Year: 2014

Although you may not know it, your condominium could be terminated by a vote of the owners.  This simply means that the provisions of your Declaration of Condominium would no longer apply and you can in effect be forced out of the property. All declarations of condominium contain a section regarding how the condominium may…

Although you may not know it, your condominium could be terminated by a vote of the owners.  This simply means that the provisions of your Declaration of Condominium would no longer apply and you can in effect be forced out of the property. All declarations of condominium contain a section regarding how the condominium may…

I can’t tell you how many times a new client has come into the office and proceeded to show me a contract that they already signed, without having an attorney look at it first.  They have now realized how one sided it is and how devastating the terms are to the community.  I am then…

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…