MiamiHerald.com: Condos

HOA board spends without approval

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 00:00 EDT

You are feeling the pain of a board that has little oversight by the members. My guess is that very few members attend the meetings and really understand who the best candidates are. The problem is that the board sees this lack of supervision and submissive attitude by the members and does what it pleases. Unfortunately, there is no outside help such as a state agency. You must start a grassroots campaign to elect better directors. It is good that you fear the unaccounted expenses and want to see if you can stop these actions by the board.Q. Our HOA documents state that each home is to be maintained in a quality condition by each owner. We received a letter that strongly intimated we had to use a specific brand of paint. Three years past, we used a better quality paint than was recommended at that time and many owners who used the recommended paint have had failure of the paint. Now comes the board again forcing all homes to repaint using a recommended contractor and specific brand of paint. We would like a legal opinion as to whether the HOA board has the authority to order us to use the contractor and brand of paint.

Opposing inspector is a losing cause

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 00:00 EDT

Q. The county fire marshal [inspector] has required that a non-commercial household electric stove in our community clubhouse must have an exhaust hood with venting to the outside. Every unit in our condominium has similar stoves with no venting. My review of Florida’s fire code says that community rooms with less than a 50-person occupancy can be exempted. I am reluctant to approach the fire marshal’s office for the fear of undesirable consequences. Is there an appeal procedure specific in the code? What has been your experience in regard to this problem?

Every year, board shirks an audit

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00 EDT

Q. Every year the board meets with the owners and recommends to them that no audit be taken on the condominium books, in order to save money. Is there a state law that the board must have the books audited periodically? I have another concern in that our directors have little business experience making good decisions for the association.

Candidate information sheets voluntary

Sat, 11 May 2013 00:00 EDT

Q. We recently held an election for the board of directors. There were five candidates for four positions. Two of the candidates submitted information sheets that were included in the meeting package. Three others never submitted an information sheet. The candidates elected were the three that did not submit information sheets and one that did. After the election, I asked the president to see the three information sheets because they were not included in the mailing. The president said that information was not mandatory and they never received them from the three candidates. I question the ethics and legality of the election of the two candidates who did not submit the information sheets regardless of their qualifications and platform for the office. Can owners request another election?

Board callous to mother’s plight

Sat, 04 May 2013 00:00 EDT

There is no simple answer to a board that does not respond to a request involving a disabled or injured person. I have learned that you never suggest that a disabled or injured person get a wheelchair. In many situations, such an event may mean that once in the wheelchair, they will never walk again because they lose the strength and capability.

How management companies stack up

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 00:00 EDT

I call the type of management that you describe as “horizontal.” The other that you are familiar with I call “vertical” management. Horizontal management by definition is directly joined by companies that provide necessary services to the association along with management. Normally these service companies, which are called insularity companies because they only serve clients of the management company, have the same ownership in conjunction with the management company. Such management companies can provide services at a reduced cost, like a loss-leader, because they will make their profit from the services by the insularity companies. It also makes decisions by the board to engage necessary services simpler because management provides such needs from their own companies. When you seek bids for management, you will find that its presentation will emphasize their low cost. Thus, horizontal management will make the workload for the board simpler.

In the event of neighbor conflicts

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 00:00 EDT

Since the manager and board members are rarely witness to neighborly disturbances, they become a third party. As such, they are limited to enforce or take sides in the dispute and they have no powers to resolve it. Also, there could be a liability exposure if they intervene and someone is injured or property is damaged. You may think that the board and manager are on duty 24 hours a day. If board members serve at will without any compensation, there is no requirement that they be available at odd hours. As to the manager, while compensated, most will not respond after hours except for emergencies.As to your example of a drunk, say he was swinging a knife and making threatening gestures. If you called the board or manager, what could they do? Don’t you think calling police would result in faster action? The board and manager have limited enforcement powers.

Heedless board runs the show

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 00:00 EDT

The term Property Owners Association is just another name for HOA. However, if you have condominiums in your association, then the board should comply with condominium statutes. Form a committee and send a certified letter to the board that says it has not been complying with the statutes and your documents. Ask the board to call a members meeting to elect a new board. Explain that if it does not, the committee will engage an attorney and seek legal action as well as report the board to the state. If the board does not respond, ask an association attorney for guidance and action.

Does felony prevent buying a unit?

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 00:00 EDT

Your first step is to seek legal advice. Many associations have screening committees that review both rentals and new purchases. Some have very strict screening policies. Some will accept new residents if they have only one conviction and several years of clean living. If otherwise or a sexual offender, I have no suggestion as to help as that will remain a black mark. One thing I recommend is not to lie or present false information. Engage a real estate agent to help and have the agent contact the board or screening committee and get their feeling on your conviction. You may want to talk to an attorney to see if you can have your record expunged.

Board claims fees in arrears

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 00:00 EDT

You must take immediate and direct action. Send a letter to the board that you have presented information on your payments and would like to sit with directors to discuss the bookkeeping records. You will need more than bank statements; I suggest that you go to your bank and have them pull copies of the canceled checks. While your case is important to you, it may indicate some faulty bookkeeping, if not even fraud or theft of association’s funds. Do not delay getting your information correct. If you do, you could lose your home.Q. Our condominium documents limit occupancy to two persons per bedroom. Our president says that we cannot enforce this rule because of government regulations. Can a condominium limit the number of residents occupying a unit?

Clothes dryer venting poses a problem

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 00:00 EDT

Q. I am a director on the condominium board. Many owners have installed clothes dryers on the second floor and are not vented through the roof to the outside. Are directors permitted to enter units to inspect for these? Can we require these owners to properly vent to outside the building? What are our options if the owners refuse?