An
Opinion By Jan Bergemann
The long awaited bill restricting foreclosures in mandated properties was finally published. Senate Bill SB 2632 will try to do just that: Protect owners against abusive foreclosures! And the sponsor, Senator Gary Siplin, already announced that it would be amended. Homeowners' Associations will be included in this bill that will hopefully finally stop the foreclosure abuses that we read about nearly every day in the media. And it may come as a surprise to the specialized attorneys: There are other ways to collect small amounts of unpaid dues than by using the almighty foreclosure threat. Ever heard of Small Claims Court? That's the place where you can get an easy judgment. And if that method had been used more often, this bill may not have been necessary. In my opinion, it's clearly the fault of the attorneys that this problem has escalated. Now they are blaming board members for the problem, since the headlines in the media clearly show that the system is being abused. Ever since Nuremberg we know that the one doing the deed is minimum as guilty as the one giving the order! When an attorney files foreclosure procedures against a family’s home for a tiny amount of late dues (or even a few dollars of late fees), the attorney is clearly at fault -- even if a board member may have authorized the foreclosure! What do you do when kids abuse their privileges? You take the privileges away! In this case, the legislators gave association attorneys the privilege to foreclose for unpaid dues. What happened? Some attorney firms created a well-oiled Foreclosure Machine, filing abusive liens and foreclosures by the dozen. No matter how small the amount owed, a family’s home was now subject to foreclosure! The unwillingness of attorneys to give up their foreclosure cash cow showed already last year, soon after the legislature had enacted a bill that disallowed liens and foreclosures for fines. Instead of following this new law, a few attorneys devised a loophole to continue with their moneymaking practice. Association attorneys just told the boards to enact a "reasonable" rule that would turn unpaid fines into assessments! Now with this “reasonable” rule in place, any fine that is unpaid after 30 days is called an assessment! And so they can still lien and foreclose for unpaid "assessments"! It is very obvious that they have circumvented the legislative intent of the new statutes with this "legal trick." In my opinion, it is absolutely unethical! But this example shows how far these attorneys are willing to go in order to protect their cash cow. Another proof for my theory that attorneys are not the solution to the many problems -- attorneys ARE the problem! Attorney Donna Berger from CALL (COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP LOBBY) -- another fancy name to lobby for the private agenda of attorneys -- has already unwrapped all the old goodies used to defend these abuses, trying to make them appear palatable for the public. Berger started with some really weak excuses to declare the bill useless -- what real excuse is there to take away a family's home for $25 in late fees? See: Bill would help protect condo owners from liens ! This is just one example of many available!SOME INTERESTING HEADLINES: See all these stories about "DEADBEATS"? But instead of finding feasible solutions, the name-calling starts (quote): "ITS INTENT IS TO PROTECT DEADBEATS WHO DO NOT PAY THEIR ASSESSMENTS!" If I were the lady whose house was foreclosed upon for $25 in late fees, I would strongly feel that Donna Berger had added gross insult to injury! Like in many other known cases, the homeowners pushing for these reforms are called "DISSIDENTS" – simply because they don't follow the attorneys' party line. Gee, I have been called worse. What a refreshing change from the normally used description like "disgruntled owner!" What's next? SIBERIA? Now imagine we would start to retaliate with name-calling? The name CALL is absolutely inviting to create some names that would make certain members of this group very unhappy! But let's be serious: There is absolutely no excuse to take away a family's home for small amounts of unpaid dues -- or even late fees! That is the reason why we have the Homestead Protection Act, which protects every homeowner – except the owners living in associations! Here comes the next quote trying to cover up the real reason for fighting the bill: "This bill jeopardizes the ability of community associations to safeguard that lifeblood of any community." Actually, the associations are the last ones who get paid after the foreclosure! Only AFTER everybody else has been paid, including the attorneys’ outrageous fees, the associations finally may get their share -- if there is anything left. For PR purposes, it sounds much better to quote the welfare of the associations as the reason for opposing this bill. Imagine they would state the real reason: "Attorneys would suddenly lose some income!" Where else can you quickly make about $5,000 with very little work involved? Don't forget, the headlines about the actual homes foreclosed upon are just the tip of the iceberg. Most owners quickly borrow money from various sources in order to pay the estimated $5,000 to avoid the actual foreclosure. Right or wrong: The owners pay to keep the family's home! These attorney firms, who are behind the push to oppose this bill, claim to represent the associations. They may be hired to do the legal work, but so far I haven't heard from any association member that they are as well hired as the mouthpiece of the communities. But since they need some numbers, what works better than naming some corporate entities that can't speak for themselves! And the general public’s opinion about foreclosures? Just last week furious homeowners in Hillsborough County recalled some board members who gave their attorney the green light to foreclose on three of their neighbors. The first act of the new board: "Stop the foreclosure proceedings!" Please read: Residents Vote Out Top Board Officials Over Foreclosure Lawsuits
During the 2004 legislative session in California the same bill (it was just changed to fit Florida's laws) passed the Senate with a vote of 32-1 in favor of that bill. It can't get any more obvious that California's senators thought that it was time to protect the owners against abuses. We owners hope that our Florida senators will think the same way and finally put an end to this abusive way of collecting small amounts of association dues!
Thank you, Senator Gary Siplin, for taking on this problem, which is actually a disgrace to our society!
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