THE FLORIDA HOA & CONDO BLOG

2024

By Rafael Aquino

Published April 24, 2024

The changes made to the ARC process in HB 1203 will undoubtedly create more challenges for associations that have a ...

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published April 22, 2024

HB 1203 made some major changes regarding architectural review committees. To sum it up, their powers were greatly slashed...
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FINALLY: MANDATORY EDUCATION FOR BOARD MEMBERS

By Jan Bergemann

Published April 19, 2024

This year the Florida Legislature finally got the message: It is absolutely irresponsible to allow people run a community ...

By Rafael Aquino

Published April 17, 2024

As a seasoned professional in the management industry and an active participant in community association management ...

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published April 15, 2024

I think everyone reading this knows how long and how hard I have fought for mandatory education for Board members. ...

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FINANCIALS? OFTEN A TOTAL CHAOS!

By Jan Bergemann

Published April 12, 2024

There are lots of HOAs with million dollar budgets. But there are often treasurers who don’t know how many zeros ... Read more...

TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY

By Rafael Aquino

Published April 10, 2024

The adoption of House Bill 1203 represents a transformative moment for homeowners' associations (HOAs) in Florida, ...

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HOUSE BILL 1203 -- CONTINUED

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published April 8, 2024

Week after week we are telling owners in both condos and HOAs of new rights regarding access to records, financial ...

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CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS IN HOAs?

By Jan Bergemann

Published April 5, 2024

The Hammocks case made it possible: HB 1203 is making criminal investigations in homeowners’ associations much ...

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OPEN FOR ALL MEMBERS

By Rafael Aquino

Published April 3, 2024

In today's world, everyone needs to be able to see what's going on, especially in Homeowners Associations (HOAs)...

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published April 1, 2024

An HOA here in South Florida recently fought the State Attorney’s Office tooth and nail when they attempted to ..

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HB 1203 – BOARD MEMBERS BEWARE!

By Jan Bergemann

Published March 29, 2024

In the past board members were pretty much protected against prosecution other than embezzlement of funds. That might ...

By Rafael Aquino

Published March 27, 2024

The introduction of HB 1203 underlines a critical shift towards accountability and transparency, particularly concerning ...

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published March 25, 2024

There’s no question that 2024 will be remembered as the year that both HOA and Condominium law were jolted. This ...

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CAMs ARE UNDER MORE SCRUTINY

By Jan Bergemann

Published March 22, 2024

Eric described in his blog on Monday the relatively easy parts of HB 1203 for CAMs to follow – more education, participation ...

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NEW WAVE OF REGULATIONS

By Rafael Aquino

Published March 20, 2024

Recently, there has been a noticeable trend in the proliferation of laws and regulations governing homeowners' associations ...

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published March 18, 2024

House Bill 1203 and SB 7044 merged to eventually create a huge bill for the protection of homeowners in HOAs. It starts ...

By Jan Bergemann

Published March 15, 2024

We live in Florida, meaning we know that we get hit by a hurricane, we just don’t know when! That tells us that we have ...

By Rafael Aquino

Published March 13, 2024

The passage of HB 293 represents a pivotal step in ensuring our residents' safety and comfort, especially during the unpredictable...

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published March 11, 2024

Until now there was no law in our Florida HOAs that would allow a home owner to install their own electrical generator with ...

By Jan Bergemann

Published March 8, 2024

Today is the last day of the 2024 Legislative Session. And I have to say: I’M IMPRESSED. All the community association ...

By Rafael Aquino

Published March 6, 2024

Owning a home in a community means we all need to follow certain rules to live well together. House Bill 59 is about ...

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published March 4, 2024

So The Florida Legislature is only in session for another four days. Over the next few weeks we want to educate you about ...

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PARKING – OFTEN A TOTAL CHAOS

By Jan Bergemann

Published March 1, 2024

Parking has gotten chaotic – not only in community associations. A solution: There is none in my opinion. While families ...

By Rafael Aquino

Published February 28, 2024

As a community association management company, one of the most intricate aspects we deal with involves allocating ...

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A PARKING PRIMER

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published February 26, 2024

So many of our condominiums were built in the days that it was basically unheard of for a family to own more than one ...

By Jan Bergemann

Published February 23, 2024

The list of provisions in the statute that are not mediated or litigated is very small – or rather non-existing. I get daily e-mails ...

By Rafael Aquino

Published February 21, 2024

In the area of community living, whether it's a condominium or a homeowners association (HOA), the pathway to meaningful ...

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SO, WHAT AM I LEAVING OUT?

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published February 19, 2024

So when I wrote my blog last week asking people what their problems are, I couldn’t help but think about all of the issues ...

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DO THESE BILLS SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS?

By Jan Bergemann

Published February 16, 2024

Eric asked our readers on Monday: WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? Maybe the Florida Legislature is actually trying ...

By Rafael Aquino

Published February 14, 2024

In my nearly twenty years managing condominiums and homeowners associations (HOAs), I've observed a discrepancy...

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HEY……………WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM?

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published February 12, 2024

Every week, Jan, Rafael and myself blog about the issues that affect all of you that live in community associations throughout ...

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PUNITIVE DAMAGES WILL WORK!

By Jan Bergemann

Published February 9, 2024

Many provisions were added to Florida Statutes 468.431-438 – the statutes regulating community association management, but...

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LEGISLATION THROUGH COERCION

By Rafael Aquino

Published February 7, 2024

The legislative proposals, HB1021 and SB1178, have ignited a meaningful conversation on improving operational...

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published February 5, 2024

Representative Vicki Lopez, Senator Jennifer Bradley and Senator Jason Pizzo have filed companion bills HB1021 and SB1178...

By Jan Bergemann

Published February 2, 2024

Senator Jennifer Bradley (SB 1178) – the sponsor of last year’s SB 154 – and Representative Vicki Lopez (HB 1021) are ...

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EMBRACING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

By Rafael Aquino

Published January 31, 2024

As the owner of a management company deeply involved in community association management, I'm following the legislative ...

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published January 29, 2024

Representative Vicki Lopez, Senator Jennifer Bradley and Senator Jason Pizzo have filed companion bills HB1021 and ...

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GENERATORS -- HURRICANE PROTECTION?

By Jan Bergemann

Published January 26, 2024

Our lengthy PROPOSAL to allow owners of property in mandatory HOAs to install fixed generators and fuel tanks...

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SUPPORTING THE GENERATOR BILL

By Rafael Aquino

Published January 24, 2024

The insightful blog by Eric Glazer, "A Generator Bill That Is Long Overdue," highlights a crucial legislative gap in Florida's ...

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published January 22, 2024

I live in a great HOA. By great, I mean you would never know there was an HOA. It’s very hands off and it certainly ...

By Jan Bergemann

Published January 19, 2024

Well, when we discussed SB 278 we always considered the simple bill filed by Senator Jonathan Martin that plainly ...
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ESTOPPEL FEES: UNMASKING THE TRUE COST OF LEGISLATION

By Rafael Aquino

Published January 17, 2024

When discussing estoppel fees, it's crucial to recognize the often-overlooked challenges and responsibilities involved ...

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THE ESTOPPEL FEE DEBATE

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published January 15, 2024

If you think that mandatory condo education for board members was controversial, you haven’t heard anything yet...

By Jan Bergemann

Published January 12, 2024

For many years we have asked the Florida Legislators to add MANDATORY BOARD CERTIFICATION to the Florida ...

By Rafael Aquino

Published January 10, 2024

In the complex world of community association management, the only constant is change, particularly in the realm of ...

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COULD THIS BE THE YEAR?

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published January 8, 2024

Let’s just say that 2024 has gotten off on the right foot. For those of you that have followed my career, you know how ...

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ARCHIVES 2023

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ARCHIVES 2020

ARCHIVES 2019

II.,III.and IV. QUARTER

ARCHIVES 2019

I.QUARTER

ARCHIVES 2018

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ARCHIVES 2016

ARCHIVES 2015

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ARCHIVES 2012

About HOA & Condo Blog

Eric Glazer graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 1992 after receiving a B.A. from NYU. He has practiced community association law for three decades and is the owner of Glazer and Sachs, P.A. a five attorney law firm with offices in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.

Eric is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Condominium and Planned Development Law.

Since 2009, Eric has been the host of Condo Craze and HOAs, a weekly one-hour radio show airing at 11 a.m. each Sunday on 850 WFTL. Recently, he moved the show to YouTube, transforming it into a more dynamic and interactive experience. This move not only allows viewers to engage in live chats with Eric and other participants but also enables a broader audience to access free advice, making valuable insights more widely available.

See: www.condocrazeandhoas.com.

Eric is the first attorney in the State of Florida that designed a course that certifies condominium and HOA residents as eligible to serve on a Board of Directors and has now certified more than 20,000 Floridians all across the state. He is certified as a Circuit Court Mediator by The Florida Supreme Court and has mediated dozens of disputes between associations and unit owners. Eric also devotes significant time to advancing legislation in the best interest of Florida community association members.

As the Co-Founder and CEO of Affinity Management Services, Rafael P. Aquino leads his team to redefine excellence. They serve community associations efficiently

and effectively with dedication and passion. Rafael’s energy and positive spirit is the foundation of Affinity Management Services’ company culture, which instills enthusiasm and excitement when providing expert advice to its board members and relieving the day-to-day burdens of running a community association.

Since 2007, Rafael has developed a work culture that values responsive and high-quality services. He has led his team by following a proactive vs reactive philosophy. The same approach Rafael instills in the day to day operations of each association. Today, Affinity Management Services maintains its success and benefits as a result of the foundation Rafael has built and continues to foster by providing educational seminars, continuing education classes for association managers and board members alike.

Rafael and his team help condominium and homeowners’ associations save money and improve their communities. His calm, personable, and service-oriented nature helps him to establish strong relationships with ease. Rafael is known as a sincere and honest leader who looks out for the best interests of his clients and communities, and he strongly advocates for their needs. His role requires coordination and communication, as such he takes logical and intelligent steps to approach challenges head-on.

As a graduate of Florida International University’s electrical engineering program and a licensed community association manager, Rafael’s education and skills equip him with unique insights to tackle complex problems through critical thinking. He understands how each component within a system works together in order to effectively arrive at solutions, techniques, and conclusions. Therefore, as he manages the multiple challenges of running a community association management company, he understands how each property is its own unique system and tailors’ specific services to assure that all their needs are met.

For more information about Rafael P. Aquino and Affinity Management Services please visit www.ManagedByAffinity.com or call 1-800-977-6279.

Doral Office: 8200 NW 41^st ST

Suite 200

Doral, FL 33166

Broward Office: 150 S Pine Island RD Suite 300

Plantation, FL 33324

O: 800-977-6279 ● F: 305-325-4053

Jan Bergemann is president of Cyber Citizens For Justice, Florida 's largest state-wide property owners' advocacy group. CCFJ works on legislation to help owners living in community

associations. He moved to Florida in 1995 - hoping to retire. He moved into a HOA, where the developer cheated the homeowners and used the association dues for his own purposes. End of retirement!

CCFJ was born in the year 2000, when some owners met in Tallahassee - finding out that power is only in numbers. Bergemann was a member of Governor Jeb Bush's HOA Task force in 2003/2004.

The organization has two websites to inform interested Florida homeowners and condo owners:

News Website: http://www.ccfj.net/.

Educational Website: http://www.ccfjfoundation.net/.

We think that only owners can really represent owners, since all service providers surely have a different interest! We are trying to create owner-friendly laws, but the best laws are useless without enforcement. And enforcement is totally lacking in Florida !