How improper landscape fertilization could be causing lake algae!
|
||||||||||
Become our Member : JOIN SFPMA TODAY LogIn / Register: LOGIN/REGISTER
Become our Member : JOIN SFPMA TODAY LogIn / Register: LOGIN/REGISTER
Find Blog Articles for Florida’s Condo, HOA and the Management Industry.
|
||||||||||
The Florida insurance marketplace is in complete disarray. Associations need to be prepared for what the next 18-24 months of a continued hard market will do for their budgets.
as they discuss the status of the insurance marketplace as it relates to property, liability, directors and officers, and umbrella/excess policies. #Webinar
Florida Condo & HOA Law – Powered by beckerlawyers.com
If you’re reading this, it’s likely because your condominium or homeowners association has decided to take action regarding your unpaid assessments. You’ve received the letter from an HOA collection agency and now you have some serious choices to make.
You’re facing a very difficult situation, but there is at least a thin silver lining–your association’s board of directors has decided not to send your file to the association’s attorney. Many associations make the drastic decision to jump straight to the Big Red Button when it comes time to take action about delinquency: engaging the community’s attorney to foreclose. When this happens, even if you fight it in the end, it will cost you a lot of money or your residence. It’s not a nice process but that is how it is done in most cases of owners defaulting on their obligations to their HOA/Condo. Eventually, you will pay what you owe and that will also include attorney fees and costs.
Instead, you have an opportunity now to avoid all that potential sunk money and aggravation by working with your HOA or Condo and their collections partner.
If your HOA or Condo association has engaged an ethical collection agency (like us), then you are in luck. It is almost as if the HOA has given you a second chance at redemption at a reasonable cost! Though it may seem counterintuitive to believe that a collection agency would be good news, it is. You’re not being forced to settle with an attorney and saddled with outrageous attorney’s fees. Instead, you should be able to make your community whole on a reasonable payment plan without the added costs and fees of engaging legal counsel.
An HOA collection agency such as Axela Technologies should understand that every delinquency has a story and families behind it–that the people who are delinquent do not all deserve to be foreclosed upon. An HOA collection agency should not only reach out to talk to you but should work with you and your needs. Getting on the phone to review and seek out solutions is what they do. Payment plans are often very effective and serve to not only make the association whole but increase harmony among the owners.
If you are really squeezed for funds, it may be worthwhile to consider alternative funding options, such as a Home Equity Line of Credit. If this is an option you’re thinking about, though, keep in mind that you’ll need to work quickly, because if the HOA puts a lien on your property, then there will be an obstacle to getting this credit facility.
At the end of the day, the best advice is the same advice we would have given the moment you got your first warning letter: pay attention to the notices that your management company and board of directors send you. This is one situation that cannot simply go away on its own, and should it escalate and the board sends you to an HOA collection agency, move fast. Get in contact with them and begin the process of getting yourself paid up and securing your residence.
However, if your HOA or condo association is still using an attorney to recover delinquent assessments, or is using a generic or predatory collection agency, perhaps your board can take a more appropriate response and engage Axela Technologies. We specialize in HOA and condo association collections, and take an ethical, human-focused approach when handling delinquency and recovery. Call us today to get more information for your community.
Vail Marketing Solutions is a woman-owned, multi-service consulting firm providing marketing, communications and business development solutions for any business looking to increase their visibility and bottom line. Our approach delivers a cost-effective, customized marketing plan to fit the needs of your business and reach your goals. We will work hand in hand with you to develop your brand, tell your story and help you stand out from your competition ultimately leading to more growth opportunities.
For over 14 years, Ms. Jessica Vail has been successful in providing marketing, communications and business development solutions within the construction, engineering and real estate industries. Her passion for marketing and helping others led her to create Vail Marketing Solutions. She is a published writer and an active member of many networking organizations and committees.
You don’t have time to spend on a marketing plan and execution. You have limited resources, staff and money. You don’t know where to start. If these scenarios sound familiar, let’s talk.
https://vailmarketingsolutions.com/
Tags: Management News, Management Tools
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
|
IF YOU HAVE A MANAGEMENT COMPANY the statute says:
If a community association manager or a community association management firm has a contract with a community association that has a building on the association’s property that is subject to s. 553.899, (the Mandatory Inspections statute) the community association manager or the community association management firm must comply with that section as directed by the board.
This is a weird provision to me. Clearly, it’s warning managers and management companies to comply with the new mandatory inspection statute. But it also says “as directed by the board.” What does that mean? Suppose the board tells the manager that they are deliberately not complying with the new mandatory inspection statute? Does that get the management company off the hook? Can the management company now sit back and do nothing? I certainly don’t think that’s the intent of the statute, but it should definitely be clearer. In any event, at least to me, the management company must not hinder the association’s efforts to comply with the new mandatory inspection statute. If I were a manager or management company, I would document my efforts thru e-mails to all of the Board members urging them to comply and reminding them of their responsibility to comply with the new mandatory inspection requirements.
Remember, prior to this new law becoming effective, only Dade and Broward had mandatory / structural inspection requirements. Well, we now have in every Florida county something called milestone inspections — and there is part one and part two.
In every county in Florida, your first milestone/structural inspection is after 30 years and every ten years thereafter. But, if your condo is ON THE COAST or within three miles of the coast, your first milestone/structural inspection is AFTER TWENTY FIVE YEARS AND EVERY TEN YEARS THEREAFTER. And this applies to every condo or co-op that is three stories or more in height by December 31 of the year in which the building reaches 30 years of age
The structural inspection of a building, including an inspection of load-bearing walls and the primary structural members and primary structural systems, must be done by by a licensed architect or engineer authorized to practice in this state for the purposes of attesting to the life safety and adequacy of the structural components of the building and, to the extent reasonably possible, determining the general structural condition of the building as it affects the safety of such building, including a determination of any necessary maintenance, repair, or replacement of any structural component of the building.
If the building’s certificate of occupancy was issued on or before July 1, 1992, meaning that you are already 30 years old, the building’s initial milestone inspection must be performed before December 31, 2024.
Here is what’s required in a Phase One Inspection:
PHASE ONE — (a) For phase one of the milestone inspection, a licensed architect or engineer authorized to practice in this state shall perform a visual examination of habitable and nonhabitable areas of a building, including the major structural components of a building, and provide a qualitative assessment of the structural conditions of the building. If the architect or engineer finds no signs of substantial structural deterioration to any building components under visual examination, phase two of the inspection, as provided in paragraph (b), is not required.
In all candor, in a post Champlain Towers world, if I’m the phase one guy — I don’t want to be sued for saying this building is in perfect shape and doesn’t even need a phase two inspection. I think the Phase One Inspection will Always result in the First architect or engineer calling for a Phase Two study. What does he or she have to lose?
MANDATORY BUILDING INSPECTIONS – PART TWO
By Eric Glazer, Esq.
So last week we discussed the fact that the change in the law will now require every condominium building in the state that is 3 stories or higher and at least 30 years old (25 years old if within 3 miles of the coast) to undergo a Phase One inspection, every 10 years, by a licensed architect or engineer who is looking for visual signs of structural damage to the building.
Now if I’m the guy doing the Phase One Inspection, it’s pretty likely that I’m going to find something that requires a Phase Two inspection. Why not? Is it worth the potential liability for saying the building is fine and then someone is injured or killed because of a structural defect? Of course not. So count on lots of Phase Two Inspections. Here is what that entails:
PHASE TWO – Only If found to be necessary after the Phase One Inspection
(b) A phase two of the milestone inspection must be performed if any substantial structural deterioration is identified during phase one. A phase two inspection may involve destructive or nondestructive testing at the inspector’s direction. The inspection may be as extensive or as limited as necessary to fully assess areas of structural distress in order to confirm that the building is structurally sound and safe for its intended use and to recommend a program for fully assessing and repairing distressed and damaged portions of the building. When determining testing locations, the inspector must give preference to locations that are the least disruptive and most easily repairable while still being representative of the structure. An inspector who completes a phase two milestone inspection shall prepare and submit an inspection report pursuant to subsection (8).
(8) Upon completion of a phase one or phase two milestone inspection, the architect or engineer who performed the inspection must submit a sealed copy of the inspection report with a separate summary of, at minimum, the material findings and recommendations in the inspection report to the condominium association or cooperative association, and to the building official of the local government which has jurisdiction. The inspection report must, at a minimum, meet all of the following criteria:
(a) Bear the seal and signature, or the electronic signature, of the licensed engineer or architect who performed the inspection.
(b) Indicate the manner and type of inspection forming the basis for the inspection report.
(c) Identify any substantial structural deterioration, within a reasonable professional probability based on the scope of the inspection, describe the extent of such deterioration, and identify any recommended repairs for such deterioration.
(d) State whether unsafe or dangerous conditions, as those terms are defined in the Florida Building Code, were observed.
(e) Recommend any remedial or preventive repair for any items that are damaged but are not substantial structural deterioration.
(f) Identify and describe any items requiring further inspection.
THE ASSOCIATION’S RESPONSIBILITY
(9) The association must distribute a copy of the inspector-prepared summary of the inspection report to each condominium unit owner or cooperative unit owner, regardless of the findings or recommendations in the report, by United States mail or personal delivery and by electronic transmission to unit owners who previously consented to receive notice by electronic transmission; must post a copy of the inspector-prepared summary in a conspicuous place on the condominium or cooperative property; and must publish the full report and inspector prepared summary on the association’s website, if the association is required to have a website.
(10) A local enforcement agency may prescribe timelines and penalties with respect to compliance with this section.
(11) A board of county commissioners may adopt an ordinance requiring that a condominium or cooperative association schedule or commence repairs for substantial structural deterioration within a specified timeframe after the local enforcement agency receives a phase two inspection report; however, such repairs must be commenced within 365 days after receiving such report. If an association fails to submit proof to the local enforcement agency that repairs have been scheduled or have commenced for substantial structural deterioration identified in a phase two inspection report within the required timeframe, the local enforcement agency must review and determine if the building is unsafe for human occupancy.
The bottom line is that if forced to do a Phase One inspection, you can ensure you will be required to do a Phase Two Inspection. The Phase Two Inspection will be costly and the architect or engineer performing the study has full reign over the property. What they say needs fixing, needs fixing. And what do they have to lose in stating that certain structural repairs should be made? On the other hand, they have a lot to lose if they don’t recommend a fix and catastrophe strikes. Rest assured that Phase Two Study will require repairs and they won’t come cheap.
Tags: Condo and HOA Law, Inspection Articles, Management News
|
Tags: Lake Management Articles, 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.
