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BOARD MEMBERS BETTER BE CAREFUL
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published August 21, 2023
Board
members I’m telling you now……..be careful. I’m seeing it
already. Unit owners are starting to freak out over the passage
of huge assessments to cover the costs of mandatory inspections,
mandatory repairs and massive increases in insurance rates.
As we
know, we’re not talking about pesky increases to the monthly
cost of living in your home. We are talking about increases
that will cause many to no longer be able to afford to live in
their home at all. We are talking about increases that will
force people to sell and no longer live in the condominium that
they have lived in for perhaps decades.
Notwithstanding the fact that none of these increases are the
result of anything the Board members did or didn’t do, board
members know who is likely to be blamed for this financial
disaster many unit owners find themselves in ------the Board
members. So what else is new?
Board
members are used to being blamed when things go wrong even
though it’s not their fault. That comes with the territory.
They get yelled and screamed at, the meeting ends and then it’s
usually over. Maybe there’s some nasty e-mail that float around
the community. This time it’s different.
Even if
unit owners come to the realization and accept that they can’t
afford to live in the condo any longer, the question is….so
where can they go? Every condo seems to be in the same shape.
Or if owners choose to move to a place that’s simply newer and
not yet required to perform these inspections and repairs, you
can bet they cost a lot more money than where they currently
live. There’s simply no place to turn to.
When
there is desperation and fear, people become irrational and
often times violent and that is why I honestly fear for the
safety of condominium board members throughout the state. This
is not a knock on the millions of law abiding condominium owners
throughout the state. They were thrown into this position
because The Florida Legislature failed all of you. Instead of
always requiring condominium owners to put away money for a
rainy day, The Florida Legislature cow-towed to the whims of
developers, law firms and other special interest groups who
always lobbied against mandatory reserves. The only reason why
mandatory reserves are now required is because 98 innocent men,
women and children died at The Champlain Towers in Surfside as a
result of not having nearly enough money on hand to make
obviously needed structural repairs in their condominium.
So Board
members……….you didn’t volunteer in your community to get punched
out or worse at your board meetings. My advice is….when you
know you’re about to pass a special assessment at a meeting, and
at that meeting people are going to be going crazy……protect
yourselves. Make sure there are police or at least security at
the meeting. Better be safe than sorry.
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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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