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The Tables Turn: Associations Foreclosing on Banks for Unpaid Dues on Properties They’ve Acquired

May 17, 2013 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

The Florida Statutes are clear—persons who purchase a residential foreclosure with outstanding assessments and dues attached to it are responsible for paying those past-due amounts to the governing association upon taking possession of the property. See Fla. Stat. § 718.116(1)(a) (applying to condominiums); see also Fla. Stat. § 720.3085(2) (applying to property governed by homeowners’ associations). This Florida law applies to banks as well.

Basic Considerations for Condominium Arbitrations: Alternative Dispute Resolution with “Thy Neighbor”

May 14, 2013 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

Effective 1992, the Condominium Act requires arbitration of certain condominium disputes as an alternative to court litigation and also authorized mediation of such disputes. The objective of the program is to provide condominium unit owners and associations a just, speedy and inexpensive alternative to litigation in the court system.

Section 718.1255, Florida Statutes, defines which disputes are eligible for arbitration “as any disagreement between two or more parties and the authority of the board of directors or the association’s governing document”. An eligible dispute for arbitration requires any owner to take or not to take any action involving that owner’s unit, or involving the alteration or addition to a common area or element of the condominium property.

Florida Associations Can be Jointly and Severally Liable for Past-Due Assessments After Lien Foreclosures

April 26, 2013 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals has made it even harder for Florida’s associations to survive within this tough market environment. For decades, Florida law was interpreted as to always require the purchaser of a residential foreclosure to pay the past-due assessments owed to an association by the previous property owner. The Third District, however, has altered the interpretation of that law. In the case of Aventura Management, LLC v. Spiaggia, the Third DCA held that associations can now be considered jointly and severally liable for past-due assessments in certain situations. 105 So.3d 637 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013).

Association Statutory Liens: A Powerful Tool for Securing the Payment of Past-Due Assessments

April 15, 2013 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

Nothing in life is free, and that applies to living in a nice neighborhood as well. Whether it is a neighborhood of condominiums or single family homes, the cost of maintenance and upkeep often falls to those living within that community. And when an association is delegated the duty of maintaining the neighborhood, that association will charge its residents a periodic assessment, which is due usually monthly or quarterly. Such associations function best when all property owners contribute by making timely assessment payments.

The Florida Supreme Court has Limited the Economic Loss Rule to Products Liability Cases: Are Tort Claims now Available for Economic Losses when Parties are in Contractual Privity?

March 15, 2013 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

Likely not; however, the Court’s recent decision leaves the issue open to interpretation.  On March 7, 2013 the Florida Supreme Court published an opinion limiting the Economic Loss Rule to products liability actions.  Tiara Condominium Ass’n, Inc. v. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., 38 Fla. L. Weekly S151a, WL 828003 […]

Should Timeshare Management Associations Operate Their Own Timeshare Exchange Program?

March 11, 2013 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

The depressed economy and housing market of the past several years has hit Florida’s timeshare industry especially hard. As unit owners become delinquent on their management fees and default on their payments, timeshare management associations find themselves in a credit crunch due to decreased revenues. Many associations are seeking ways to increase, or simply maintain, their revenue stream. If the association has the capacity and oversight capability, managing its own unit owner exchange program can be an excellent means of creating additional revenue.

The Treatment of HOA Liens During a Debtor’s Bankruptcy Proceedings

February 11, 2013 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs) have remedies available, under Florida law, when its residents fail to pay their periodic HOA assessments in a timely manner. One such remedy is a statutory lien pursuant to Chapter 720, Florida Statutes. According to Florida law, when a community is subject to mandatory HOA fees, the HOA has the statutory authority to levy assessments and to secure its claim for any unpaid assessments by placing a lien on the debtor’s property within that community. Fla. Stat. § 720.3085(1).

Condominium Construction Defect Certification Under 718.301(7), Florida Statutes

December 6, 2012 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

Condominium living is a way of life in Florida and condominium associations are creatures of the Florida Statutes.  “The peculiar features of condominium development, ownership, and operation require the providing of procedural vehicles for handling disputes affecting condominium unit owners concerning matters of common interest”.  Avila South Condo Ass’n, v. […]

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