Q: I want to reduce my monthly condominium fees. Am I out of line? Do I have a right to see contracts that my condominium association has entered into with vendors such as lawn service, cleaning and elevators? Do I have a right to see the competing bids as well as the contracts?
Condominium associations got a break when a state appeals court affirmed their right to use a new tool to collect maintenance fees.
The 3rd District Court of Appeals affirmed the ability of condo associations to use blanket receivership programs to collect rents from the tenants of owners delinquent on maintenance fees, a significant tool for struggling condos.
Q: I read your column weekly. I do not live in a restricted development. I am free to own whatever vehicle I want, such as a boat or an RV. I am stunned reading some of the comments and complaints from people who have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to live in these restricted developments. Why would anyone want to pay a huge mortgage and homeowner dues with the draconian restrictions so often imposed? My question may not be germane to the purpose of your column, but I would be grateful for your thoughts and opinions. How would you advise people considering this potential lifestyle given the state of the current economic situation?
Q: Is it ok for a condominium board member to run a business taking care of a significant number of condominium units and the vehicles the owners leave behind during the summer? This board member also receives 10 percent from most small contractors who do work for condominium members. The other board members are becoming aware of this business he runs but maybe are afraid to address this, because if anything, he is busier than ever in his new endeavor as a condominium maintenance service provider...
A Miami-Dade jury will decide who is responsible for fixing leaks in a 40th-floor penthouse at a Brickell condominium.
Q: Our master condominium association consists of six condo sub-associations of unequal sizes. All owners are responsible for paying exactly the same rates to the master association. In the event that a vote came up on whether to impose a huge multimillion-dollar debt in the form of a loan or mortgage on the condominium owners for discretionary work, would each condo owner's vote count equally? The condominium documents provide that a 66 percent condo owner assent is required for approval of such...
Condo owners are meeting to demand that lawmakers take up condo foreclosure reform, which fizzled in the last legislative session.
Q: After reading and re-reading my association bylaws, I am puzzled by my HOA board denying my changes because I installed 24-by-24-inch white stepping stones in front of my property so my guests could have a walkway. I was part of the ARC committee in the past, and as I interpreted the bylaws, I am only supposed to seek permission from the ARC committee and the HOA board if I am altering the architectural look of the property. My question is this: Did I really need to have filled out an ARC request...
Q: I was recently elected to a community homeowners master association board and was surprised to be told that, in Florida, directors can never abstain from voting yes or no on a question unless they can state a clear conflict of interest on the matter. In this particular case, I felt that, being new to the board, I had missed the key previous discussions and was not comfortable taking a position, and it was not necessary as the motion was clearly going to pass anyway. I have been reading the Florida...
Q: I live in a large adult community with some well-written rules, regulations and bylaws. Unfortunately, we have a board steered by a chairperson who does not follow the rules or bylaws. He does not allow anyone to speak at board meetings. The residents here are really fed up, but have been worn down so they just do not get involved anymore. In doing some research, I find our only avenue is through the courts in which we would have to pay and bring action. Yet they could use our money to defend...
Q: I am an owner in a deed-restricted community. The association is self-managed. Our covenants allow for owners to request that the board make available books, records and financial statements. I have sent multiple e-mails to board asking for copies of monthly bank statements so as to be aware of deposit and withdrawal activity and be apprised of balance. Requests have been ignored. Would my recourse be to subpoena records through the state attorney's office?
Q: I am a member of our homeowners association's board of directors and am trying to find out if there is a difference between a board holding a homeowners meeting vs. a board of directors meeting. I realize that residents may attend both and ask questions of the agenda items at a homeowners meeting, but at a board meeting is it only the board that discusses the items?
The foreclosure tsunami that has washed over Miami-Dade County's town home and condo market is helping to wipe the slate clean for some projects with the worst foreclosure problems. In a dubious reversal of fortune, seven of the top 10 most foreclosure-ridden complexes last year ranked among the 10 top-selling projects in the first three months of 2009, largely because banks slashed prices to the bone in order to speed sales.
There could be many reasons why you might be downsizing to a smaller home or a small condo. The kids have flown the coop, you've changed jobs or the worst-case scenario -- lost your job.
Q: I am the vice president of a mobile home cooperative park. The directors are all snowbirds. One of our members has insisted on seeing the corporate books during our absence. According to FS 719.104 (13) (c), the association may adopt reasonable rules regarding the frequency, time, location, notice and manner of record inspections and copying. Can we make a rule that no member would be able to see the corporate records from March 30 to Nov. 1 due to the absence of board members? We are a small...
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