The Latest News on Real Estate, Insurance and Community Law
Violations and Fines, Part Two: Amending Rules and Bylaws
In our previous blog post in this series, we discussed what to do when fines and fees must be enforced within a community association. There is a systematic process including forming a committee, scheduling a hearing, and assessing fines. However, there are even more...
How to Handle Violations and Fines Within a Condo Association
A condo association exists to create a community. This community can include lovely amenities, architectural and design controls, financial stability and help maintaining property values. And, yes, there are rules involved in joining any HOA or COA. But what happens...
2 Ways to Reduce a Community Association’s Bad Debt
In short, there are two main ways that a community association in Florida can handle bad debt – either a direct write-off of the entire amount of the uncollectible debt or an allowance of bad debt for a portion of the outstanding balance is written off using a...
Navigating Foreclosures in Condo Associations
The financial crisis was full of dark days for condo owners here in Miami (and across South Florida). Even those of us that were personally fine, the fact that their neighbors were not took many condo associations to the breaking point. When a condo owner slips into...
What Happens In the Event of Delinquency or Bad Debt?
In the case of delinquency or bad debt from residents in your community association in South Florida, you have rights and you have options. The first thing to note is the order of escalation, depending on the situation, which is as follows: 1. Check your declaration...
Condo Associations in Miami: Approving the Budget
Budgets are no easy task. For condo or homeowners associations, budgets can and should require considerable work and time to prepare this in-depth fiscal plan for the coming year. But once your budget has been prepared, be certain that you are following the correct...
3 Imperative Building Updates To Avoid Special Assessments in South Florida
Few things bring out the torches and pitchforks for community association Board Members like Special Assessments. Nevertheless, as Robert Frost said, “Nothing gold can stay.” Every community association across South Florida is going to have restorations, repairs or...
How Often Should You Replace Your Roof in a Condo Association
In Miami, there’s no getting around the fact that we need strong roofs over our heads. When you’re part of a condo association, roof maintenance, repair, and replacement is often the responsibility of the association at large, and, depending on your governance...
Planning for Improvements: What Should Your Reserves Fund Cover
From a personal finance perspective, you know the importance of saving for a rainy day in case your car needs a new transmission or your air conditioning unit suddenly goes out. Because we know these things may happen at some point in the lifetime of the item, we plan...