Like I have been saying over the last few weeks, The Miami Dade Grand Jury Report changed everything. Tackling the issues of an owner’s inability to obtain access to records, election fraud and violations of The Florida Condominium Act no doubt became a high priority in The Florida Legislature this legislative session. Corrupt officers, directors and managers are on the radar.

Apparently, despite the fact that I always thought that the only difference between condominium associations and homeowner associations is that one is built tall and the other is built wide, there seems to be a strange way of thinking when it comes to whether or not the same problems found by the Miami Dade Grand Jury Report apply to homeowner associations throughout the state. It seems as if these problems don’t exist in homeowner associations and are entirely unique to condominiums. Surely, if these very serious problems of corruption, fraud, coercion, self-dealing and election tampering existed in our homeowner associations, The Florida Legislature would do all it can to at least tackle the problem equally for HOAs as it is currently trying to do for condominiums. Why not help both of these community associations simultaneously?

Think again. Another year is about to go by with no help in sight for HOAs, despite the fact that HOAs actually outnumber condominiums in this state.

It now seems apparent that the motivating factor to solving crime in our community associations is solely when a Grand Jury is empaneled and concludes that crime exists in our communities. The dozens and dozens of newspaper stories and arrest reports we can ignore. For some unexplained reason, it’s as if The Grand Jury Report alerted us for the first time that not all associations are on the up and up. Only now is this information “shocking” and worthy of legislative action.

So for those of you who live in HOAs I guess this is what you have to do…….. Get in touch with your local State Attorney’s Office. Demand that they impanel a Grand Jury in your county to investigate HOA corruption, fraud, crime, self dealing, and election shenanigans. When that Grand Jury Report is done, I’m guessing it’s likely to conclude that the same problems that exist in condos also exist in HOAs. We can take that report and send it around next year to all the legislators, everyone can get shocked, everyone can get upset, and then maybe, just maybe, HOAs will finally be given some help.

But don’t bet on it.