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Find Blog Articles for Florida’s Condo, HOA and the Management Industry.
We are grateful for our dedicated colleagues, vendor partners, and loyal clients who have a passion for preserving aquatic resources.
Learn why it’s important for condo and community associations to have “good governing documents” and how that is the starting point for effective enforcement. Some of the topics covered will include:
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SPEAKERS:
Joseph Adams
SHAREHOLDER
Becker
jadams@beckerlawyers.com
Kevin L. Edwards
SHAREHOLDER
Becker
kedwards@beckerlawyers.com
Tags: Management News
Like our climate, there is no denying that South Florida’s real estate market has been scorching hot. But while South Florida is well known for its real estate booms and busts, the current cycle is also running right into the latest technological wave – cryptocurrency.
Home prices have climbed to record numbers. Those prices have been driven by a lack of supply but also by COVID related work and travel restrictions, which make year-round warm weather climates like South Florida very attractive.
At the same time, and while more people are staying at home to work, we have also seen a surge in cryptocurrency demand. At the time this is posted, Bitcoin is trading at prices greater than $65,000 and analysts are predicting that its price will rise higher by year’s end and beyond.
Miami is currently undergoing a tech boom of its own. This tech boom coincides with the ongoing and growing demand for cryptocurrency coupled with its unique geographic location. Miami has hosted, and will continue to host, numerous high profile cryptocurrency events. And with those high-profile events we will see more demand for our real estate.
All this to say, it is only a matter of time before using cryptocurrency to purchase real estate becomes routine. We are not there yet but that day is coming.
Opening potential real estate transactions to crypto holders broadens the pool of buyers that sellers can sell to. But doing so is not without risk.
Crypto is unregulated and prone to fraud. Crypto transactions may violate certain laws and regulations intending to govern “traditional” transactions. For instance, the anonymity associated with cryptocurrency may prove challenging when trying to trace the source of the funds which is often a requirement for a “traditional” real estate transaction. Additionally, given the volatile nature of the crypto price fluctuations it may be difficult to peg the actual sales price of the real estate until the “very last minute.” And then there are numerous tax implications associated with any crypto transaction that may further complicate a real estate transaction.
While there are numerous challenges in rendering a crypto transaction common place today, with the advent of Web 3.0, and the continued growth of cryptocurrency, it is only a matter of time before real estate transactions are routinely funded in this way.
And Miami, with its booming tech movement and thriving real estate market, will be at the forefront of this coming trend.
Feel free to contact me should you wish to discuss Miami’s ongoing tech movement, crypto, or real estate in general.
Thu, November 18, 2021
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM EST
Shula’s Hotel and Golf Club
6842 Main Street
Miami Lakes, FL 33014
AQUATIC RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 1 CEU – COURSE NUMBER: 9628717 Zoom Lunch and Learn Free CEUs for: Property Managers Board Members Tuesday, November 16, 2021 11:30am-12:30pm Ever wondered what is going on with your lake? This course will help you better understand lakes on property, native plants, fish stocking, stormwater maintenance, erosion issues, and more!
Join us for two distinct webinars designed to give you an inside look at how MyCommunitySite.com can help streamline operations for your association.
Watch our Video to learn more.
Join us for an educational program to learn more about our state-of-the-art website development service MyCommunitySite.com. It’s a smart, easy, and fun tool designed to take the drudgery out of community association website management and put you in the driver’s seat.
Here’s what you will learn during the webinar:
Click here to view upcoming MyCommunitySite.com webinars.
Tags: Board of Directors, Condo and HOA, Education & Licensing, Management News, SFPMA Members
by Ned Bassen, Jamie B. Dokovna of Becker Lawyers
Senate Bill 1532 amending §409.2576, Florida Statutes went into effect. Previously, only employers with 250 or more employees were required to report newly hired and re-hired individuals to Florida’s State Directory of New Hires within 20 days of hiring. Independent contractors were excluded. Now, as of October 1, any employer, regardless of the number of employees that is a “service recipient” defined as “a person engaged in a trade or business who pays an individual for services rendered in the course of such trade or business” must report all new hires and re-hires to the State’s database. Additionally, employers must report their independent contractors who are paid $600 or more during a calendar year.
The purpose of the statute is to provide information to the Florida Child Support Program to facilitate the collection and disbursement of child support payments and to monitor and enforce child support payments. The statute, however, is silent regarding penalties for failing to report. That said, employers with less than 250 employees should update their onboarding process to include the new reporting requirements and all employers regardless of size should determine whether reporting requirements exist for any independent contractor used by them, update onboarding policies to reflect the changes in the law and provide training for those who perform onboarding and payroll, so they are aware of these changes.
by Ned Bassen, Jamie B. Dokovna ( Learn more click our V Cards )
In the last 24 hours I was told of two different association annual budgets going up massively for the coming year. We are talking about over 35% increases in the budget. Think about that. If your assessments are already $600.00 per month, you probably can expect going to $850.00 per month. If you’re already at $800.00 per month, you’re about to go over a thousand.
It’s actually worse though, on a smaller scale. People that are only paying $400.00 per month will now be going to around $550.00 per month. It’s going to hurt them the most. It always hurts the poorer people the most.
Add this on to the rising costs of gasoline, food, utilities and insurance and we are looking at a real crisis coming up. Just remember, we can also expect that The Florida Legislature will likely be passing laws this year making it impossible to completely waive the funding of your reserve accounts. So, on top of everything we just mentioned, get ready for your assessments to go up even hire when you are forced to pay in advance for future repairs.
For those of you that have not started addressing your budget for next year yet, I would get busy immediately. You’re fooling yourself if you think that by avoiding it, things won’t change. They will. Unfortunately, all of these causes are coming together like a perfect storm. Thank heavens most people don’t have adjustable rate mortgages any longer because if they did and mortgage rates started going up, things would be even worse.
I’m telling you what’s definitely coming. The question is…..are there any solutions to prevent these increases. I don’t think there are. What things can you cut from your budget to offset these increases? What steps can you take to curb costs? I’m open to suggestions but I just don’t see good things on the horizon. I can tell you that at least in my office, it’s starting to feel like foreclosures and delinquencies are already on the rise. How do we put the brakes on another foreclosure crisis?
Tags: Condo and HOA, Management News
Very involved community associations often have large contentious meetings when there is a hot button issue.
We’ve created the following guidelines for meetings so everyone participating knows what to expect.
It’s only a “meeting” if it is organized and a good meeting conduct is important regardless of purpose. There should be an opening statement by the chairman (or a selected member) as to the main purpose (topic) of the meeting.
The ground rules for the meeting; address the chair, the chair decides who speaks, and for how long.
Many community associations start their meetings with their Association Pledge & Basic Meeting Protocol. See an example below:
The Board encourages all to abide by this pledge of conduct: While we might disagree, we will be respectful of one another. We will direct our comments to the issues, avoid personal attacks and abstain from acts or remarks which may interfere with the work of association management, employees, support, and board officers.
Owners are asked to submit questions on topics before the meeting and the presiding hosts will answer those questions. Observers will be afforded 3-minutes per comment to add anything missed in discussion. Only agenda topics will be discussed.
With our File Sharing feature, you can securely store and share your Association Pledge document with permission-based access.
Owners should be notified about upcoming meetings ahead of time either via your newsletter, community calendar or display screens installed in the elevators or/and lobbies. Owners should be able to submit questions before the meeting so they can be answered during the presentation. If anyone want to “add” something, they can ask unanswered questions or make a new point during the meeting.
You should always record the meetings and you should always prepare minutes.
We recently had a webinar with our friends at GetQuorum titled What It Takes to Run a Great Hybrid Meeting.
We shared insight on how to navigate the complex nature of hybrid meetings, and shared tips & tricks for more effective hybrid meetings.
Tags: Board of Directors, 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.