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TRAGIC EXCUSES!
By
Jan Bergemann
Published December 2, 2022
We hear lots of excuses nowadays since it seems that our society
is unwilling to take responsibility for their own mistakes.
I am often getting e-mails and telephone calls from owners
facing liens and foreclosure lawsuits.
Most often for not paying the monthly maintenance fees or
special assessments. When I’m asking why they failed to pay
these fees and/or assessments I often hear: “I stopped paying
because …..!”
And then come the excuses:
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“The board refused to honor my record request -- so I
stopped paying!”
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“The
board didn’t levy the assessment correctly – so I stopped
paying!”
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“The
board is using our reserve funds for other purposed than
intended -- so I stopped paying!”
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“The CAM didn’t answer my question regarding a letter about
late payment I received -- so I stopped paying!”
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The landscaper didn’t mow my lawn and I am paying the
association for this service -- so I stopped paying!”
AND THE LIST OF EXCUSES GOES ON.
These are excuses that come back to haunt the owner at high
financial cost. NEVER, EVER STOP PAYING MAINTENANCE FEES OR
ASSESSMENTS – no matter how good you feel about your
excuses.
You will pay dearly for your excuses – and you may even lose
your home over it. You even may have a great case, but not
paying money you owe to the association is absolutely the wrong
approach.
Fight the association on whatever reason you had for your
“excuse”, but only after you paid whatever the association
claims you owe!
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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
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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
!
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