Year: 2013

Each year at this time the New Year’s Resolutions start flying. We promise ourselves that from now on we will do this or that to make us act better, look better and feel better. By around the 10th of the month we’re no longer exercising, we go back to eating unhealthy and we’re still drinking.…

This week, I simply write to say that I thank each and every one of you for sharing your Monday mornings with me for another year.  It is truly an honor and a privilege to know that so many of you participate in reading our blog and enjoy posting your comments.  Please know that each…

We all know that in both a condo and an HOA board members serve without compensation.  Suppose however that a member of the Board owns a business and that business wants to enter into a contract with the association?  For example, let’s say the condominium needs a paint job.  The condo President is a general…

My what a difference a year makes.  This time last year, we had no idea how many HOAs there were in the State of Florida, unit owners weren’t allowed to use their cameras and cell phones to take pictures of the official records, exorbitant fees were being charged by some management companies for copies of…

HOA owners who never heard of Florida’s Marketable Record Title Act, better known as MRTA, better get to know this topic well.  To simplify what the Act stands for, it basically means that your governing documents in your homeowner’s association can literally expire and disappear after they have been recorded for thirty years.  The intent…

Now that Thanksgiving is over, there’s a race to get those Christmas decorations up.  It’s no longer too early to start as recently suggested by one HOA.  Twinkle the lights, plug-in the blow-ups, put up the signs, sprinkle the lawn with fake snow, place reindeer in the driveway and most of all, get in the…

It’s the time of year when Boards are concentrating on passing the association’s new budget.  In a Florida condominium, the budget must contain fully funded reserve accounts that shall go into effect, unless a majority of a quorum of unit owners vote to waive or reduce the funding of reserves.  Reserves must be kept for…

This is a story about John and Jane. John lives in a condominium in Miami and Jane lines in an H.O.A. in Central Florida. Election season is approaching quickly in both of their communities. While it may seem at first glance that all things are equal…….that is certainly not the case. The election in John’s…

It’s that time of year again — number crunching time.  Time to figure out if everyone is going to be paying a little more next year in their monthly or quarterly assessments.  Here are some things to keep in mind: In a condo — when the budget is mailed to the owners, the budget must…

Each year your condo association or HOA is required to pass an annual budget that in theory should pay all of the bills of the association.  The statutes require this.  Then a storm hits, or balconies start deteriorating and many Associations suddenly find themselves in desperate need to repair the common areas with no reserve…