
State of Florida Requires; Property Managers to be Registered with the DPBR
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.