COMMITTEE HEARING HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION BILL H 679

April 13, 2008

This bill is actually an insult to the work and recommendations of the 9 members of the HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON CONDOMINIUM AND HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION GOVERNANCE. Instead of using the recommendations of the excellent Final Committee Report (http://www.ccfj.net/HSCFINALREPORT.html) this bill is detrimental to the welfare of Florida's homeowners living in mandatory homeowners' associations.

The House Policy & Budget Council should just ask three of its members, Yolly Roberson, Kevin Ambler and Juan Zapata, who served on the Select Committee. They listened to the distressing presentations of many homeowners during the meetings of the Select Committee.

THIS BILL DOES NOTHING TO HELP OR PROTECT FLORIDA'S HOMEOWNERS!

(SEE BILL ANALYSIS -- NOT ONE POSITIVE ISSUE THAT WOULD HELP OWNERS!)

SOME HIGHLIGHTS:

Invites convicted felons to run for the board of homeowners' associations. Since the condo reform bill restricts ex-felons to serve on the board, they now have to move into HOAs.
Problems with record requests? What problems? Let the owners sue if they want to see the financial records! It's none of their business anyway! Transparency? What's that?
The bill rewrites election provisions, but instead of creating clarity it allows for more confusion. Mixing ballots, proxies and votes from the floor makes it a free-for-all -- invitation for sitting boards to do whatever they want. It's great to see that the bill still allows election arbitration conducted by the DBPR. But how should an arbitrator rule if nearly every election scam is allowed?
But the main focus of the bill is the fact that it wants to allow kangaroo courts again. Quote: "A fine of less than $1,000 shall not become a lien against a parcel." The attorneys are at it again, trying to revive the lien and foreclosure threat. They just add two "imagined" violations together and they are legally allowed to go back to their old game again -- blackmailing owners into paying for invented fines: If you don't pay the fine, we foreclose on your home!

The bill uses some pool provisions -- never heard any owner complaining about that -- and some more unenforceable disclosure provisions to cover up the real problems of the bill. The headline of the bill should read: Let's just make some more special interests happy!

Instead of creating further reforms, it removes some of the protections created for homeowners in the previous years!

We already see news reports and newspaper articles talking about associations going bankrupt, unable to pay for all the bulk contracts, homeowners unable pay the increased dues and the special assessments. But in Tallahassee we see our legislators discussing a bill that will make things even worse.

Our economy is down the drain, our real-estate market as good as dead, and our legislators refuse to help the many families caught in mandatory homeowners' associations. More than twice as many Floridians live in homeowners' associations as live in condominium associations, but the homeowners are treated like the stepchildren of our society by our legislators.

Any legislator voting YES on this bill will be responsible for the many headlines we will see in the media talking about serious problems in our HOAs. We are already in a deep recession-- even if our so-called experts don't want to admit it -- and we are just seeing the beginning. It will get much worse -- and so will the problems in homeowners' associations!

E-mail the members of the Policy & Budget Council and let them know that this is a really bad bill, coming at a time when many Florida homeowners are fighting for financial survival.

Just remember my words in autumn, when we will really see what our economy and the total lack of regulations and enforcement in our HOAs is doing to our owners. Then it will be too late for many families who will be losing their homes!

It is important that the members of the committee will receive as many e-mails and telephone calls as possible -- latest Monday at noon!

Please ask the Council members to vote NO on this BAD BILL.

SUBJECT LINE: VOTE NO ON H 679 -- HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCITIONS

Dear State Representative,

Please vote NO on House bill H 679 (Homeowners' Associations -- Representative Andy Gardiner) at Monday's meeting of the Policy & Budget Council. Florida's homeowners really need your support -- by VOTING NO.
Your NO vote is really important for Florida's owners living in community associations.