WATCH MAGIC WORDS: "FUTURE MONETARY OBLIGATIONS"

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

Published July 30, 2010

What did Florida's homeowners and condo owners do to deserve to be punished by incompetent legislators and professionals who can't write bills -- and other professionals who can't read the  statutes?

I didn't pass the BAR exam and I wasn't elected to public office in Tallahassee, but I went to school. And by the time I was in second grade, teachers had already explained to me what the word "FUTURE" means.

Community association bill S1196 is a typical example:  Not even in times of serious need can associations/owners rely on the help of legislators and the professionals, who plainly view them as cash cows. 

We heard legislators like Ellyn Bogdanoff, Mike Fasano, Maria Sachs and Jeremy Ring praising the bill, claiming all the great reforms contained in the bill would help associations/owners deal with the main problem: Budget deficits caused by unpaid dues and/or foreclosures.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The bill is a total disaster.

And some of the so-called professionals could barely wait until July 1 to show their incompetence.

Here are some great examples:

• In a condo in Broward the guards stopped every renter and handed him/her a demand letter to pay the rent to the association, since the landlord failed to pay the maintenance dues. And until all is paid in full the renter can't use the amenities any more. Great way to ask the renter to move!

• A management company in Central Florida made the following proposal to its associations: We write the initial demand letter (one-time charge $100) and charge for every payment received $50 processing fee. I know that one of the homeowners' associations involved charges $80 monthly. According to the law, the renter pays the $80 to the association, but the association only gets $30. If the associations agree, this provision from S1196 will really create lots of financial relief to the management company -- if the renter really pays.

• Another management company located in Broward County -- not to be outdone -- volunteered as the collection agency and demanded 15% of all payments received as collection fee.

• A management firm from St. Augustine sent this info to homeowners: "Effective July 15, 2010 your Homeowners' Association will implement the following: At 91 days of past due assessment, access cards will be de-programmed. No access to the pools, clubhouse, or health facility will be allowed. Entry to the community will be by key and entry only. At 91days of past due assessments, Comcast will be instructed to disconnect cable service to the unit. Also, if your unit is rented, your tenants will be notified that future rents must be paid to the Association." Homeowners, who sent me a copy of this letter, stated that to their knowledge no public board meeting took place where the mailing of this letter was approved by vote of the board.

• Another homeowners' association sent out demand letters informing renters that their landlord owes them XX amount of dollars and if the renter doesn't turn the rent payments over to the association the association will sue for eviction under ss. 83.59-83.625  -- and, of course, no use of amenities until the landlord's debt is paid in full. It looks like the person who wrote this letter didn't make himself familiar with the new version of FS 720.3085(8) and the word "FUTURE."

We are just getting started -- the first attorney letters are just being exchanged and the lawsuits are still in a development stage -- considering the new law isn't even effective for a whole month. But I can say one thing for sure: This is another provision that will do more harm then good. CCFJ warned about the wording of this provision from Day One -- but who wants to listen to some folks who are considered disgruntled owners by the expert specialized professionals?

Some of the attorneys from the law firms who pushed the bill are trying to do damage control by coming up with flimsy explanations in their columns. No matter what, the word "FUTURE" can't be explained away. 

By the way, I'm already looking forward to the same attorneys explaining the amended language in FS 720.305(2) -- Fining in homeowners' associations. That will be very interesting!

But the wording of S 1196 shows again that our expert professionals and legislators are best at what they do best:  Making Fools Of Themselves!