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Missing and Damaged Shingles or Tiles
Finding a roofing contractor who meets these criteria who is also trustworthy, honest, and professional can often be difficult. You need to know that your investment is in safe and reputable hands and your home is protected along with your wallet. Here are 6 tips to help guide you when choosing the right contractor for your roofing project.
1. Local roofing services are invaluable. They are more familiar with local rules and regulations and should have a good relationship with local suppliers. There also less chance of issues and scams when choosing a contractor from your area.
2. They should have a Better Business Bureau (BBB) accreditation. BBB contractors are required to maintain satisfactory ratings with the Better Business Bureau in order to retain their certification. This means customer satisfaction.
3. Check they offer an extensive warranty. It might take months or even sometimes years for incorrect installation or damage to reveal itself. Contractors that offer extended warranties on workmanship, especially for roof restorations , are going to be worth pursuing. Also, look at the manufacturer’s warranties on the types of materials used as it important to know that a manufacturer has done their due diligence in designing a quality product.
4. Safety is vital. A contractor should provide adequate safety training program for all its staff. A team that has been properly trained in roofing installation will ensure your roofing work is completed by quality professional roofing installers with integrity to personal and property safety. Most states require safety certification and licensing for contractors.
5. A reputable contractor will be able to handle any insurance claims for you so you can take advantage of the premiums you’ve already been paying. This helps to make the whole process easier and more affordable for you to have your roofing work done. Likewise, a reputable roofing contractor should also have adequate insurance coverage to protect the homeowner from liability in the unfortunate case a roofing employee sustains an injury at the home.
6. Get to know the roofing materials available. A good contractor will be able to offer you different roofing material options available for your home. However in some areas, HOA guidelines may dictate which type of roof you can have installed. The style and color of the roof you install can also affect the value of your home. A qualified roofing contractor will be able to guide you on this.
Our ROOFME Program (Roof Maintenance Evaluation Program) is a FREE program for property maintenance companies which provides one free annual property inspection and discounted repair services for our members.
Victor Lupis / Owner
Tropical Depression Fred is expected to hit Florida this weekend. Learn what you can do to protect your lake & pond from damage.
Tropical Depression Fred has changed paths and is projected to hit Florida and reach its tropical storm status by Friday, August 13, 2021, as it moves over the warm water in the Gulf. With this path, the storm may also have an impact on Alabama and Georgia. Experts say Florida can expect substantial rains over the weekend.
The heavy rain and winds that will accompany this storm can have a significant impact on your property, including recreational lakes, stormwater ponds, and trophy fisheries. In addition to ensuring your family and home are safe and protected, there are steps you can take to make sure your waterbodies are prepared. Learn what you can do to protect your aquatic assets as Fred approaches Florida, Alabama, and Georgia.
If your property is affected by the storm, don’t hesitate to reach out to your local lake and pond management professional for support.
Hurricanes and strong storms don’t just affect your day-to-day lives; they can have a significant impact on your lake or pond as well. If you live in an area susceptible to tropical storms, you know the drill. You stock up on food and water, make sure any tree branches that may fall are trimmed, board up windows or put up hurricane shutters if necessary, and secure light yard decorations and furniture. While your home and fridge may be prepared for the storm, is your lake or pond? How about your floating fountain, aeration system, fish feeder, or other related items?
For stormwater ponds, inflow and outflow pipes should be inspected and any debris that has accumulated in and around the pipes should be cleared to allow proper water flow. This is a crucial step in ensuring you do not end up with a flooded yard or parking lot. Any objects near the water should be tied down or taken inside, as they can blow around and end up in the water causing a blockage in a pipe or making removal difficult.
If your lake or pond has a floating fountain, simply turn it off before heavy wind and rains start. All the electrical and mechanical components will weather the storm, but as water levels rise, anchors may move or anchor lines may break, and the float can move around. Storms can also wash debris into the water which can clog the impeller. If you notice a decrease in pattern size or hear a funny sound when you turn your fountain back on, leave it off until the necessary repairs can be performed.
If you utilize a fish feeder around your pond, the primary threat is flooding. When heavy rain is expected, make sure to empty the feeder and drag it to higher ground. While wind is less of a concern during typical storms, hurricane-force winds can topple a feeder. If you are able to, it is beneficial to move it to a safer structure to weather the storm.
The better you can prepare for the impending storm, the less likely you are to experience severe damage to your property. Once the storm has passed and conditions are deemed safe, it’s important to check your water resource and identify any areas of concern. Your lake management professional can assist with any storm-related issues that arise within your waterbody.
In the face of a hurricane, proactive efforts will help keep your mind on the things that matter most – the well-being of your family and loved ones. Stay safe!
A home or office building is the most important purchase most of us will make during our lifetime. Most of us buy insurance coverage – windstorm, liability, flood, homeowners, and business interruption – to protect our homes and businesses. Yet, today’s insurance policies are lengthy, complex contracts full of exceptions, exclusions, deductibles, and conditions that make the policy difficult to read, and sometimes even more difficult to recover from for your damage. When you call the Maus Law Firm, a top Fort Lauderdale property damage lawyer will handle property damage claims.
You have four options if you disagree with the amount the insurance company is offering you for your damage:
Most insurance companies create entire TV marketing campaigns designed to say that you’re part of the insurance company’s “family”. However, the reality of the insurance business is that insurance companies exist to make money. That means that insurance company needs to minimize the amount of claims it pays out; meanwhile, maximizing the premiums that it collects.
When an insurance company doesn’t offer to pay you the full (or fair) amount of your property damage, you need to be prepared to fight. While many homeowners are hesitant to go to court – fearful of a lengthy or expensive legal battle against a big-name insurer – settling for less than your claim was worth can end up costing you more in the long-term. The repairs your home needed can continue to pile up, lowering the value of your property. Hiring the best Fort Lauderdale property damage lawyer you can find will save you the headache later.
When making insurance claims for property damage, it is helpful to know how the process typically unfolds. Our Fort Lauderdale property damage lawyer knows that while there are many potential scenarios, the property owner should first understand their own obligations under the insurance policy. Second, the property owner should understand the reasons for the insurance company’s denial of their claim.
Any property insurance policy will place some obligations on the property owner when they make a claim for property loss. These obligations will differ from policy to policy, but the following are several of the most common requirements.
Unfortunately, even if you have paid your homeowners’ insurance premiums on time for decades, this does not guarantee that your insurance company will treat you fairly if you need to file a claim. Bad-faith insurance claim denials are common, and homeowners can run into various other issues with their property damage claims as well. As a result, if you need to file a homeowners’ insurance claim, it is a good idea to hire an attorney. Here are just a few examples of the ways an experienced Fort Lauderdale property damage lawyer like Joseph Maus can help:
Before you devote the time, energy and resources to pursuing a property damage claim, you first need to determine if your claim is covered. An experienced Fort Lauderdale property damage lawyer will be able to review your homeowners’ insurance policy and assess the damage to your home in order to determine if your insurance company is liable.
If you have a claim, your attorney will be able to deal with your insurance company on your behalf until your claim has been fully and finally resolved. This important for a few different reasons: (i) Florida’s insurance laws are complicated, and asserting your legal rights can be difficult; (ii) in some cases, there will be a legitimate dispute as to whether a homeowners’ insurance policy applies; and, (iii) successfully pursuing a homeowners’ insurance claim for significant property damage takes time, and you will need someone to handle your claim while you focus on work and your day-to-day life.
As we mentioned above, insurance companies routinely deny policyholders’ property damage claims in bad faith. If your insurance company is not handling your claim appropriately, you may need your attorney to take legal action on your behalf. If you have a claim for insurance bad faith, then you can seek compensation above and beyond the amount of coverage to which you are entitled under your policy.
When can you file a property damage claim? As a homeowner, it is important to know when you are entitled to insurance coverage and when you may need to come out of pocket to cover repairs to your home. With this in mind, here are some examples of common property damage claims in Fort Lauderdale:
SFPMA & Members are ready to Handle Storm Damage & Claims for Condo and HOA Properties!This is a Division of SFPMA – http://FloridaAdjusting.com
Q: The board of directors of my condominium association recently voted on an issue that was not on the posted agenda. Following the meeting, the board realized that this was an error and there is a question as to how to correct the mistake. Should the board address this at the next board meeting and vote to undo what they voted on? (S.G., via e-mail)
A: Section 718 112(2)(c) of the Florida Condominium Act requires that notice of board meetings be posted on the condominium property at least 48 hours in advance (certain notices must be posted and sent to all owners 14 days in advance). The law goes on to say that the posed notice specifically must identify all agenda items. The public policy is that if owners know what the board will be voting on, they can decide if they would like to come to the meeting to observe or offer input.
The statute goes on to provide that an item not included on the notice may be taken up on an “emergency” basis by a vote of at least a majority plus one of the board members. Any emergency action so taken must be noticed and ratified at the next regular board meeting.
It is not suggested that the issue taken up was an emergency, but rather it was just a mistake. While there is no way to go back in time and cure the mistake, the most appropriate cure would be for the association to add the issue on the agenda at the next board meeting and have the board properly address the issue and revote on the motion.
Interestingly, for homeowners’ associations, while there is a requirement that notice of board meetings generally be posted at a conspicuous place in the community at least 48 hours in advance, there is no requirement that an agenda for the meeting must be posted. However, given that the Homeowners’ Association Act, Chapter 720, Florida Statutes, provides that members have the right to speak on all “designated items,” posting an agenda is a “best practice” and an agenda should be available at the meeting to confirm what issues owners may address.
Q: What does “plurality of the votes” mean when there are five seats up for election in a homeowners’ association? (J.Y., via e-mail)
A: Plurality means that the candidates who get the most votes win, whether they received votes from a majority of those who cast ballots or not.
Q: From what I understand, Florida law does not require directors to reside in the community, but our condominium documents do require residency within the community to be eligible to serve on the board of directors. Which would control? (S.F., via e-mail)
A: Florida law controls over your condominium documents in this instance, and the residency requirement in your condominium documents are not enforceable as being contrary to Florida law.
Section 718.112(2)(d)4 of the Florida Condominium Act states that every unit owner has the right to serve on the board. There are also certain limitations on board eligibility within the Act itself. For example, certain convicted felons are ineligible for board service. Certain financial defaults to the association can also disqualify a person from running for or serving on the board.
Other than the criteria for ineligibility set forth in the Act, limitations on the right to serve on the board are not legally valid. The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes, the state agency which has specified regulatory oversight of condominiums, has also ruled that “residency requirements” for board service contained in association bylaws are invalid. However, term limits contained in bylaws are valid in condominiums.
Joe Adams is an attorney with Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., Fort Myers. Send questions to Joe Adams by e-mail to jadams@beckerlawyers.com. Past editions may be viewed at floridacondohoalawblog.com.
Raleigh’s First Citizens Bank is buying most of Silicon Valley Bank, the tech-focused financial institution which collapsed earlier this month. First Citizens will acquire all deposits and loans of the former Silicon Valley Bank in exchange for company stock worth up to $500 million, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced Sunday.
The FDIC had controlled Silicon Valley Bank since it failed following a bank run on March 10. In the agreement, all Silicon Valley depositors will automatically transfer to First Citizens, and on Monday, the 17 former Silicon Valley branches will open as First Citizens Bank locations.
“First Citizens has a proud history of growing organically and through strategic acquisitions that build our core capabilities in a careful and deliberate manner,” First Citizens CEO Frank Holding Jr. said in a statement Monday. “This transaction leverages our solid foundation to add significant scale, geographic diversity, compelling digital capabilities and most importantly, meaningful solutions for customers throughout their lifecycle.” Holding added the deal will “accelerate” the company’s expansion goals in California and the Northeast. First Citizens and the FDIC entered a loss-share agreement which ensures both parties will share in the potential recovery and losses on loans, the government and bank announced.
“We welcome the news, which comes at no cost to taxpayers,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “The banking system is safe,” Jean-Pierre added. “Americans can be confident, and we have seen deposits stabilize at regional banks throughout the country, and in some cases outflows have modestly reversed. What we have done these past 14 days has worked.” The FDIC had given bidders until Friday night to make offers for Silicon Valley Bank.
WHAT IS FIRST CITIZENS BANK?
According to a Federal Reserve database, First Citizens was the 30th largest bank in the country by consolidated assets at the end of last year. It operates 582 branches and offices nationwide, 60% of which were in North Carolina or South Carolina.
It is the Carolinas’ fourth largest bank, behind Bank of America, Truist, and Wells Fargo, and employs more than 2,000 in the Triangle area, according to Wake County Economic Development.
First Citizens was founded in Johnston County in 1898, and for most of the past century, it’s been helmed by three generations of the Holding family.
The company’s headquarters are in the North Hills neighborhood of Raleigh. Silicon Valley isn’t the first major purchase First Citizens has made in recent years.
In January 2022, its parent company First Citizens BancShares purchased New York-based CIT Group for approximately $2.2 billion. According to First Citizens spokesperson Angela English, First Citizens has bought more than 20 FDIC-backed banks since 2009.
In its purchase of Silicon Valley, First Citizens will take on $110 billion in assets, $56 billion in deposits, and $72 billion in loans, the company said Monday. During an investor call Monday, Holding recognized his bank “is not well known for expertise in the digital innovation economy.” In the industry, First Citizens has been viewed as a more traditional bank, far from the profile of Silicon Valley Bank, which geared its services toward early-stage technology startups. But Holding pointed out “our home market in Raleigh” is a leader in innovation.
“We are committed to continuing to help innovators, enterprises, and investors move bold ideas forward,” he said. “This acquisition positions First Citizens to support that growth both for Silicon Valley’s markets and right here in our own backyard in the Research Triangle Park by combining First Citizens’ traditional relationship banking, creativity and ability with the strengths, relationships, and expertise of legacy SVB.”
Exciting news in the banking industry as First Citizens Bank announced its acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank. This comes on the heels of First Citizens BancShares’ purchase of CIT Group in January 2022 for roughly $2.2 billion. The acquisition of CIT included Community Association Bank (CAB), a major player in the community association banking space, which has since been re-branded as part of First Citizens Bank. This move further solidifies First Citizens Bank’s position as a leading financial institution.
Tags: Finance & Banking, SFPMA Articles
As the 2023 Florida legislative session gets underway, there are several bills impacting associations and real estate
Senate Bill 154 and House Bill 1395
Perhaps the most important of these are Senate Bill 154 and House Bill 1395, which deal with issues such as inspections and condominium association financial reserves that were addressed in the condo safety reform law that was passed last May with the adoption of Senate Bill 4D during a special legislative session. Under the new law, inspections are required for buildings that have been occupied for 30 years — or 25 years if they are within three miles of a coastline. After these initial inspections, the buildings will have to go through the process again every 10 years.
If adopted, the new bills could result in changes to the time by which buildings, including those within three miles of a coastline, will have to be inspected. The two bills include different timeframes by which the initial milestone inspection may have to be performed (e.g., SB 154 triggering all such inspections at 30 years with discretion for local officials and authorities having jurisdiction to compel some at 25 years depending on “local circumstances, including environmental conditions such proximity to salt water”; or HB 1395 requiring the initial inspections at 25 years for all buildings regardless of proximity to salt water).
SB 154 also includes provisions that would allow local officials to extend inspection deadlines if building owners have entered into contracts with architects or engineers but the inspections cannot be finished in time.
HB 1395 further proposes to increase the types of professionals that may perform phase 1 of the milestone inspections from architects and engineers to also include general contractors licensed under Chapter 489, Florida Statutes, with at least five years of experience in building/constructing threshold buildings, or as a building code administrator or licensed building code inspector.
The bills also include changes to portions of the statutes governing the financial reserves studies and requirements that were implemented under last year’s law. Some of the changes provided in SB 154 include clarification as to which building components must be included as part of the required reserve funding. It would also allow reserve studies to “recommend that reserves do not need to be maintained for any item for which an estimate of useful life and an estimate of replacement cost or deferred maintenance expense cannot be determined.” The bill’s sponsor says that provision could apply to building foundations.
HB 1395 includes different proposed changes pertaining to the structural integrity reserve items, such as providing for modified deadlines to the December 31, 2024, deadline established under last year’s reforms.
These are just a sampling of the various changes being considered by the legislature this session. As is usually the case with the legislative process, the provisions of SB 154 and HB 1395 will likely undergo various changes and may become mirror images of each other via lawmakers’ negotiations resulting in a final version that may be voted into law. Condominium association stakeholders should keep an eye on these bills given that their adoption by the legislature could surely result in significant changes to the monumental laws adopted last year affecting condominium associations in Florida.
House Bill 85
The legislature is also considering changes to the state’s statute of repose for construction defect lawsuits, which is used to determine how long a party has to file a claim for latent construction defects after a structure or improvement has been completed.
Currently, the state’s 10-year period of repose starts to run from the latest of these four events: 1) the date of actual possession by the owner, 2) the date of the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, 3) the date of abandonment of construction if not completed, or 4) the date of completion of the contract or termination of the contract between the professional engineer, registered architect, or licensed contractor and his or her employer. After the 10-year period expires, a claim for latent defects can no longer be brought.
If adopted, House Bill 85 would revise the triggering events for the period of repose for suits brought for latent construction defects to the earliest of: 1) the issuance of a temporary certificate of occupancy, 2) the date of the issuance of a certificate of occupancy, 3) or the date of issuance of a certificate of completion, or 4) the date of abandonment if construction is not completed.
The repose period would start to run seven years from the earliest of the foregoing four events. These changes, if adopted, could have significant changes to the time frame within which an association may assert a claim against parties responsible for construction defects.
As the legislative session unfolds and reaches its conclusion on May 5th, our firm’s attorneys will continue to monitor these and other bills impacting the state’s community associations and real estate industry.
Tags: Legal and Lobbing, SFPMA Articles
Allstate Resource Management’s team of experts specializes in storm drain cleaning in Broward County and storm drain cleaning in South Florida. We will keep your stormwater systems and storm drains clean and operating properly and in compliance with government standards. Various government agencies in Florida have specific regulations regarding the maintenance of these complex systems. Non-compliance can result in fines and unnecessary expenses. We can help ensure that your stormwater systems are working effectively and comply with Florida’s regulation standards. Our team are experts at storm drain cleaning and will make sure your stormwater systems are working properly. Stormwater systems accomplish many vital functions. Their primary purpose is to prevent flooding by rapidly removing surface water. A properly functioning drainage system also helps to maintain water quality, capture pollutants and contributes to balancing Florida’s precious drinking water supply.
This session is for Board Members of Condominium Associations; it will NOT satisfy state requirements for new HOA Board Members.
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