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Article
Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Daniel
Vasquez
Published January 7, 2009
Lawmakers have a lot of
homework ahead when it comes to condominium and homeowners association
laws.
HOA reform, and revision of some new condos laws, are expected to be top
priorities when legislators reconvene in Tallahassee in March.
With that in mind, I've asked a number of key players in the condo and HOA
world — including politicians, board directors, attorneys, etc. — what
is on their legislative wish list.
Education
"The majority of board members don't know
the Florida statutes and their association governing rules," says
Robert Gizzarelli, president of the Pines of Delray West Association,
which oversees 288 units. "They just wing it."
So although he doesn't
think it's very practical, he would like to see a law that requires all
unit and homeowners to at least read all of these documents.
On a more practical front, he also suggests a law that requires
associations to hire a professional roofing consultant when replacing
roofs destroyed in a storm. His did after Hurricane Wilma struck.
"Most board members don't know anything about roofs," Gizzarelli
said. The consultant's recommendations were used to make sure the five
companies that bid on the job were promising to do the exact same work.
"We could compare apples to apples," he said.
Foreclosure
Stronger protections for the financial
well-being of associations faced with growing numbers of unit owner
foreclosures is a top priority for Donna Berger, a condo law attorney and
the executive director of the Community Advocacy Network, a lobbying group
for associations.
She supports legislation that would require banks and lenders to foreclose
on non-owner occupied units within 12 months from filing foreclosure or
they will no longer enjoy a statutory cap on liability and will be
responsible for all past due assessments. Currently, once lenders
take title they are only liable to pay the lesser of six months past due
assessments or 1 percent of the original mortgage debt for condominiums or
the lesser of 12 months past due assessments or 1 percent of the original
mortgage debt for HOAs.
They also have to start paying regular and special assessments from the
moment they take title forward, which many observers believe is incentive
for them to take their time on taking title.
Utility contacts
As president of Cyber Citizens for Justice, a
statewide group that represents condo unit and home owners, Jan Bergemann
says he hears lots of complaints about the precarious situation those who
pay their cable and utility bills are left in when others in the
association do not.
"We have to stop these bulk contracts," said Bergemann. "If
some people don't pay their bills, that often means other owners have to
pay more" to avoid being cut off. "I talked to a guy last week
who says he is paying [the equivalent] of four cable bills because about
one in four of his neighbors are not paying their bill."
Bergemann favors a law that would allow unit owners to pay individually
for their TV, electricity, garbage and water bills.
Reforms
Just about everyone is fed up with the unequal
protections offered to condo, HOA and co-op residents, says Rep. Julio
Robaina, R-Miami, who led the way for condo reforms last year.
For instance, condo and co-op owners can file complaints with the state.
But because those living in HOAs are not regulated by the state,
"they are the forgotten ones when it comes to the law," Robaina
said.
The law also allows the state to file a subpoena when a condo owner is
denied the right to review association documents. Not so for the others.
What about you?
Send me your legislative wishes. I'll find a
way in this column to make sure legislators at least hear your message.
Daniel
Vasquez can be reached at:
[email protected]
or at 954-356-4558 (Broward) or 561-243-6686 (Palm
Beach County). His condo column runs every Wednesday in the Local
section and at www.sunsentinel.com/condos.
You also can read his consumer column every Monday in Your Money and at www.sunsentinel.com/vasquez
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