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SUMMERTIME
– AND THE LIVING IS EASY?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
May 30, 2014
That’s
what it said in the famous song. But is that really true –
especially for community associations?
Let’s
make no mistake: There are associations in
Florida
where more or less nobody is living during the summer months.
But does that really mean that it is a time without problems?
Can the owners really live easy?
Not according to the many e-mails I received in the summers
past.
In
many associations the membership votes for board members who are
living year round in the community. And some of them are up to
no good – figuring that they can do whatever they want since
nobody is around.
I
have seen many examples of owners returning to Florida
in autumn only to get nasty surprises – considering changes
that happened in the summer month.
From
new management to new landscaping – a lot can happen in summer
when most of the owners don’t watch the shop.
So
– I hope you have a great summer – but please keep an eye on
the happenings in your community. Once these changes happened,
they are very difficult to change again.
Have
a great summer – with no hurricanes!
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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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