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STATUTES ONLY FOR THE RICH!
By
Jan Bergemann
Published May 5, 2023
Let’s
face it: The community association bills that have been enacted
by the Florida Legislature in all these years are in reality
only LAWS FOR THE RICH! They all lack teeth – and
enforcement of these laws is left to the owners. If the board
ignores or violates these laws it’s up to the owners to enforce
them through litigation – and litigation is outrageous
expensive. Actually, it’s not affordable for most owners even if
they know that the board clearly violated the law. But most
owners don’t have $30,000 or $ 40,000 to get started with
litigation – and that’s in many cases not even enough. Remember,
the owners are fighting deep pockets – meaning unlimited
association funds – and many association attorneys are not shy
when it comes to drag cases out forever – starting with presuit
mediation – hoping that the owner will finally run out of money
and is forced to settle.
Even for
condo and co-op owners, who pay $4 for a regulatory agency (Division
of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes)
-- another government agency that has proven to be totally
ineffective -- litigation is the only choice for enforcing these
laws.
Proof for these statements: Hundreds of specialized attorneys
make a great living here in Florida, cheering on the legislators
to create more bills for the rich. All these laws are filling
their pockets – at the expense of all the families living in
Florida’s community associations.
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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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