Month: April 2014

The Florida Legislature just passed a new bill that creates high standards for Florida’s community association managers and management companies.  The Governor is expected to sign it.  Here is what the law says:   468.4334 Professional practice standards; liability (1) A community association manager or a community association management firm are deemed to act as…

Without a doubt, one of the most common complaints unit owners hurl at their Board of Directors is that the Board hold private meetings that the owners simply never get notice of.  May owners complain that these meetings violate the “Sunshine” laws that require public meetings, but they are incorrect, as the “Sunshine” laws apply…

While an education requirement is not mandatory for condo and HOA board members, I wish it were.  The more educated Board members are about the legal requirements of running their community, the less likely it is that the association will have costly disputes with the owners whether it be in mediation, arbitration, a court of…

Last week we blogged about the ability to have Bingo games in our communities.  I may be wrong, but I have never seen Bingo games catch on among men.  Generally, Bingo is for the women, while the men like to play cards, more specifically poker and rummy.  My dad loved both and never once went…

There’s a lot that goes into my job as an attorney working in condominium and HOA law.  Each week, I working on my current cases, keep abreast of the changes in the law, advocate for legislative reform, work on the Condo Craze Radio Show and write a blog each Monday.   Without a doubt however, my…

It’s April 15th.  That means by midnight tonight, you better have your tax return in the mail.  I have met with several associations over the years that believe that simply because their condominium or homeowner’s association is a not for profit corporation, the association does not have to file a federal tax return.  That would…

It’s hard for me to believe, but in July I will be a resident of Florida for 25 years, or more than half of my life.  The change that has taken place in these 25 years is nothing short of dramatic.  In terms of population, Florida has just leap-frogged New York State and jumped into…

It’s been a pleasure meeting so many of you this past week, teaching the Condo Craze Board Certification Course at the PM-EXPO event in West Palm Beach and then at the Holiday Inn at Universal Studios.  Even though we were unsuccessful this legislative session in accomplishing further H.O.A. reform, it was incredibly heart warming to…

There are so many ways a developer can build a community: The developer can build separate buildings but record only one declaration of condominium that all units are governed by.  In that case, there would be only one condominium and only one condominium association. The developer can build multiple buildings, make each one a separate…