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DO YOU REALLY WANT TO PRESERVE
THE COVENANTS?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published February 1, 2019
The Florida
Legislature – in its infinite wisdom – created FS
720.303(2)(e),
another way to preserve the CC&Rs from extinguishment under the
Marketable Record Title Act (FS 712).
But is there really a desirability among the owners to preserve
the CC&Rs after the 30 years of living in a community where
contract law supersedes our US Constitution? From the many
e-mails I receive daily it seems to me that many owners realized
over the years that living in an HOA actually means that you are
leaving the American Zone as my friend Shu Bartholomew always
says at the beginning of her weekly radio show.
Many owners seem to feel that they are living in a dictatorship
where election laws are really non-existent and a sitting board
can manipulate the bylaws so no other candidate but the chosen
few can be elected.
Is that how you want to continue living after finding out what
homeowners’ association living is all about?
Here is my suggestion to avoid the renewal of the CC&Rs if you
so desire: Vote in board members that feel like you – and who
will decide not to file the necessary papers to preserve the
covenants and restrictions. Once the time passed you are no
longer living in a mandatory HOA where board members can black
mail you into paying unjust fines or foreclosing on your home
because you criticized their actions.
And if the CC&Rs are not preserved, you can finally say:
FREE AT LAST!
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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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