Ownership of waterfront property is very desirable in Florida and often involves unique real property considerations. As a result, a subset of real property law has emerged to address what is called “riparian rights.” Riparian rights include the rights of ingress, egress, boating, bathing, fishing and even the right to […]
The minutes of any meeting of the Board of Directors for a Condominium Association or a Homeowners’ Association are public records per Florida law. The minutes are required to be kept for 7 years. Fla. Stat. 718.111(12); Fla. Stat. 720.303(4). The minutes are the most requested and most useful of […]
It is a scenario familiar to every association: an owner falls behind on his or her assessments and doesn’t get current, and the association initiates the lien recordation and foreclosure process. However, before the association can foreclose its lien and move the property to foreclosure sale, the mortgagee of the […]
Many new home purchases in Florida include some sort of home warranty agreement. Home warranties in Florida are governed by Chapter 634 of the Florida Statutes. As is usually the case, the “devil is in the details” in terms of what that home warranty does and does not cover. Indeed, […]
Florida homeowner and condominium associations’ governing documents (declaration, bylaws and articles of association) are critical for maintaining order and enforcing rules and regulations. These governing documents are recorded in the public records of the county where the association community resides. The purpose of recording these documents is to provide notice […]
A major expense for many homeowners’ and condominium owners’ associations is the cost of the utilities for common areas of the communities. The good news for such associations, however, is that they are entitled to an exemption for the sales tax related to their utilities as long as a few requirements are met—a fact of which many associations are not even aware.
After the housing bubble collapse, the Florida Legislature ratified numerous amendments to the Florida Condominium Act and Homeowners’ Association Act to provide associations with more power in collecting past-due assessments. One amendment obligated lenders that foreclose on properties owing past-due assessments to pay, at the very least, a certain statutory amount to the governing association (see Fla. Stat. §§ 718.116; 720.3085). Nevertheless, if an association’s declaration waives any and all liability of a mortgage lender, then that association is precluded from collecting even the statutorily approved amount. The pressing question for all board members and community association managers is whether or not your governing documents allow your association to collect from foreclosing lenders. If not, your association could be missing out on thousands of dollars.