An Opinion By Jan Bergemann 
President, Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc. 

Published August 6, 2008

If your life is boring and you don't know what to do with yourself, why not move into one of Florida's many mandatory associations -- no matter if you like single-family homes, town homes or condominiums? They all create lots of entertainment -- some quite expensive for the owners!

You remember the horror story legislators heard at the hearing of the HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON CONDOMINIUM & HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION GOVERNANCE in Orlando? Channel 9 reported about one community hit really hard by a builder -- Levitt & Sons -- going bankrupt? The News Report showed pictures of a community looking like a war zone --  pictures from the THE CASCADES OF GROVELAND HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION, INC.

Thought it couldn't get worse for some of the owners who invested their life-savings in a dream home? Guess what -- the bankrupt builder was just the start. Bank of America took over the lots left as collateral for the loan by the developer -- and Bank of America couldn't act fast enough to have Andrew Bolnick appointed as receiver and president of the association. The name Andrew Bolnick is well known by many homeowners in Central Florida from the horror stories of the NATURE WATCH disaster. One of the owners in Nature Watch said -- after hearing that Bolnick was appointed as receiver for The Cascades of Groveland HOA -- "I'll pray for the owners!"

And if that isn't enough: One of the leading members of the "homeowners' steering committee" is Eric Sorkin. Name doesn't ring a bell? You may not read CNNMoney on a permanent basis. In case you missed it -- you may just Google the name!

And to add insult to injury for the owners: According to management, Bank of America has so far failed to put any money into the operating budget of the community. Maybe they are only good at writing bad loans?

Ever wondered what happens if you file for arbitration about a record request the association ignored? You may get a real good laugh when reading the ASSOCIATION'S RESPONSE. So happened to an owner of LIGHTHOUSE TERRACE, INC. in Lighthouse Point.

Here is the quote: "Respondent [Association] assumed that since no person had requested the ballots of the 2007 Annual Meeting, no person had contested the election of directors, no person had requested the sign-in sheets or any other related document from that meeting, that no person in their right mind would object to the disposal of this materials three month prior to its statutory disposal date. Therefore this material went into the disposal pile." (end quote)

I guess even the arbitrator took offense in this wording and awarded the owner the $500 penalty and summarized in his FINAL SUMMARY ORDER (quote): "It is difficult to comprehend the association's disregard of the statutory requirement that election records be retained for a year, and, even more so , its assertion that "no person in their right mind would object to the disposal" of a record "three months prior to its statutory disposal date." (end quote)

The owner, curious who actually wrote the association's ANSWER TO PETITION FOR ARBITRATION, sent an e-mail to board president Peter Capello, asking for the name of the "author" -- to give credit where credit is due. Capello's short answer: "I honestly don't know."

That leaves two options: Either Capello really doesn't know -- not good for a president -- or he was just too embarrassed to reveal the "author."

Nevertheless, this funny episode has cost the owners another $500 +!

How would you feel if you were a unit owner checking the financial records of your association and you found all kinds of hand-written receipts for reimbursements?  So happened to an owner in Port St. Lucie.  It's pretty obvious that an amount of $55 for "medication" can't be for Advil for the association's First Aid Kit.  Adding multiple gas receipts from different states and even restaurant charges raises even more suspicion -- I guess? And giving the president access to the Operating Fund with an ATM card might not be a wise idea. Remember, that's how the financial disaster (damages to owners more than $600,000) started in the BOCA RIO TOWNHOME ASSOCIATION, INC.

A new owner trying to move into THE VILLAGE OF KINGS CREEK CONDOMINIUM in Miami surely got a surprise when the manager demanded a $100.00 refundable deposit -- Cash Only.  But, as explained in the $100.00 REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT (CASH ONLY) LETTER you need to pay as well in advance if you expect contractors working in your unit. Looks like the tag-team (or whatever you want to call it) of Astrid Buttari (President) and Mireya Villaverde (Manager) has found another way to make some cash after wasting $10,000 of good homeowners' money by paying an outside group to fight zoning change in the neighborhood. But this clear violation of Florida statutes was left unpunished because the DBPR wrote only a "WARNING LETTER"!

The Galt Mile Community Association -- the self-proclaimed leadership group of what's commonly known as the Galt Mile Gulag -- applied for a grant to build what was dubbed the "ROZEMA BENCH FOR BUMS." Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Christine Teel nearly fell over herself to make sure that the grant to build the park on public land was approved. Many folks wonder why somebody wants to build some kind of memorial for Bob Rozema, who was arguable not the most honest guy in town? His death prevented not only a LAW SUIT but prevented his being arrested. After reading the complaint you might want to agree that Bob Rozema might not have been the person you want to name a park after?

Jeers for Christine Teel!

Attorney and manager of a homeowners' association in Port Charlotte are all gung-ho in favor of evicting renters from homes in their community. Gee, that sure makes a lot of sense to me. Does the association now have legal standing in a rental contract between homeowner and renter? When asked, the attorney quoted condo case law. Hopefully for the owners the judge will buy into this argument if an "evicted" renter ever counter-sues. Or maybe the "inventive" attorney will pay for the opposition's legal fees and "donate" his own time -- if the judge feels that condo case law doesn't really work for a homeowners' association in eviction cases?

"President" Andres Villegas from the Quail Hollow Condominium Association, Inc. in West Palm Beach was obviously not very "happy" to be served with an official recall petition by a process server. But instead of following procedures according to the Florida statutes and calling for the recall meeting as required, he rather sent out a LETTER TO ALL OWNERS, in which he sure didn't mince words. Not only is he just ranting, he clearly publishes his total lack of knowledge of the Florida Condo Act. Then he published a list of all owners he "considers" delinquent -- a clear NO-No according to the opinion of various attorneys. See: "Posting delinquent names prohibited, attorneys say."

Just another example what happens if the law gives power to people who just can't handle it!

Those are just the highlights of one week of association stories I dealt with! And I mean: JUST THE NEGATIVE HIGHLIGHTS!

Many other stories will go to litigation -- and can't be discussed yet. But one thing becomes very obvious: In a wide majority of cases, the so-called service providers (attorneys + managers) play a negative role in the complaints of owners and association boards, which gives many owners the impression: 

The service providers are the problem, definitely not the solution.