NEW YEARS - START THE YEAR OFF DIFFERENTLY THIS YEAR

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published December 31, 2012

            So it's the last blog of the year.  I need to end the year on a high note and make this blog the best one yet.  The problem is…I'm on vacation as I write this blog and I think I'm finally so relaxed that I'm having writer's bloc.  For the life of me, I can't think of a thing to write about.  I can't even think of anything amusing to say.

            And then it hits me...here is my wish for each of you as we end one year and begin another.  I hope all of you get the chance to unwind as well.  Whether you're a Board member, owner or tenant, I hope that you get so relaxed this holiday season that:

• it's OK. if a unit owner is a few days late paying their assessments. Waiting another few days before sending a threatening letter during the holidays won't bring financial ruin to the community;

• it doesn't bother you if your neighbor's holiday party runs both noisy and late;

• it's no big deal if an owner backed-into their spot rather than having parked head-in as required. Maybe knock on the door first before deciding to tow the vehicle;

• if you’re a Board member, you let it roll of your back that a unit owner insinuated that the Board wasted a lot of money this past year. You already know that all of the hard work you do for free will never get the credit it deserves;

• your happy about the owner who has his family visit him during the holidays, despite the fact that he forgot to register his guests in advance or that they take up a few extra seats by the pool for a few days;

• the Architectural Review Board won't have a problem with someone's holiday decorations staying up for a few days into the new year;

• everyone campaigns for the upcoming election in a positive fashion, telling everyone how they can help their community rather than talk about how bad their opponent and prior administration is or was;

• everyone realizes that while disputes that occur in our homeowner associations and condominiums often turn into long, drawn out and legendary battles, the truth is that most of the time the disputes involve topics or situations that are pretty minor on the grand scale of things to get upset about.

Believe it or not…there are many people out there who would gladly trade the problems many of us have living in our associations with the problems they have with their health, their employment or lack thereof, their families and their finances. 

So…my wish for the year ahead is simply that we all become a little more tolerant of the actions of our neighbors and friends while at the same time everyone thinks first before they act and becomes a little more considerate for the feelings of our neighbors and friends.

I wish all of our blog readers and their families a happy and healthy new year and please know how honored I am to know that you read my column on Mondays and listen to the radio show on the weekend throughout the year. It is a pleasure spending time with your throughout the year and a treat to have met so many of you in person.

About HOA & Condo Blog

community association law and is the owner of Glazer and Associates, P.A. an eight attorney law firm in Orlando and Hollywood For the past two years Eric has been the host of Condo Craze and HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show on 850 WFTL. 

See: www.condocrazeandhoas.com. 

He is the first attorney in the State of Florida that designed a course that certifies condominium residents as eligible to serve on a condominium Board of Directors and has now certified more than 2,500 Floridians. He is certified as a Circuit Court Mediator by The Florida Supreme Court and has mediated dozens of disputes between associations and unit owners. Finally, he recently argued the Cohn v. Grand Condominium case before The Florida Supreme Court, which is perhaps the single most important association law case decided by the court in a decade.