Friday, March 5, 2010:

Nothing Surprise Me! -- that should be the title of the book I'm working on...if I ever get to finish it.  People ask me all the time what other areas of law do I practice besides association law.  The answer is that there is no time for anything else.  I do manage to squeeze in some mortgage foreclosure defense, but that is about 5% of my practice.  The other 95% is association law and the associations keep me busy!

I represent a handful of associations that have new board members and are trying to change their image, but I have an escape clause so that if I have an ethical conflict, I have a way out.  The majority of the time I represent the homeowners, which goes against the status quo.  The money is in representing the associations, who always pay their bill because they only have to increase assessments to make those payments.  Very few homeowners can afford the $60,000 - $100,000 it takes to get a case to court.

But I digress -- the title of the book.  I'm working on a book about how to survive living in a HOA or condo association.  Originally I thought "Florida Homeowner Associations for Dummies" if I could get the "Dummies" publisher to sign me on. The more I practice in this area of the law, the more stories I have to tell about associations behaving really badly or resorting to criminal behavior.  

Common sense would tell you that if you have a lawsuit filed against you the best thing to do is to lay low and not provide the Plaintiff with any evidence to use against you in court. Well, no one ever accused those board members of associations of having common sense. (Sorry if I insult the few good ones!)  It is unbelievable the criminal behavior that board members will engage in once they are served with a lawsuit.

Just recently I was attending a court hearing in which board members attended.  My client told me the board members claim to be Satanist.  I figured either they were trying to intimidate her or, if they really were Satanist, freedom of religion was an issue because you can't sue over religious beliefs.  I was surprised when, after the hearing, one board member, who is about 8 inches taller than me, walked up to me, got very close into my personal space, leaned over and attempted to put her face into mine.  I backed up because the last thing I want to do is lose my license for getting into a fight in court, right?  As I tried to approach opposing counsel to discuss an issue with him, this woman circled around him and attempted to again get into my face.  This is very stupid on her part given we are in a courtroom with deputies and the judge.  Her attorney realized what she was trying to do and stepped in between us.  Next time I'll alert the deputies ahead of time to keep an eye on them.  I wish I could say this is the worst thing these people have done, but it gets much worse.

Thursday, February 11, 2010:

I know it's been months since I wrote my first blog, but it is unbelievable the amount of time I spend working to help homeowners with their association problems. As our economy took a nose-dive, the associations and their attorneys have come up with creative ways to make up for those lost assessments from homes that are in foreclosure.

Don't be a victim of games the associations play with your money.  The issue I see the most of now is the "missing payment."   You may have paid your assessments on time or paid your assessments late.  Property managers and association attorneys are working together to make sure you are late, incur late fees, administrative fees, attorneys fees, interest, etc.  They will hold the payment and not cash the check, avoid your phone calls if you try to find out what the problem is and force the matter into foreclosure.

I have had clients that receive an intent to lien letter, giving them 45-days to pay their assessments current.  They send in the payment, thinking all is okay, until they receive the 45-day intent to foreclose notice. Association attorneys will hold that payment, file the lien and then cash the check after the lien is recorded.  They will also add fees on for miscellaneous charges, such as postage, to make sure that you never get a final payoff amount.  

The Third District Court of Appeals noted in Ocean Two Condominium Association, Inc. v Kliger, 983 So.2d 739 (Fla. App. 2008) that  homeowners are at an unfair advantage in dealing with their associations and every attempt to remedy the problem means more attorneys fees and the payoff amount becomes a moving target.  The court held that had the association not refused a payment and worked with the association to resolve the problem the association could not have brought a lawsuit in good faith over a "miniscule" amount.

What's the solution?  The only thing I can suggest is keeping an eye on your payments to make sure they clear your bank.  If you can pay in person and demand a receipt, even if you write a check, this can help. I used to suggest sending the payment  certified mail, but now associations are waiting long periods of time before signing for certified mail. 

Unfortunately, if you do get into a jam with your association, I don't recommend trying to resolve it on your own.  I'm all for people solving their own problems without hiring an attorney, but associations will be especially abusive if you have no attorney. Until our elected officials do something to regulate these associations, they will continue to abuse the homeowners.  However, don't count on that happening. The special interest groups (community association managers, association attorneys, bankers) lobby heavily to protect the associations from more restrictive laws.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009: 

I was forwarded a question today that came out of the phone bank provided by Mike Holfeld of Local 6 News. A viewer contacted one of my colleagues with a great question.  His HOA is still controlled by the developer, who has a majority vote because of the number of lots owned by the developer. The developer has recently incurred excessive legal fees due to lawsuits and government investigations. The developer is now increasing monthly assessments almost 1000% to cover the costs of his legal fees.  This is illegal!!