BOARD MEMBERS HAVE TO KNOW THE BASICS!

By Jan Bergemann

Published February 21, 2025

 

The system of community associations is based on having owners managing the association business – owners who most often don’t have any experience of running a business. We should never forget: Associations are a business, often with budgets of more than a million of dollars.

 

And in many cases we are seeing the result: Badly maintained buildings, horrible contracts and lots of lawsuits – all caused by board members who don’t know what they are doing. Adding to the misery is the fact that the old saying is valid: “Power corrupts, and more power corrupts even more.”

 

Many board members, much in love with the power they realize they have, have kept the maintenance fees artificially low in order to get re-elected.

 

And if board members are in doubt if their actions are correct there are always some attorneys telling them: “Don’t worry, you are indemnified and there is always the Business Judgment Rule you can use as defense.

 

We are now seeing the results of this system: Building certification reports with devastating results, no money in the reserves, meaning no money to pay for the necessary repairs. Florida will end up with lots of bankrupt owners, families losing their home – many lawsuits and foreclosure actions.

 

This is the result of a community association system we have used for many years, a system doomed to failure from the very beginning.

 

The collapse of the Champlain Towers South that cost the lives of 98 people finally woke up the Florida Legislature. Bills, totally changing the system, were enacted and many owners had a very rude awakening.

 

They found out that there is no “EASY LIVING” in community associations and that the cost of living in these associations is a lot more expensive than they were told when buying their homes.

 

But the legislators realized as well that uneducated board members do more harm than good and lots of good money is being wasted due to the incompetence of board members.

 

And the legislators took a great step in the right direction: The bills enacted included mandatory education for board members – a provision that was long overdue! But as it happens often when new provisions are created: There are loopholes to the mandatory education. The statutes allow seminars by Zoom (Internet), allowing people to get the certificate without even listening to the Zoom seminar. And that surely defeats the purpose!

 

Yes, I know that there are lots of good board members who volunteer their time and are trying the best they can to manage association business. But without knowledge the best intentions don’t help!

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Jan Bergemann

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 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 !