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HOPEFUL THAT THINGS WILL CHANGE?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
May 6, 2016
I have to agree with Eric that educating
board members and owners about their rights and obligations
could make us hopeful that the situation in Florida's community
associations may change. It sure was a great step forward when
we passed the bill that created these education requirements.
But we have seen one thing in the past years: Most of the
"dictators" -- I'm not talking about the good guys -- don't go
to these seminars because they know they can still do whatever
they want.
Do you know how frustrating it can be if you spend your time --
and gas -- to attend such seminar and learn how things should be
done only to be laughed out of the room at a board meeting where
board members openly tell you that they don't care about the
laws and you don't have the resources to enforce these laws.
Many people who attended these seminars find out pretty fast
that all the good things they learned at the seminar are doing
no good because there is nobody to enforce the laws and rules
you learned about at the seminar?
Enforcing existing laws in community associations can get very
costly. Even a simple record request lawsuit can quickly add up
to $20,000 in legal fees. How would you feel if the association
attorney defends the unwillingness of the association to fulfill
your record request claiming that you are "a member of the
Gambino crime family"? You know that this record request lawsuit
will not be solved amicably.
As long as we don't have in Florida a functioning regulatory
agency -- like a much improved Division -- we can learn all day
long how things should be done according to rules and laws, the
lack of enforcement will always prevent the "good guys" from
doing things right as long as the board consists of dictators
willing to ignore these rules and laws.
Let's make it very clear: A regulatory agency governing
community associations can be very helpful -- if they do what
they are supposed to do and if our "esteemed" legislators give
them jurisdiction with real enforcement power. As we can see by
reading the article series published in the Miami Herald the
Division and the Condo Ombudsman clearly fail to take the
necessary action to enforce the laws. A regulatory agency busy
to find excuses not to take any action when receiving complaints
isn't really what owners are looking for. But it's a start to
add serious improvement.
I still hope that things can be turned around and we can -- with
the help of owner-friendly laws -- turn these communities into
friendly neighborhoods where money is spent wisely and rules and
laws are being followed.
Let's continue to "HOPE". I think Chester W. Nimitz worded it
perfectly: "God grant me the courage not to give up what I think
is right even though I think it is hopeless."
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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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