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SOME YEAR-END
OBSERVATIONS
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published December 19, 2016
This is a very interesting time of year in
the condo and HOA world. Of course everyone’s thoughts turn to
the holidays. We start thinking about Christmas, Chanukah, New
Years and all of the days off we get to spend with friends and
family. The problem is that this is typically the busiest time
of year as well, and the most important time not to make any
mistakes.
Many of you hold your annual meetings and
budget meetings in December and January of each year. That means
budget meetings have to be scheduled, annual meetings have to be
scheduled, and lots of different mailings need to go out. Over
the past few weeks, listed below are actual problems I have
dealt with that can result in having to start the budget or
election process all over again:
Budget Issues:
Failing to provide sufficient advanced notice of your annual
meeting: The condo statute clearly provides that the budget must
be mailed to the owners at least 14 days prior to the budget
meeting. Make sure you don’t blow the deadline.
Reserves Issues:
Remember that in a condo, the budget must show the reserves as
fully funded. If the Board wants to give the owners the
opportunity to waive or reduce the funding of reserves, a
meeting must be scheduled before the budget meeting in
order to count the votes or proxies necessary to waive the full
funding of reserves. If the waiver occurs, at the budget meeting
the board will adopt the budget that does not contain fully
funded reserves. If the vote does not pass, fully funded
reserves it is, like it or not. Remember to include the
following language in your proxy in big bold type: WAIVING
OF RESERVES, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, OR ALLOWING ALTERNATIVE USES
OF EXISTING RESERVES MAY RESULT IN UNIT OWNER LIABILITY FOR
PAYMENT OF UNANTICIPATED SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS REGARDING THOSE
ITEMS.
Election Issues:
Your
annual meeting must take place in the month called for in your
bylaws. Are you following that schedule?
Are
you electing the right number of directors? Remember that if
your documents call for a range of directors, like no less than
x and no more than y, the number of directors is automatically
set at 5.
Are
you allowing everyone to vote? Remember that even if an owner is
90 days delinquent in payment of assessments, their right to
vote can only be taken away from them if your governing
documents allow for it or if your documents contain the “as
amended from time to time language. In addition, , the board
must specifically vote to suspend the rights of an owner at a
properly noticed meeting and the owner must be notified of the
suspension in writing.
Slow down:
The
year is almost over. You vacation is nearly here. Although it’s
tempting to think about anything but numbers and votes, now is
the time to stay focused. And if you’re not sure about what’s
required or how a problem should be tackled, that’s what we are
here for.
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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 more than 2
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decades and is the owner of Glazer
and Associates, P.A. a seven attorney law firm with offices in
Fort Lauderdale and Orlando and satellite offices in Naples,
Fort Myers and Tampa.
Since 2009, Eric has been the host
of Condo Craze and HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show that airs
at noon each Sunday 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 10,000
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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