For the first time in United States history, more and more adults are choosing to stay in their home as they age. The reasons for wanting to stay in the home range from a personal choice stemming from the desire to stay in familiar surroundings with familiar routines, to an […]
In construction defect claims, various insurance policies are often implicated. These policies can span many years, so it is critical to determine what policy or policies may provide insurance coverage for the damages that ensue. The insurance policies at play, for general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, are typically comprehensive general liability policies. Assuming these parties have such policies, the question then becomes what policies apply and do the policies cover the claims.
This blog post is part IV in a series of posts discussing why community associations cannot afford to ignore lender foreclosure actions. The underlying theme of this series is that associations have a financial interest and lien rights in their properties and by ignoring lender foreclosure actions, associations are ignoring their own financial interests and main sources of revenue.
This blog post is part III in a series of posts discussing why community associations cannot afford to ignore lender foreclosure actions. The underlying theme of this series is that associations have a financial interest and lien rights in their properties and by ignoring lender foreclosure actions, associations are ignoring their own financial interests and main sources of revenue. Part I explained that associations have the statutory power to expedite the foreclosure process when lenders are delaying and also illustrated that by implementing a consistent policy for appearing in lender foreclosure actions and expediting the legal proceedings, associations can save tens of thousands of dollars over the years. Part II addressed the unclaimed revenue in the form of foreclosure sale proceeds that associations fail to capitalize on due to not appearing in lender foreclosure actions. This blog post will discuss the advantage associations have in determining, during the foreclosure action, whether the lender is entitled to safe harbor protection or whether the foreclosing entity owes the full amount of unpaid assessments and other charges to the association.
This blog post is part II in a series of posts discussing why community associations cannot afford to ignore lender foreclosure actions. The underlying theme of this series is that associations have a financial interest and lien rights in their properties and by ignoring lender foreclosure actions, associations are ignoring their own financial interests and main sources of revenue. Part I explained that associations have the power, under the Florida Statutes, to expedite the foreclosure process when lenders are delaying. Part I also illustrated that by implementing a consistent policy for appearing in lender foreclosure actions and expediting the legal proceedings, associations can save tens of thousands of dollars over the years. This blog post addresses the unclaimed revenue in the form of foreclosure sale proceeds that associations fail to capitalize on due to not appearing in lender foreclosure actions and asserting their priority lien rights.
The previous blog post, “Drones in Community Association – Part I,” discussed the association’s regulation of the use of drones throughout and within the community. This post will discuss the potential for associations to utilize drones in everyday management and maintenance tasks for the community. The responsibility for the management […]
Florida homeowners and condominium associations are now facing issues that were inconceivable at the time the community governing documents were drafted. The use of drones or UAS (“unmanned aircraft systems”) is beginning to exponentially expand. With the potential for packages to be delivered by drones, it is time for community […]
It happens all the time—an association gets served with a lender foreclosure action and the papers get set aside, never given a second thought. It is hard to fathom a more costly approach to association management that, in the long run, produces a greater negative impact to the association’s budget. Let’s take a second to consider why it is that community associations are named defendants in a property owner’s foreclosure action and get served with the lawsuit in the first place. The reason is because associations have a financial interest and lien rights in the underlying property for the required assessments pursuant to their declarations and the Florida Statutes. By ignoring lender foreclosure actions an association is ignoring its own financial interest and main source of revenue. This blog post is the first in a series of posts discussing the top reasons why community associations must not ignore lender foreclosure actions.
With the number of community associations throughout Florida and the constant rotation of board members via yearly elections and other means, it is inevitable that conflicts of interest occasionally arise. For example, maybe the preeminent landscaping company in town just happens to be owned by an association’s vice president? Or, what if the best pool guy in the area is the son of a current board member? Such conflicts do not mean the association is automatically relegated to lower quality service. Moreover, the existence of a conflict in interest is not inherently a bad thing or evidence of corruption. The law requires board members to disclose conflicts of interest, and the Florida Statutes establish certain procedures that must be followed when conflicts exists. This blog post will provide an overview of the disclosure requirements when association board members have a conflict of interest, according to the Florida Condominium Act and the Florida HOA Act.
Association assessment collection is every day business for Florida community associations. Often times, the unit owner will file bankruptcy to avoid this legal obligations. The law governing condominium and homeowners association assessments with regard to bankruptcy actions is found at 11 USC § 523 (a)(16). This law which generally states […]