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WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published December 5, 2022
It has
always been difficult to get volunteers to be on the Board of
Directors. Even when times are good and the building has made
repairs and has some money in the bank, you can never count on
owners to volunteer their time for a position where on their
best day they will be second guessed and criticized. It’s
always touch and go as to whether an election will even be
required in most condominiums because there won’t be enough
volunteers. Maybe it’s because the job doesn’t pay too much.
Well, if
you thought it was hard to get volunteers for the Board before,
you ain’t seen nothing yet. Members of Boards starting in 2025,
and perhaps some Boards getting a jump on the new laws know that
they certainly won’t be winning any popularity contests by
serving on the board, especially when they prepare the
association’s annual budget. These new Board members will be
the ones who have to tell the members of the community that
their monthly assessments are about to skyrocket due to:
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Mandatory Phase One
Inspections;
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Probable Phase Two
Inspections;
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Massive required repairs in
order to pass the 25, 30, 40 or 50 year inspections;
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The full funding of a reserve
account based upon a structural integrity reserve study;
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The fact that reserves can no
longer be waived.
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Massive Increases in the
association’s insurance.
These
board members will need to sit behind barbed wire and Police “Do
Not Cross” tape during the budget meeting. They will probably
want to be escorted to their units after the meeting by
security. Bottom line is they are going to be facing hostile
crowds.
Let’s say
they make it back to their unit and still wish to remain on the
Board. Now the fun begins. These board members will have to
hire the architects, hire the engineers, hire the contractors,
make sure the repairs get made and pay all of the association’s
massive bills. They may also have to negotiate a loan from a
local bank so that everyone doesn’t have to come out of pocket
for all the repairs. Of course they will also still have the
usual responsibilities of Board members such as attending
meetings.
So who in
the world is going to want to serve on the Board in 2025 when
all of these new laws go into effect? Why would anyone stick
their neck out so far? Well, if you were always a board member,
you may not be scared of the responsibilities to come. On the
other hand, if you were shy of becoming a board member before, I
don’t doubt that you’re going to remain the same and stay away.
It’s going to get tough ladies and gentlemen. But will the
tough get going and make the association’s Board the best it can
be?
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About
HOA & Condo Blog
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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.
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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 that airs at 11:00 a.m.
each Sunday on 850 WFTL.
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.
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