Become our Member : JOIN SFPMA TODAY LogIn / Register: LOGIN/REGISTER
Find Blog Articles for Florida’s Condo, HOA and the Management Industry.
Discover the benefits of professional fall fish stocking and how to set your fishery up for success.
Are you ready to build a community fishery or grow trophy fish in your private lake? Fish stocking is an important step of fisheries management. Fall is an excellent time to stock your lake. Learn how strategic fish stocking can help you build your dream fishery!
BOOK YOUR FISH STOCKING |
A diverse and productive fish population is essential to creating an ecologically balanced lake or pond. Fish stocking has clear benefits – from plant and mosquito management to exciting fishing opportunities – but many property owners are unaware of the sheer number of fish species to choose from, making it very easy to get confused.
There is more to fish stocking than the act of adding fish to a pond. Rushing the process by stocking the wrong fish, or doing so at the wrong time, can result in unhealthy population conditions and ecosystems. A key part of lake and pond management is making sure the fish population is well-balanced and best equipped to help achieve your specific goals for the aquatic ecosystem. That’s where a professional comes in.
Each body of water is different, so there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. A customized plan created by experts will ensure that your lake or pond has the right fish population to endure its health and your continued enjoyment. Based on the state of the ecosystem in your lake or pond, a professional will recommend whether or not you should add fish, what species are best suited for your waterbody, what time of year to stock, and how many.
SOLitude Lake Management | Proudly Serving Clients Nationwide
Tags: Condo and HOA, Lake Management Articles, Management NewsSep 8, 2022 12:00 PM
A home or office building is the most significant 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.
The Maus Law Firm has the best attorneys to handle property damage claims. These are just a few of the questions you may deal with after suffering a house water damage claim, plumbing backup, or a broken pipe above your condominium unit:
In addition to these questions, there are several different types of policies offered by homeowner insurance companies that contain various types of coverage. There is a policy used for owner occupied properties, one for properties that are rented out, and yet another type policy used for condo units. Where do you turn to get help?
The Maus Law Firm has been successfully handling insurance related claims since 1993. The Firm is “AV” rated by Martindale Hubbell, the highest ranking for legal ability and ethics. The Maus Law Firm has been recognized continuously since 2011 by Florida Trend Magazine’s “Legal Elite” ranking, and named a “SuperLawer” by West Thompson Publishing. The attorneys at The Maus Law Firm will competently and aggressively represent you in your homeowner property damage insurance claim, or commercial business insurance claim.
We all know by now the myriad of new safety laws condos that are 3 stories or more are required to follow. They include mandatory fire sprinklers or an engineered life safety system (for buildings 75 feet or higher only), a Phase One Milestone Inspection after 30 years and every ten years thereafter (25 years if the building is on the coast), a likely Phase Two Inspection which will result in required repairs to the structure and of course structural integrity reserve studies performed by an architect or engineer and the mandatory full funding of reserve accounts.
There’s actually more to know.
OFFICIAL RECORDS TO INCLUDE AND BE POSTED ON THE ASSOCIATION’S WEBSITE:
A copy of the inspection reports for the milestone inspections and the structural integrity reserve studies and any other inspection report relating to a structural or life safety inspection of the condominium property. Such record must be maintained by the association for 15 years after receipt of the report.
NO LONGER IS THERE THE ABILITY
TO WAIVE RESERVES OR USE THEM FOR OTHER PURPOSES
It was always ridiculously easy to waive the funding of the reserve account. All it took was a lousy majority of a quorum. Those days are now over and reserve accounts must be fully funded, like it or not.
The same rule finally applies to developers. Before turnover of control of an association by a developer to unit owners other than a developer under 718.301, the developer-controlled association developer may not vote the voting interests allocated to its units to waive the reserves or reduce the funding of the reserves.
You can no longer vote to use reserves set aside for one category to be used to repair another category. Effective December 31, 2024, members of a unit-owner controlled association may not vote to use reserve funds, or any interest accruing thereon, that are reserved for items listed in paragraph (g) for any other purpose other than their intended purpose.
(g) Structural integrity reserve study.
BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY – THIS IS SCARY
(h) Mandatory milestone inspections.—If an association is required to have a milestone inspection performed pursuant to s. 553.899, the association must arrange for the milestone inspection to be performed and is responsible for ensuring compliance with the requirements of s. 553.899. The association is responsible for all costs associated with the inspection. If the officers or directors of an association willfully and knowingly fail to have a milestone inspection performed pursuant to s. 553.899, such failure is a breach of the officers’ and directors’ fiduciary relationship to the unit owners under s. 718.111(1)(a). Again, If you’re an officer or director, this new law should scare you to death. If you fail to do the milestone inspection, you have automatically breached your fiduciary duty. This could potentially result in individual liability against a director should the failure to do the reserve study result in collapse or injury.
Tags: Condo and HOA
Generic legal definition that you should IGNORE: A legal principle that bars a party from denying or alleging a certain fact owing to that party’s previous conduct, allegation, or denial.
Layman’s description (not a legal description) of what estoppel means in a condo or homeowners association: an estoppel certificate is a document which describes outstanding fees that an owner owes to his/her association as of a certain date.
When a home is sold, the new owner and the old owner are “jointly and severally liable” for any amounts owed to the association. What this means in practice, is that any debt to the association stays with the property when a title transfers. These debts include: maintenance dues, late fees, fines, interest, legal fees and special assessments outstanding at the time of the transfer.
If the new owner does not obtain an estoppel certificate they will not be aware of any amounts owed to the association by the prior owner and they may be inheriting a huge debt which they are responsible for. This is why it is necessary to make sure any outstanding debt (or acknowledgement that no money is owed) is properly disclosed, via an estoppel certificate as a protection to the new owner. Often the title company will request an estoppel certificate on the owner’s behalf and any amounts owed will be paid off at closing.
Why does it cost money to get an estoppel? Someone has to take the time to do the research and prepare the certificate for the sale to happen. It is critical that the information is correct since the estoppel is legal proof of the amount owed. The owner (not the association) has to pay for this document, which is typically prepared by the management company, association staff, association attorney or bookkeeping company.
Estoppels are rarely as simple as providing an amount owed. In addition to listing any amounts owed to the association, the estoppel often contains other critical information such as:
These are just a few of the dozens of questions that are often asked by title companies on estoppel requests, which can become very time consuming.
Here is a short article that describes the law around estoppels.
Legal disclaimer: I am not an attorney. This should not be considered legal advice.
Thank You to Campbell Property Management
Search our Directory: SFPMA Members Directory over 70 categories for everything you will need for your Florida properties. Attorneys HOA Condo Associations Accountants & Collections
Tags: Condo and HOA, Estoppel Certificate, Law and Legal, Management News
Q: I am considering running for the board of my condominium association. However, there is a lot of work involved in being on the Board. It can be a thankless position, which discourages many owners from volunteering. Can we compensate the members of the board as a way to encourage people to serve?
A: The Florida Condominium Act states that unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, the officers and the directors shall serve without compensation. So, unless your association’s bylaws provide for such compensation, compensation is prohibited.
The Florida Homeowners’ Association Act contains similar language.
While your sentiments are spot on, boards being paid for their service is very rare in the community association realm. I do think there would be some basis for concern as to whether paid directors would be held to higher standards of legal liability, as well as whether the typical nonprofit Directors and Officers Liability Insurance Policy written to cover association directors would be available.
Q: I received the first notice of my condominium association’s annual meeting just over a month ago. The first notice included a “Notice of Intent” form that had to be submitted by any owner wishing to run for the board of directors by the stated deadline. One of the owners that submitted a Notice of Intent is behind on the payment of her assessments. However, she told our association manager that she would pay her assessments in full before the election. Can she run for the board as long as she pays her assessments before the election?
A: A unit owner desiring to be a candidate for the board must give written notice of his or her intent to be a candidate to the association not less than 40 days before a scheduled election. The law states that an owner must be eligible to be a candidate to serve on the board at the time of the deadline for submitting a notice of intent.
The Florida Condominium Act contains a number of eligibility requirements for candidates, one of which is that the candidate must not be delinquent in paying any assessment to the association. According to changes in the Act that became effective on July 1, 2021, a person is considered “delinquent” if a payment is not made by the due date of the assessment as specifically identified in the declaration of condominium, bylaws, or articles of incorporation.
Prior to the July 1, 2021 changes, an individual was not eligible if they were delinquent in the payment of any “monetary obligation” to the Association (as opposed to the current version of the law which states delinquent in the payment of assessments). For example, someone who had not paid a fine would be ineligible under the old law, the new law limits eligibility to assessment payment.
If the candidate in your community was delinquent on the 40th day before the election, this individual would not be eligible to be a candidate and cannot be listed on the ballot.
Q: Most of the members of our board will be leaving our condominium soon to go back to their Northern residences, making it very difficult for us to have in-person board meetings. Can our condominium board vote via e-mail? (M.J.)
A: The Florida Condominium Act specifically provides that members of the board may use e-mail as a means of communication but may not cast a vote on an association matter via e-mail. Although there may be certain day-to-day decisions that do not require a vote of the board that can be discussed via e-mail, any action that requires approval of the board under your condominium documents or the Act must be done at a duly noticed and open board meeting.
The good news is that the Condominium Act does allow board members to participate in a meeting via telephone or real-time videoconferencing. If a director participates via videoconference, for example, the director’s participation counts towards a quorum, and the member can vote as if physically present.
Jennifer Biletnikoff is a Board Certified Specialist in Condominium and Planned Development Law and represents condominium, cooperative, mobile home and homeowners’ associations located throughout Southwest Florida including Collier, Lee, Sarasota and Charlotte Counties. She has particular experience in covenant enforcement and foreclosure law, and has also practiced in the areas of commercial, business and tort litigation.
Tags: Board of Directors, Condo and HOA, Management News, Members Articles
When The Florida Legislature went home after the 2021 Legislative Session without passing a single change to Florida condominium safety laws, it was a slap in the face to the victims and their families. This firm was relentless and refused to give up.
We wrote the Governor’s Office demanding that this be corrected, we kept blasting Florida’s legislators on Television and of course on the Condo Craze and HOAs radio and YouTube show. We kept fighting the fight.
After all, we warned every member of The Florida Legislature in May of 2018, of the pending disaster that faces The State of Florida if mandatory reserves are not passed. It took the loss of 98 lives to get the laws changed, but this firm is so proud to say after massive public pressure, The Florida Legislature passed and The Governor signed the most dramatic changes to Florida Condominium Safety Laws ever passed in the history of the state.
This issue is devoted to teach all of you the massive changes to the laws that each and every condominium unit owner and especially, every single board must immediately learn and have respect for. No doubt that these laws will make it financially more difficult for many to purchase and many to even remain living in their condominium unit. Nonetheless, The Florida Legislature did the right thing and put lives and safety ahead of finances.
The face of Florida condominiums have changed forever. If you have questions or concerns, call us.
OUR BOARD CERTIFICATION COURSE IS BACK!!!
The law now provides that within 90 days of getting elected to a condominium or homeowner’s association Board
of Directors, you must get certified or you are removed from the Board. One way to get certified is by attending a
state approved course. Attorney Eric Glazer has designed a course that was approved by The DBPR, which allows
him to certify attendees as eligible to serve on a Florida condominium or HOA Board of Directors. See the list
below of classes you may register for. Eric is proud to have certified over 20,000 directors throughout the state.
Other Board Certification Classes –for Condos and HOAs
AUGUST 25TH – ON-LINE BY ZOOM — 6:00 P.M.
As to the Following, All Starting Times are 9:00 a.m. at the L&L Condo and HOA Expo:
October 4th – Palm Beach, The Palm Beach Convention Center
October 11th – Broward at The Signature Grand
October 12th –Brandenton, at The Bradenton Convention Center
October 17th – Orlando at The Orange County Convention Center
October 27th – Tampa at the Tampa Convention Center
Eric Glazer: Eric is a graduate of NYU and The University of Miami School of Law in 1992. Our firm is proud to announce that as of June 1st, 2018 Eric was part of the first ever group of attorneys in the state to
become Board Certified in Condominium and Planned Development Law. Out of over 100,000 attorneys in the state, approximately 195 are Board Certified in this area. Eric was also certified by The Florida Supreme Court as a Circuit Court Mediator in 2007. He is also a member of the New York, Washington D.C. and Tennessee Bar. Eric is also a Florida Supreme Court Certified Arbitrator.
Richard Sachs has been practicing since 1994. He has been certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a Circuit Court mediator since 2002. He is also a Florida Supreme Court Qualified Arbitrator. Richard received the distinguished “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell in 2000 and has maintained that rating throughout his career. He is well respected by
his peers as demonstrated by his being named to the list of Florida Super Lawyers and the list of the South Florida Legal Guide’s Top Lawyers, both since 2011.
Pennie Mays is Board Certified in Construction Law by The Florida
Bar. Pennie was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2005. She has spent her
16 year career representing associations against developers and
contractors and other commercial litigation.
Paul Kim is practicing since 2007. He devotes much of his time to
litigation in state and federal court and arbitration including but not
limited to service and emotional support animal issues, disability and
discrimination law, rule compliance and complex bankruptcy issues.
Our firm prides itself on our ability to represent associations
and their owners on all legal matters that come their way.
Whether it’s representation in the courtroom, in administrative hearings, attending your meetings, answering your calls, speaking with you on the radio or teaching you at our seminars, it is always an honor and a pleasure to serve
you.
Eric M. Glazer, Esquire
Tags: Condo and HOA
Whether you are an experienced board member or thinking about becoming one, having a foundation for effective community association board leadership is important.
By becoming a community association board member, you step up to take on positions of service and responsibility. You’re now expected to anticipate issues, solve problems, meet the expectations of residents, and protect property values.
Here are five important skills to possess as a board member:
Since the tragic Surfside condo collapse, residents are asking for more transparency from their elected board members. Board members can use Concierge Plus as a platform for keeping residents in the loop with regards to anything related to their community.
Below are few Concierge Plus features that can help you become a transparent board member:
Community association board members should serve with the best interests of their communities in mind. The law imposes a level of care and loyalty, owed by board members to their associations. It is vital that you receive proper education and training in order to understand your obligations and fulfill your fiduciary duty to the association.
Book a meeting with our experts today, and see for yourself how thousands of board members across North America have become more informed and effective using our platform.
by Steven Sarasohon of Sarasohn & Company Public Adjusters
Most states license all insurance adjusters, whether they work for an insurance company or for the public. Adjusters working for the insurance companies are obligated to treat all claimants fairly and impartially. However, they are paid by the insurance companies for their efforts. The state recognizes that you, the policyholder, are entitled to representation and you may retain the services of a licensed public adjuster to assist in the claim process. Sarasohn & Company, founded in 1924, is a fourth-generation public adjusting company based in Boca Raton, FL. As such, we can provide unparalleled expertise to get you the best possible settlement.
Our president, Stephen Sarasohn SPPA, is the third generation in his family’s business. His son, Bernard, joined the firm several years ago and is following in his footsteps. Stephen has been a public adjuster for 51 years and has held the professional designation Senior Professional Public Adjuster since it was first created in 1987. Stephen’s father, Ira Sarasohn SPPA, was one of the founding members of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters. Both Stephen and Ira were founding members of the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters.
Property owners can certainly try to prepare and adjust their insurance claims themselves. However, as with most things in life, a great deal of benefit can be realized by hiring an expert to assist with a difficult and complex task. No public adjuster in Florida has as much experience as Stephen Sarasohn. Stephen has been certified as an instructor by the Florida Department of Financial Services and has taught insurance courses to the other public adjusters for their continuing education requirements. Sarasohn & Company has adjusted claims ranging from burglaries to plumbing leaks, to fires, to hurricanes, to airplanes crashing into buildings. The valuable experience we’ve gained, in our 98 years, benefits every client. We’ve adjusted a great many claims in excess of a million dollars, some of them in the tens of millions.
Not every professional is the same. When you need the assistance of an expert, you should hire the best expert. Contrary to another article on this site, damage caused by your negligence is not excluded.
While it would be wonderful if no one ever suffered damage to their property, it would be unrealistic to expect such good fortune. That’s why we all buy insurance. If you make a claim, the insurance company will have experts to represent their interests and you’d be well advised to do the same. For a free consultation regarding your damage or for a free review of your policy coverages, please contact us at any time at 561-368-5000
To Make it easy: You can contact us through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sarasohn-Company-Inc-1571655336409086
On our Website or by Phone: http://www.sarasohn.net/ (561) 368-5000
And on our Membership Page on SFPMA
Tags: Business Articles, Condo and HOA, Management News, Public Adjuster Articles