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A NEW YEAR UNLIKE THOSE IN THE PAST
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published January 9, 2023
I’m not going to tell you that you should
have a bunch of new year resolutions that you must follow. We
all know how long they last. So, I’ll only suggest one at the
end of this article. However, I am going to tell you that if
your budget still does not contain reserve funding, your new
year is already off to a bad start.
Some of you think that since you are allowed
to waive reserves for the years of 2023 and 2024, why not take
advantage of it for another two years. In other words, you’re
still thinking that it’s a good idea to waive reserves for
another 2 years. I’m sorry, that doesn’t make you smart, that
makes you an idiot. Did you learn anything from Surfside?
Starting two years from right now, reserves
will be mandatory. Why not get a jump on funding them now so
that you wind up paying a little less than expected in 2025?
To give an example, if you start reserving
for the roof today instead of 2025, you wind up paying less for
the roof each month, two years from now.
It is absolutely amazing me that there are
still condo associations that are not including reserves in
their budget. It also amazes me just how many associations
still don’t know about the new laws and how much it’s going to
cost them.
I’ll say for sure and for certain that even
though the law requires reserve funding in 2025, there will be
many associations that still waive the funding of reserves.
Their boards and community members have no idea about required
fire safety, milestone inspections and mandatory reserves.
These associations in effect will be self-policed. It will take
a unit owner in that condo to file a complaint with the DBPR.
The DBPR will most likely require that association to
immediately start funding a reserve account and make up the
money that should have been there had the association started on
time. It will be expensive to catch up.
Why not start the process now? Why not get
every owner used to the concept that their assessments are going
up?
There are still people out there who believe
this new law isn’t going to happen. They believe that their
assessments will remain the same and The Florida Legislature
will end up repealing these new laws. I disagree. There wasn’t
a single vote in opposition to these new laws in The Florida
Legislature. Not one. Every legislator understood the
importance of these new laws after The Champlain Towers
collapsed in Surfside, killing 98 people as they slept in their
beds.
I will tell you that there is one New Year’s
resolution all Board members should have: How about adopting a
budget that at a minimum funds reserves at 50%? Do it now and
the hit in two years won’t be so terrible.
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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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