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Article
Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post
By
Kim Miller
Published
July 11, 2014
A group of nine condominiums statewide, including one in
Boynton Beach, have joined to fight investors who are working under a condo
termination law to turn their communities into apartments.
Organized by Stephanie Krasowski, an owner of a unit at the Tampa-area
Madison Oaks condominium, the grassroots organization Floridians ACT
(Against Condo Terminations) is meeting Thursday with legislators to try and
lobby a repeal of the law that allows the corporate takeovers.
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Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, is
hosting the forum, Krasowski said.
In Boynton Beach, about 20 remaining owners of units in the
Via Lugano condominium filed a lawsuit last month to try and
block a Newton, Mass.-based company from using the state law
to force them to sell their homes for fair market value.
Krasowski said she has scoured public records looking for
evidence of condo takeovers statewide. |
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“I started to
connect with leaders from other complexes,” said Krasowski, who formed
Floridians ACT in February and began sending letters to affected condo
owners. “In our experience, many homeowners are completely unaware this is
happening until they receive these letters.”
According to a 2007 Florida condo law amendment, a condominium can be
dissolved if 80 percent of owners agree to its termination. At Via Lugano,
Northland owns an estimated 93 percent of the units.
“They are just trying to get our homes as cheap as they can,” said
79-year-old Helen Weinschenk, who bought her 1,280-square-foot unit in 2006
for $329,000. “I like it here, and I don’t want them to push me out.”
The Palm Beach County property appraiser lists Weinschenk’s unit’s market
value at $79,000.
Latvala said he learned of the issue too late to do much during this year’s
legislative session, but intends to try and fix the law next year to better
protect condo owners.
“It seems like a pretty unfair deal,” Latvala said. “If it’s hurting the
poeple who live in my district, we’ll sponsor a bill or amend the language.
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Thursday’s meeting is in Palm Harbor. It is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the
East Lake Methodist Church, 2801 East Lake Road, Palm Harbor.
For more information on Floridians ACT, go to their Change.org petition
site.
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