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Category – Community Update Articles
Citizens in the Sunshine State approved Amendment 2, which legalized the use of medical marijuana, by a 71% margin. Florida is expected to log more than $1 billion in medical marijuana sales by 2019, according to a report compiled by marijuana industry analysts New Frontier Data and Arcview Market Research. The full extent of …
The Condominium Act (“The Act”) has a catchall provision which essentially provides that “other written records” related to the operation of a condominium are considered official records of an association. In 2017, the Act underwent some changes as it pertains to official records and these changes are important to keep in mind to avoid …
Associations across Florida have anxiously awaited the Florida Supreme Court’s decision in Bartram v. U.S. Bank Nat. Ass’n, 2016 WL 6538647 (Fla., November 3, 2016). While the underlying facts in Bartram are somewhat convoluted, the relevant question before the Florida Supreme Court was whether the five (5) year statute …
Condominium and Homeowner Associations are never anxious to take on properties abandoned by owners. Yet with the mortgage crisis many properties were left vacant for years. In the interim, unpaid assessments continued to accrue and the properties were ripe for vagrants and were left to deteriorate, risking damage to the common elements or adjoining …
As buildings age, repairs become necessary. For associations that have not funded reserves, money will be in short supply, leaving two possible options depending on what is permitted under your governing documents: special assess and/or borrow money from a bank.
The problem with special assessing, especially in some communities, is that unit …
In less than a year, condominium associations with 150 or more units (that do not manage a timeshare) will be required to have a website for the purpose of posting digital copies of certain official records so members can access them online. Although it seems like a simple enough task to comply with §718.111(12)(g), …
In some instances, unit owners in a condominium association may collectively decide that it would be better to “end it all” and terminate the condominium rather than continue on with the condominium form of ownership. Perhaps the owners in an older condominium sitting in a prime location may want to terminate and sell out …
Given the especially active and devastating 2018 hurricane season, it is helpful to remember how condominium associations should proceed with repairs to the condominium property after a hurricane or other storm event. The first determination that must be made is whether the association will need to look towards its Declaration of Condominium or to …
It has always been the obligation of Board members to serve for the benefit of the entire community. Doing so requires that they carry out their duties in good faith with the care of ordinarily prudent people. To safeguard and promote the welfare of the community, The Condominium Act provides for personal liability if …
Many community associations do not have an absolute right to approve or disapprove of prospective purchasers; but instead the governing documents give them a right of first refusal to assign a sales contract to another purchaser on the same terms and conditions. A lis pendens is a publicly recorded notice on real estate documenting …
They say good fences make good neighbors. But trees, on the other hand, have been known to strain the relationship between neighbors. Damage and disruption amongst neighboring lot owners, caused by tree roots and branches, is a very common problem in Florida. Not surprisingly, Florida courts have addressed this issue and have carved out …
It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that older multifamily communities in Florida (and elsewhere in the country) have serious parking problems these days since those communities were built decades ago when families used fewer cars.
Today, people move into these communities with three, four and sometimes five cars in tow. In …