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Why Community Associations Cannot Afford to Ignore Lender Foreclosure Actions: Part III

April 2, 2015 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

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.

Why Community Associations Cannot Afford to Ignore Lender Foreclosure Actions – Part II

March 20, 2015 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

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.

Why Community Associations Cannot Afford to Ignore Lender Foreclosure Actions – Part I

February 23, 2015 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

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.

Florida Community Associations: Board Member Conflict of Interest

February 16, 2015 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

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.

Community Association Board Members are Protected by the Business Judgment Rule

January 19, 2015 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

Board members oftentimes hesitate in taking necessary actions as they become frozen by the fear that their decisions may lead to unintended consequences. This results in critical decisions being delayed—the proverbial kicking the can down the road. Yet, depending upon the situation, the failure to act could produce a worse outcome. Board members do have a fiduciary duty and responsibility to their associations, and the fear of breaching this duty is what leads to board members hesitating when it comes to making major and difficult decisions. However, the “business judgment rule” applies to association board members just as it applies to other corporate directors and officers. This Blog post will discuss how community association board members are protected by the business judgment rule.

Ten Things Every Newly Elected Board Member Should Know

January 15, 2015 Community Association Industry Legal Blog

This is the time of year when many community associations hold their annual meetings where elections are held and newly elected members assume their roles within the board of directors for the first time. Being a board member is a major commitment, both in terms of time and responsibility. Because most association bylaws state that board members shall serve without compensation, those who serve truly do so because they love their communities and desire to improve them. Despite those good intentions, many newly elected board members are not familiar enough with association governance to make an immediate and positive impact on their communities. This Blog post is for the newly elected director and lists the ten things every community association board member should know.

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