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Article
Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Joe
Kollin
Published April
18, 2007
The
board of a Boca Raton homeowner association took out a $400,000 loan to pay
for roof damage, assessing each owner $100 a month to pay it back. One owner
said the board shouldn't have taken out the loan without a vote of all owners,
although the documents don't require it.
In Tamarac, a condo owner tells how his board can't make roof repairs.
Association documents require owner approval, and the required 80 percent
can't agree on financing.
Paying fees and special assessments is a fact of life that owners accept when
they buy. Each association handles its finances differently, so "there is
no way you can comparison shop," said Donna D. Berger of Fort Lauderdale,
an attorney who represents associations. "Most associations ... guard
that information and since it isn't public record, you can't go to a
database."
Jan Bergemann, founder of Cyber Citizens for Justice (www.ccfj.net), an
organization that lobbies for unit owners, said there are too many variables
to fairly compare.
Sellers are required to provide buyers with certain financial records, and
associations must disclosereports to owners, but the information isn't
required to be made public.
Fees vary widely. For example, Country Club Village Building 4 condo in Weston
charges $300 a month for units in the 39-apartment, three-story building with
elevators and pool. They have never had a special assessment.
At Misty Cay, a homeowner association in the Lake Charleston area of Lake
Worth, owners each pay $200 quarterly, which covers the pool, meeting room and
landscaping. They pay a master association $190 a quarter for cable
television, a main pool, tennis, lakes and landscaping.
At Plaza East, a 21-floor, 266-unit condo on Galt Ocean Mile, maintenance is
$2,000 a quarter for all units for elevators, pools, club room, lobby and
other facilities. During the past 12 months, each owner was assessed an
additional $4,000 for elevator repair, $1,165 for new fire alarms, $1,250 for
insurance increases and $854 for shutters in the common area.
Owners who think associations are spending improperly or not disclosing
information, or who want to influence the board, should get involved, experts
said.
"They can take a look at the financials and the budget or volunteer to
serve on a financial oversight committee," Berger said. "If they
aren't being heard, they can pursue other options, such as filing a complaint
[with the state], start a recall or run for the board themselves."
Condo and homeowner associations are regulated by state law, chapters 718 for
condos and 720 for homeowner associations, which specify how owners can demand
records.
Condo owners can get help from the condo ombudsman, www.myflorida.com/condos.
Those in homeowner associations must hire lawyers.
What if associations don't let you see the documents? In a homeowner
association, you can recall the board or hire a lawyer and sue.
If you're in a condo, you can report the violation to the Division of Land
Sales, Condominium & Mobile Homes, which enforces condo law, but its
record of compliance isn't very high and it could take a year.
Most of all, the experts said, owners must realize everyone in a building or
community run by majority rule can't have his or her own way.
Q&A
Q. Carol and Jay Mackey and their dog, Parker, moved into their Sunrise home
eight years ago. The previous owner had a "Beware of Dog" sign on
the gate, which they kept, replacing it regularly so it would look good.
Earlier this year, the homeowner association told them the sign isn't allowed.
The Mackeys told the board they would remove it only if the association
assumes responsibility in case the 60-pound border collie hurts someone.
Can the board ban such signs? If so, who would be blamed if there is an
attack, she asks.
A. David St. John, of the West Palm Beach law firm St. John, Core and Lemme,
which represents more than 600 associations, said state law protects property
owners from being sued by a bite victim if the owner displays a sign warning
people of a dog. Given that dogs are allowed in the Mackeys' community and
state law specifically protects those who use signs, the homeowners have a
strong argument they are entitled to the sign, he said.
A sign also would protect the association, he added. It would be best, he
said, for the association to amend its rule and allow dog warnings. Once it is
amended, owners who want different signs cannot claim the association is
unfairly enforcing the rule.
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