CYBER CITIZENS FOR JUSTICE, INC.
DISPATCHES

DISCLOSURE

9 - 16 - 2001
Dear members and friends, 

Here's another example to prove the Disclosure Statement Summary (DSS) mandated by s. 689.26 F.S. isn't being provided to prospective purchasers before contract for sale as mandated in Florida. 

Likewise, the governing documents. Read the full story courtesy of Jackie Ripley, St. Pete Times. 

* SEE BELOW * 

Why does this continue to occur? 

Contrary to the contention in the story, real estate professionals are not required to provide the DSS; no penalties for violations have been imposed; enforcement is non-existant (re Chapter 720, F.S).; there isn't a contract recission period and the governing documents might not be provided until closing or later, if ever. 

These are several reasons we've advocated a Florida Mandated Properties Task Force. Good, bad or indifferent, a response on this matter is forthcoming. Stay Tuned!

BTW, the next time you visit our Web site, sign our Guest Book and consider clicking on that ever present JOIN button. Bring your friends and neighbors along, too. We need YOU to achieve common goals and objectives. 

The best to you and yours, 
Bob
Public Relations - CCFJ, Inc., 


COURTESY ST. PETERSBURG TIMES ON LINE

                  Eagles rule to tuck trucks irritates some

Pickups and commercial vans are to be garaged overnight, but minivans and SUVs can stay in sight. 
By JACKIE RIPLEY

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 16, 2001 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KEYSTONE -- It's not your daddy's truck, at least not the kind that most people are driving, with today's price tags in the tens of thousands of dollars. 

But they're trucks nonetheless and if left in the driveway overnight at the Eagles, they're in violation of deed restrictions that require trucks to be garaged overnight. 

"We do drive-bys and then we send a letter and ask them politely to please refrain from parking pickups outside the garage," said Leigh Slement, property manager for the Eagles. 

Slement said the inspections are performed late at night because during the day numerous commercial vehicles are in driveways providing services such as carpet cleaning and air-conditioning repair. 

Many homeowners, though, say trucks are being singled out. 

"We don't have gun racks," said Cathy Hoban, whose Ford F150 truck violates deed restrictions. "My truck must have cost $40,000." 

Even so, the homeowners association bylaws do not view trucks in the same light as it views cars, sport utility vehicles or minivans. 

"A minivan is a family vehicle," Slement said. "A van with no windows at the back is considered commercial, but anything classified as an SUV is not." 

In other words: Minivans and SUVs are permitted; pickup trucks and commercial vans are not. 

The Eagles is not alone in its rule prohibiting pickup trucks left in driveways overnight. Other subdivisions have similar rules, including some in Carrollwood Village. 

Slement said homeowners in the Eagles, an 850-home development off Race Track Road, had an opportunity to change their bylaws in June in a special election to amend the rules to allow trucks, but the measure failed to pass. 

"It's the duty of the board to enforce" the rules, Slement said. 

Some homeowners, though, said they were not aware of the rule against trucks when they moved into the Eagles. 

"We closed on the house June 28 and on July 8 got a letter that said if we did not comply, there would be all kinds of problems," said Kathy Legari, who lives in the Eagles' Canterbury Village section. She and her husband purchased their $188,000 house even though "we were not given any bylaws, no master association bylaws, no neighborhood association bylaws." 

Slement said it is not the responsibility of the homeowners association to provide copies of the bylaws to new residents. Previous owners, real estate agents, the Eagles executive offices and the Internet can provide them. 

"I tell people to come in and look and see," Slement said. "They're always available." 

For Michael LaCross, who lives in Canterbury Village and drives a $30,000 Ford Explorer Sportrac, it's a matter of semantics. 

LaCross calls his vehicle an SUV, but the homeowners association calls it a pickup. 

"It looks like a Ford Explorer with a bed in the back," LaCross said. But "my insurance company calls it an SUV." 

When a homeowner fails to comply, he receives a letter describing the infraction and then a telephone call offering the opportunity for a hearing by three members of the association board, Slement said. 

If the problem remains unresolved, the homeowner can be fined $100 a day, up to $1,000, Slement said. If the fine is not paid, a lien can be placed on the property, "but to tell you the honest truth, I don't know if it would ever get to that stage," Slement said. 

"For the most part people are cooperating. They've sold their trucks or arranged with friends to park them elsewhere." 

When homeowners are unable to fit their trucks into garages, extensions are given "on the proviso that the next vehicle will not be a pickup," Slement said. 

Not everyone, though, is satisfied with the association's response. 

"Had I known, I probably would not have bought into the Eagles," said Kathy Hoban, who is hosting a meeting at her home with about 40 other homeowners to discuss hiring an attorney to fight the rule against trucks. 

"It's very frustrating. I love my home. I love my neighborhood. But they need to disclose these things. It's a new area and people are purchasing all the time." 


 
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