Florida’s vast condo communities are preparing for big changes after the legislature approved a safety bill during the recent special session. Read the entire article……………………………….
Tamarac condo community passed inspection with flying colors, but residents fear luck could run out (FL)
News report Watch the report……………………………….
Condo questions: Who can serve on committees depends on the association’s bylaws (FL)
Q: My homeowner’s association allows for non-owner residents and tenants to serve on committees. I did not think this was possible. Is there a Florida Statute that prohibits them from serving on committees? Read the Q&A……………………………….
After the Surfside condo tragedy, engineers, contractors and local lawmakers are partnering to prevent a similar situation (FL)
Florida’s population has jumped from around 3 million in 1950 to more than 22 million people today—and this number has continued to skyrocket since the pandemic. Between July 2020 and July 2021, Florida became second in the country for most residents gained, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. As demand for housing rises, so do […]
Englewood blaze destroys two condo units on Beach Road (FL)
blaze broke out Saturday on the second floor condo unit at 2375 Beach Road, destroying it and the unit below, Englewood Fire Department Battalion Chief Raymond Reese said. Read the entire article……………………………….
$76M renovations? Structural damage at PCB condo leads to legal feud over special assessment (FL)
A lawsuit filed earlier this month by unit owners at the Shores of Panama Condominium complex accuses city officials of collaborating with the homeowner’s association to invent structural damage that … Link is subscription only – when a free article is published, we will change the link to it
Attorney: New lifesaving condo laws will make Florida retirement-living impossible for many seniors (FL)
The impact of the new laws will be far-reaching and a form of gentrification, according to one expert. Per the new law, older condo buildings three stories or higher now require inspections and fully funded reserves. The inspections are mandatory for buildings 30 years or older and now must be done in each Florida county, […]
Worker falls 13 stories to her death at West Palm Beach construction site (FL)
A Miami-Dade County woman died Saturday morning when she fell from the 13th floor of a West Palm Beach luxury condominium that is under construction. Read the entire article……………………………….
Significant evidence of fraud required before action can be taken against board member (FL)
Q: Our residential HOA community of under 150 homes just had an election. Two homeowners came forth with letters stating that one candidate took their proxy ballot and altered it. The two homeowners asked at the in person annual meeting for their proxy so that they could add a second name to the ballot, as […]
Florida condo collapse settlement reached, tops $1 billion
Attorneys for the families who lost relatives in last year’s collapse of a Florida condominium tower that killed 98 people reached a $1.02 billion settlement Friday, providing a speedy resolution to lawsuits that could have dragged on for years. Read the entire article……………………………….
Voting requirements cause frustration (FL)
Q: The condominium documents for my association require that 75% of all members must vote to approve any amendments. The association has trouble even getting a quorum of members to attend meetings. Can the association approve an amendment based on just the vote of those members voting, or send out the vote and state that […]
Florida’s new laws on property insurance and condo safety may not give homeowners relief and calm troubled markets
When Lynn Haven resident Tori Lambeth bought her first home in 2019, it felt right. The payment—mortgage, taxes, and insurance—was perfectly affordable. But every year since the purchase, insurance costs have risen. Read the entire article……………………………….
SEVEN BRIDGES SUED: Pool Company Claims $20,000 Balance, Poop Removal (FL)
Seven Bridges in Delray Beach is being sued, again. This time, the plaintiff is ”Pool Works,” a pool maintenance company that claims the mega-community owes more than $20,000 in bills that date back to 2017. The homeowners association was under a different management company at that time. The current management company is not named in […]
Real estate Q&A: How do I make HOA keep neighbors’ emotional support animals’ fur out of my laundry? (FL)
Q: Our condo association recently allowed several residents to have emotional support animals, supposedly with proper vetting of the paperwork. I am very allergic to animal fur, and I will be sharing our floor’s laundry facilities with the animal owners. Is there anything I can do to prevent them from using the laundry facility, so […]
Condo questions: Board decisions must occur after a duly-noticed meeting has been set (FL)
Q: I am a newly elected director at my condominium association. Our community just turned over from developer control on January 31, 2022. We are trying to find guidance on how our Board of Directors can make decisions for the community. Read the Q&A……………………………….
Condo Q&A: Can HOAs Ban Political Signs? (FL)
Question: With the midterms right around the corner, our HOA board of directors is considering banning political signs in the community. We had a lot of community fights two years ago that seemed to divide the community and the board wants to prevent that from happening again. Can the board ban political signs by adopting […]
Special Session Day 2: Senate passes property insurance, condo safety reforms (FL)
In a 30-9 bipartisan vote Tuesday, the Florida Senate passed a massive bill aimed at tackling the growing property insurance crisis in the state, including an amendment for enhanced condo safety reform, sending it to the House for consideration. Read the entire article……………………………….
Condo termination, teardown in store for Edgewater property following $143M sale
Two Roads Development has bought out the majority of the Biscayne 21 condo in the Edgewater neighborhood of Miami for $143 million with plans to tear it down and build a luxury condo. Read the entire article……………………………….
Florida lawmakers are adding condo reform to their special session on property insurance
The state legislature has added condo building reform to this week’s special session on property insurance. Lawmakers faced pressure to overhaul current laws after a deadly building collapse in South Florida last year, but the two chambers failed to reach a compromise on forcing condo owners to pay to repair aging buildings earlier this year. […]
Sale of Champlain Towers South property may prompt condo owners to sell their buildings (FL)
Fay says condo associations in South Florida are already showing interest in selling the land beneath their buildings instead of owners reselling their individual units. With the Champlain Towers South property selling for $120 million, it could lead to more interest in putting properties on the market because it can be more lucrative to sell […]
No Running Water For Her Condo (FL)
The water stopped flowing into her condo in January, and her association won’t let her fix it. The result? She has not had running water for nearly four months. Is it legal to do that to someone? It’s why she called Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser. Read the entire article……………………………….
Longboat ready to move ahead on condo safety if Tallahassee doesn’t (FL)
Keeping an eye on the Florida Legislature’s special session discussions this week on property insurance, Longboat Key town leaders also are hopeful the state takes the lead on building inspections for high-rise condos. Read the entire article……………………………….
Condo Q & A (FL)
Q: I live in a condominium and was just told by management that it will need to access a common drain line in my bathroom wall in order to fix a leak. While I have no problems with providing the association with access to the drain line, I need to know if the association is […]
Florida’s home and condo property insurance market ‘is collapsing – a mess beyond proportions’
Florida homeowners are seeing huge increases in the cost to insure their homes, further fueling the high cost of living in Florida. A special legislative session begins next week, but hopes for significant reform are dwindling. Read the entire article……………………………….
Lawsuit: Valencia Bay to Remove Hundreds of Oak Trees (FL)
In what could be the latest blow to the so-called ”Agriculture Reserve” in South Palm Beach County, the Valencia Bay Homeowners Association is preparing to remove hundreds of ”tall oak” trees that line the community off of Lyons Road, north of Clint Moore. Read the entire article……………………………….
Dubai developer to buy Florida condo collapse site for $120M (FL)
A billionaire developer from Dubai is set to purchase the site of a South Florida condominium that collapsed last June, killing 98 people, for $120 million after no other bids were submitted by the Friday evening deadline for next week’s auction. Read the entire article……………………………….
Condo’s prepare for safety inspections in Boca Raton (FL)
City officials say they are dividing the city into four zones, putting the buildings closest to the ocean with the proper height and age requirements first in line for the recertification program. Read the entire article……………………………….
Judge to decide how to allocate billion dollar settlement for Surfside condo collapse victims (FL)
The process of putting values on the lives of the 98 people lost in the Champlain Towers South collapse is underway, as the Miami-Dade Circuit Judge overseeing the $1 billion settlement decides how to divide it. Read the entire article……………………………….
Ask a real estate pro: Are homeowners who want to paint bound by obsolete rules? (FL)
Q: The guidelines in our homeowners association have not been revised for decades. A question came up about exterior paint colors. Are the homeowners still bound by the most recent, although antiquated, guidelines? Read the Q&A……………………………….
Meadowcrest to fight affordable housing complex inside its community (FL)
About 168 affordable rental apartments are being proposed for the Meadowcrest subdivision in Crystal River and not everyone in that community is happy. “This is something we’re not going to take lying down,” resident Debra Cleary told the Chronicle. “It is worth fighting for.” Read the entire article……………………………….
Florida receivership currently handling 8K claims, 2K lawsuits in homeowner insurance crisis
One Pinellas County woman discovered she had black mold growing in the walls of her new home, but when she contacted her homeowner’s insurance company, she felt like everyone was avoiding her. She later found out it was because her insurance company was was going into receivership. Read the entire article……………………………….
Local lightning expert to discuss strikes at home in The Villages (FL)
Good News! A record was set last year as only 11 fatalities were recorded in the US breaking the 2017 record low of 16 deaths. Ten of the 11 were male. We have come a long way since the early 1940s where the U.S. typically experienced over 400 fatalities a year. The awareness campaigns of […]
Facing South Florida: Condo Safety Concerns
Jim DeFede’s guest for Sunday’s show was Eric Glazer, one of the state’s leading condo attorneys who has been pushing for years to make condos safer. Glazer has been warning about a tragedy like the one in Surfside. Watch the video……………………………….
Capron Ridge residents trying to save 9 Oak trees (FL)
More than 120 residents have signed a petition seeking to save nine giant Oak trees from being removed along the corridor entrance to the Capron Ridge subdivision off Viera Boulevard. Read the entire article……………………………….
Former Gran Paradiso board president targeted in recall vote (FL)
A recall is underway for the treasurer of a Wellen Park homeowner group. Phil Stokes, however, disputes the arguments leveled against him. His opponents state in recall documents that, as president of the Gran Paradiso Property Owners Association, Stokes allowed overspending, threatened or intimidated others and demeaned or showed “inappropriate behavior.” Read the entire article……………………………….
Beach renourishment not for everybody (FL)
It’s been a decade since the last beach renourishment project on Fort Myers Beach and areas such as the beach behind the Pink Shell Resort and Leonardo Arms have undergone significant erosion. “We are one storm away from devastation,” Gene Duffy, president of Leonardo Arms Building 2 Board, said on Thursday at a public informational […]
Calhoun Co. woman accused of stealing from PCB homeowners association (FL)
A Calhoun County woman is facing charges for allegedly stealing thousands from a Panama City Beach condominium homeowner’s association. Bay County Sheriff’s investigators charged 42-year-old Lucinda ‘Cindy” Carey this week with one count of on-going scheme to defraud. Read the entire article……………………………….
Florida’s insurance crisis spreads to condos
Up and down the Florida coast, condo owners are waking up to a new reality as insurance rates rise, and coverage declines. Up and down the Florida coast, condo owners are waking up to a new reality as insurance rates rise, and coverage declines. Read the entire article……………………………….
VALENCIA SUED: HOA Accused Of Not Paying Bills (FL)
Valencia Shores is accused of not paying tens of thousands of dollars in bills submitted by its landscaper since September. The Homeowners Association is now being sued by MDL Property Maintenance. Read the entire article……………………………….
Condo questions: HOA’s can ban political signs but lots of steps must must be considered (FL)
Q: With the midterms right around the corner, our HOA board of directors is considering banning political signs in the community. We had a lot of community fights two years ago that seemed to divide the community and the board wants to prevent that from happening again. Can the board ban political signs by adopting […]
Lawyers Say Surfside Condo Collapse Victims Will Share In More Than $1B In Recovery Funds (FL)
The pool of funds intended to compensate victims of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium will increase to more than $1 billion, attorneys Wednesday told the judge overseeing the resulting class action lawsuit. Read the entire article……………………………….
Town considers delay of window-tinting rules (FL)
A one-year delay on the implementation of an ordinance mandating a restrictive .15 tinting for replacement glass windows, and new windows, garnered some support from members of the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council Monday though no conclusion was reached. Read the entire article……………………………….
Waterfront condo building in Tequesta deemed ‘unsafe,’ evacuated. What happened? (FL)
Residents of 24 waterfront condominiums along Tequesta’s waterfront have had to live in temporary quarters for the past three weeks after the village’s fire chief discovered cracks in the building’s columns and ordered them to evacuate. Read the entire article……………………………….
Former president accused of stealing from HOA (FL)
A former homeowners association president is accused of stealing nearly $3,000 from the HOA by making multiple ATM withdrawals with the association’s debit card after he resigned. Read the entire article……………………………….
Should board members be paid? (FL)
Q: Is a condominium association permitted to pay the members of the board of directors? Board members spend a lot of time and energy in a thankless job. It only seems fair that they should get some benefit for all the effort. Read the Q&A……………………………….
Retirees with guns: Kings Point dog walker shot by golf-cart vigilante in condo caper (FL)
Years ago, some cars in suburban Delray Beach used to display the bumper sticker, “Pray for me, I drive by Kings Point.” The barb addressed the perception that many of the senior-citizen drivers who went in and out of that sprawling condo complex south of Atlantic Avenue and west of Jog Road were dangerous drivers. […]
Site Of Surfside Condo Collapse Hits Auction Block May 24th
Nearly one year since the deadly collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, the beach side site where it once stood will officially go up for auction. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman approved the sale of the land and a live auction for the property will be held on Tuesday, May 24th. Read […]
9-story Highland Beach condo evacuated after electrical room fire (FL)
Residents evacuated a Highland Beach condo Thursday morning after a fire occurred in an electrical room. The fire occurred at the nine-story Villa Costa condominiums, located at 3210 S. Ocean Blvd., at about 10:15 a.m. Read the entire article……………………………….
How gated communities in Lee County should prepare for hurricane season (FL)
President property managers and homeowners association (HOA) can take protecting the people of their communities to the next level by updating Lee County Right of Entry forms before hurricane season starts. Read the entire article……………………………….
11 months after Surfside condo collapse, fight to pay and honor victims continues (FL)
It’s been almost a year since a condominium building collapsed in Surfside, Fla., killing 98 people. Legal wrangling continues about how to pay the victims and honor those who died in the accident. NPR audio……………………………….