Candidates May Vote For Themselves (FL)

Q: My condominium association has a five-member board of directors. At our upcoming annual meeting, there will not need to be an election as there are three open seats and three candidates. However, the question has arisen as to how to conduct the organizational meeting to be held following the annual meeting where the board […]

Post-tension cable snaps at Emerald Bay – Village says no safety concern (FL)

Village officials said Friday night they are monitoring a failure of at least one post-tension cable that snapped at the Emerald Bay condominium Friday that sent chunks of concrete flying in the luxury condominium’s garage. More than a dozen parking spaces were closed off with yellow caution tape and holes could be seen in the […]

Lauderhill leaders address public safety concerns at HOA event (FL)

City leaders gathered with department and homeowners association representatives Thursday to discuss a lengthy agenda of issues impacting Lauderhill, including public safety, taxes, code enforcement and storm water management.  “We do this community leaders breakfast about once every three to four months,” Commissioner S. “Ray” Martin said. “The idea is to make sure that we […]

Boynton’s Valencia Reserve is renovating clubhouse for $9.3M. Here is what homeowners will pay. (FL)

Homeowners in the Valencia Reserve development west of Boynton Beach have overwhelmingly approved a referendum calling for the expenditure of $9.3 million to rebuild their 13-year-old, 42,000-square-foot clubhouse.  Each of the 1,043 homeowners will need to pay about $8,000 for what will be one of the most expensive renovation projects undertaken in Palm Beach County […]

House toppeled the estoppel, preventing $100M in new HOA fees (FL)

The House in the waning hours of the 2024 Legislative Session stood its ground on the “Home Tax” bill dealing with estoppel certificates and who can pay for them. Its unwillingness to budge left the measure (HB 979) dead for the Session.   Read the article…………………………….

HOA ‘3 Minute Rule’ Questioned (FL)

Q: Our homeowners’ association board only lets residents speak at board meetings after taking a vote. They can only speak for 3 minutes in total. My understanding is that the residents should be able to speak before the vote, and they can speak for 3 minutes per item on the agenda. What is the rule […]

A Generator Bill That is Long Overdue (FL)

Until now there was no law in our Florida HOAs that would allow a home owner to install their own electrical generator with above ground or below ground gas tanks. Here we are, living in Florida with sometimes unbearable heat and humidity, we have a large elderly population, hurricanes generally hit in the hottest parts […]

Florida condo owners are stuck in a ‘train wreck’ as prices drop and mounting insurance rates scare away buyers

Owners are trying to unload units in the face of the skyrocketing costs of maintaining an apartment in Florida. At the same time, prospective buyers are driven away by those same fees.  “It’s definitely been a slow-motion train wreck,” said Joe Humphfner, who owns a condo in Jupiter, near West Palm Beach.   Read the article…………………………….

‘It’s paradise lost’: Florida’s condo market is floundering

Karen Shipman and her husband bought a second-story condo overlooking the Gulf of Mexico in Venice, Florida when they retired in 2021, with the hopes it would be their last home.  Now, they’re no longer sure if they can afford to keep it.   Read the article…………………………….

E-bike battery ignites flames in Bonita Springs condo (FL)

Fire crews say the call came it just after 7:30 p.m., after multiple neighbors reported they could see smoke coming from a unit on the second floor.  The three-story building had to be evacuated as crews tried to put out the fire caused by an e-bike’s lithium-ion battery, according to Chief Greg DeWitt.   Read the […]

New videos released as officials give update on Surfside condo collapse investigation

Engineers studying the June 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside are releasing portions of video that confirm the sequence of visible events, but still cannot say whether the failure that triggered the collapse – what they call the “initiating event” – occurred out of sight, including in the pool deck, […]

2024 Legislative Session: What changes can condo residents & homeowners expect? (FL)

With the 2024 Florida Legislative Session winding down, the legislature has days to approve reforms for how Condo and Homeowners’ Associations operate.  We spoke with one of the bill sponsors for more than a half-hour Tuesday morning about the progress and what changes condo residents and homeowners can expect.   Read the article…………………………….

Family of alligator attack victim sue (HOA) for $7 million (FL)

Following a deadly alligator attack in July of 2022, the family of the 80-year-old victim – Rose Marie Wiegand – is taking legal action against the Boca Royale Golf & Country Club.  Her family is now seeking $7 million in damages from the Boca Royale Golf & Country Club’s homeowner’s association, who they claim to […]

Collier, Lee condo fraud: Owners of management company indicted on federal fraud charges (FL)

The owners of American Property Management Services, who allegedly stole millions from dozens of Southwest Florida community associations, have been indicted by a federal grand jury.  The 17-count indictment, filed in January, charges Orlando Miserando Ortiz and his wife Lina Munoz Posada with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and failure to file income […]

Expanding My Safe Florida Home Program to condos

As Florida’s 2024 legislative session ends Friday, lawmakers are hoping to push a bill to expand the My Safe Florida Home Program to condo associations across the finish line.  The My Safe Florida Home Program currently offers up to $10,000 in state grant money for single-family homeowners to harden their homes with the goal of […]

Owner Questions Board’s Contracting Authority (FL)

Q: Recently, my condominium association authorized a major construction project. The contract for the work is several million dollars in value. The board of directors voted to move forward with their preferred contractor and authorize the president to sign. Isn’t this the type of contract that must be voted on by the owners?    Read the […]

Florida’s unscrupulous HOAs contribute to our high cost of housing (Op/Ed)

A year ago, the headline above a Miami Herald editorial posed a provocative question – “Is America’s worst homeowners’ association in Miami? – and then answered: “It’s starting to look that way.”  The editorial was a follow-up to a series of Herald reports on what authorities had found once they were finally able to peel […]

DeSantis says Citizens isn’t solvent. What would happen if it can’t pay out claims? (FL)

Florida homeowners shouldn’t rely on Citizens Property Insurance if a severe storm strikes the Sunshine State in the upcoming hurricane season, is the message relayed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on CNBC’s “Last Call,” which aired on Tuesday.  Echoing concerns serious enough to instigate an investigation by the Senate Budget Committee into whether Citizens could afford […]

Florida family in legal fight with HOA over backyard pool construction (FL)

Who knew a tiny pool could cause such a major headache? Leo and Maidolys Aguado saved for years to build a pool for their six and twelve-year-old daughters. However, they made a big mistake by hiring the contractor before asking the Whispering Oaks Home Owners Association for permission for the project last August.   Read the […]

NSB stops new development in Venetian Bay neighborhood until flooding issues are resolved (FL)

The City Commission Tuesday voted unanimously to adopt an emergency ordinance temporarily halting building permits issued in New Smyrna Beach’s Venetian Bay neighborhood.  The recurrence of flooding incidents in the area has resulted not only in property damage concerns but also in public health and safety concerns for affected residents, who are calling for a […]

Budget conference: After brief snub, Senate agrees to $30M for condo-hardening program (FL)

After briefly offering nothing, Senate lawmakers have agreed to spend $30 million on a proposed pilot program to help condo owners strengthen their properties against seasonal storms.  House lawmakers proposed the nonrecurring expenditure Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Senate held out on committing anything to the program.  That changed Wednesday at 9 p.m., when the Legislature’s upper […]

Pasco golf course-turned-forest nears resolution, at least for some neighbors (FL)

Now the Lowman Links property is under contract with Ryan Homes, which plans to build 218 homes, a developer’s representative told Pasco planning commissioners last week. Part of the agreement also included an offer to two of the community’s village homeowners associations that back up to the golf course property.   Read the article…………………………….

Jewfish Key homeowners seek separation from Longboat Key (FL)

The Longboat Key commission is navigating legal waters around Jewfish Key.  The Jewfish Key Preservation Collective, which acts as a homeowner’s association for property owners on the key, requested disengagement from the municipal boundaries of Longboat Key Dec. 19, 2023.   Read the article…………………………….

Term Limit Law Still 2 Years Away (FL)

Q: My condominium association will be having its annual meeting soon, which will include an election for members to the board of directors. Some of our board members have served for numerous years, and I understood that there are now term limits on the number of years a board member could serve. What is the […]

Florida’s Condo Prices Are Falling As Cost of Insurance and HOA Fees Skyrocket

Prices of condos in major Florida metros are dropping year over year, and sales are declining. New condo listings are soaring as sellers try to offload their properties. That differs from the U.S. as a whole, where condo prices are rising, sales are holding steady and new listings are increasing at a much slower rate.  Read […]

Suspects in Arlington condo graffiti incident have agreed to turn themselves in, pay for damages (FL)

In an act of taking responsibility, three individuals who were videotaped vandalizing condominiums in Arlington have agreed to turn themselves in and pay for the damage they caused.   Action News Jax has been following this story since Saturday when surveillance video reportedly captured several people vandalizing homes at Teakwood Villas.     Read the article…………………………….

Justice Dept. seeks forfeiture of Russian businessman’s Bal Harbour condos (FL)

Authorities announced Thursday that a civil forfeiture complaint was filed against the condos owned by sanctioned Russian businessman Viktor Perevalov, the co-owner of a Russia-based construction company that was sanctioned for building a highway in Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula that Russia seized in 2014   Read the article…………………………….

Arlington vandalism suspects have until Friday to avoid charges, condo’s HOA said (FL)

Several suspects accused of vandalizing Arlington condos have until Friday to avoid charges. That’s according to the complex’s HOA.   Neighbors and the HOA were ready to make some improvements to the property this week. But they found explicit pictures and swear words on walls and stairs that might change those plans.   Read the article…………………………….

Magnolia Point residents challenge amenity fees imposed by Community Association (FL)

Magnolia Point Golf and Country Club is quietly nestled behind guarded gates, surrounded by a matrix of moss-draped oaks and magnolia trees. The community is a sanctuary of solitude and affluence, where a semi-private golf course ambles throughout the 1,000-acre development.  But hidden in seemingly picture-perfect seclusion is chaos. The stylish, if not privileged, setting […]

Miami Herald Column on Addressing the Presence of Crocodiles in Community (FL)

he article, which is titled “Crocodile in Community Generates Effective Response Chronicled in TV Newscasts,” focuses on a couple of recent news reports on 7 News Miami (www.wsvn.com) that illustrated how potentially dangerous wildlife incursions can impact local communities. It reads:  . . . The first report chronicled how residents at the Bay Colony Club […]

Demolition Underway at Deteriorating Condo Building in Coral Springs (FL)

Demolition is underway of a decrepit condominium in Coral Springs, despite a request from a potential investor to save the building.  In 2021, the city declared the former Villa Bianca condominium at 3990 Woodside Drive to be unsafe, leading to the relocation of residents in 15 of the 16 units.    Read the article…………………………….

Association ‘Sunshine Laws’ Questioned (FL)

Q: I was recently elected to the board of my condominium association. I thought we had to follow Florida’s sunshine laws, but our long-time president said this is not true. She claims we can meet whenever we want as long as no votes are taken, or assessments are not going to be made. Is this […]