|
DEFEND YOUR FUNDS!
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
May 23, 2015
Too many board
members just don’t keep an eye on the money and allow the
management company to run the financial show. The result: Ugly
headlines in the media showing that another CAM took off with
the association money.
There is a whole
long list of media reports about money being stolen by the
person who was in charge of the money. And we are not talking
about peanuts – we are talking about serious money, ranging from
$100,000 to $1.5 million. -- according to media reports.
CCFJ, with the help
of Eric Glazer, pushed in 2013 the bill that required HOAs to
maintain insurance or a fidelity bond for all persons who
control or disburse funds of the association [FS
720.3033(5)]. Guess what? Many boards plainly ignore
this provision in the statute in order to save money. Certain
boards think that they can just ignore the laws since there is
nobody enforcing these laws.
Talking about money?
Don’t give the farm away by allowing certain management
companies to take your funds to banks located in other states.
If your money is in a local bank, you can quickly go there and
make changes to the signature card. Want to go to Arizona or
South Carolina if changes to your signature card are needed?
It is important that
you keep track of the association funds and make sure that they
don't disappear.
And make sure that
the premium for the fidelity bond/insurance is always paid.
Otherwise you may receive one day a letter requiring you to pay
a “serious” special assessment in order to replenish the
association funds -- because somebody disappeared with the
money.
Believe me: Once the
money is gone – it’s gone. Recovering embezzled/stolen money is
often nearly impossible. Defend your funds – before it’s too
late!
|
|
 |
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
!
|
