Posted on 06/22/2015 8:52:53 AM PDT by Oldpuppymax
Florida’s Legislature is poised to rein in that state’s out-of-control Home Owner Associations (HOA) and their legal and management firms with proposed bills in both houses of the legislature in Tallahassee. Passage of S 1308 and H 1263, sponsored by State Senator Alan Hays (R-Umatilla), 850-487-5011, and Representative Mike LaRosa (R-Saint Cloud) 850-717-5042, would put teeth in rules and regulations that govern just what these HOA Board of Directors (BOD) in gated communities can do and ARE doing to peaceful, law abiding middle class residents in single family homes.
This urgently needed legislation would bring single family homeowners the same protection which the legislature gave many years ago to Condo dwellers beset by punitive actions from their own association despots.
The Department of Business & Professional Regulation, headed by Ken Lawson, Secretary, 850-413-0755, would be empowered to: 1) “have the authority to enforce and ensure (HOA) compliance in regard to elections of BODs, financial management, records access, and MAY INVESTIGATE ANY COMPLAINT MADE TO DBPR; 2) “Arbitration, jurisdiction for HOAs,” in regard to rule enforcement, covenant disputes, rules and regulations; 3. Clarification “regulating the transition of association control from developer control;” 4. “Requires seller to provide prospective buyer with governing documents and operating budget.” Additionally, this bare bones summary of what is in these two vital bills includes language that would “provide training and educational programs for HOA members, directors, and officers.”
Here are the recommendations that I made to both Senator Hays and to our State Representative in St. Lucie County, Larry Lee (D-Ft. Pierce): 1) Cessation of arbitrary hiking of HOA fees; 2) Cessation of hiring of HOA BOD attorneys and management firms from outside of our local cities. Rules and heavy handed management practices and quota generation of large, urban polyglot professionals are out of synch with...
(Excerpt) Read more at coachisright.com ...
Just outlaw HOAs. The economy would get a boost in productivity.
Unbelievable heavy handedness! It must be difficult to find a suitable house outside of these association bullies, or else who would put up with that stuff.
Word has been out for years. If someone still signs up for a HOA I have very little sympathy for them. Why anybody would give up so much autonomy to an HOA is beyond me.
Better yet, don’t live in one. I for the life of me can not fathom purchasing a home in one of those things to be ordered around by some control freak.
That said, I despise HOA's for that very reason, and would never move into a community with one.
Couldn't we just shoot them and get it over with? Like any other wild animal dangerous to humans?
All they need to do is pass a law allowing home owners to opt out of HOAs. Simple.
HOAs are nothing more than mini-fiefdoms. They always overreach their supposed ‘powers’. An HOA is exactly why I live where I currently live. An HOA was the reason I sold my previous house.
Yet another reason I won’t buy a home. Besides the fact that, regardless of mortgage status (paid or not), a home owner ALWAYS pays taxes, and must submit for approval when doing anything to the home. Then, they gotta contend with HOA. No thanks! If I purchase, something, it’s mine, and I WILL DO as I please with it, without asking permission from either a county permitting agency or HOA. Anyone that must ask permission, either from a government agency or HOA, to perform work on their own homes, does NOT “own” the property.
HOA’s have their quiet beginnings in Communist countries.
I would not reside in any community that had HOA.HOAs are a negation of private property. You are not buying a ouse in such a community. You are buying certain revocable on whim privileges to inhabit- and pay taxes on- a house.
HOA’s should be limited to:
- managing common areas
- upkeep of lawns (weeds, watering, grass cut, hedges trimmed)
- exterior of house maintenance (paint, siding, color, gutters, etc)
- structural changes (additions, sheds, fences, etc)
They should be required to:
- hold annual elections
- hold quarterly meetings
- provide 30 days notice for all meetings
- required to keep no more than 2 months operating expenses in cash unless approved by the community for improvements
- provide quarterly reports to home owners on the finances
- provide 30 days notice for corrective actions
- provide an additional 30 days before levy of fines
- provide a copy of the current rules and bylaws to each home owner in hard copy annually.
Sale of real estate that is in an HOA should require full disclosure.
One way to do that is to make a RTW-like construct for residency. It would provide an incentive to reduce the ‘little Napoleons’ and promote responsiveness.
It could work as follows:
Someone doesn’t have to join the HOA as a condition of living somewhere, and that no penalty may be assessed to individuals that refuse the HOA.
Here it’s because all HOAs are behind locked gates and people want the protection. Thanks to everyone inviting the whole third world in.
Amen! My wife and I had our first home 25 years ago in a nice non-HOA neighborhood. Neighbors were ringing doorbells wanting to start one for our neighborhood. I told them two things; A) No & B) If you do start one, we are grandfathered in. Your HOA does NOT apply to us! Fortunately, they were unsuccessful.
Where I’m at there isn’t much choice ,, land is sold in multiples of hundreds of acres to developers ,, unless you’re a CEO you can’t escape them and get a place near town.
How far out (typically) is it to HOA-unencumbered land?
What follows is my opinion, supported by facts, and has not yet been tried in court.
I was suid by the Alafaya Woods Homeowners Association (represented by Anthony Varmvas of Clayton and McCulloh) over 2014 and 2015 missed association dues and my property has been targeted in the suit for foreclosure.
This lawsuit comes as an extreme and utter shock and I will attempt to explain the happenings of the last 18 months, during which I missed two payments. I understand Florida Statute 720.3085. I believe that a lawsuit is excessive and that this could easily have been handled in a more hospitable manner.
My credit rating is excellent (FICO near 800) and I value that dearly. I am also in excellent standing financially to make all payments that the courts decide.
The unwillingness of Sentry Management, on behalf of the Alafaya Woods Homeow plaintiff, to carry more than one address of notification contributed to the non-payment. I live in Illinois and have rented the property since I left Orlando in 1987. I left due to a military relocation. Alafaya Woods and Sentry were somehow unable to contact me in Illinois. They never knocked on the door of the house in Florida to ask ... well, until they knocked to serve notice of intent to sue and foreclose.
I had to rapidly transfer management of the property when the owner of the management company was diagnosed with cancer. She died 2 months later. The money grubbing ticks associated with Alafaya Woods Homeowners Association, Sentry Management and Clayton & McCulloh never bothered asking the current residents how to get in touch with me ... they just sent bills to a dead lady, that of course got returned. Then sent notices that I hadn’t paid to a dead lady, that of course got returned. And then sent a notice of intent to lien and forclose to a dead lady, which got returned. Until they finally managed to hire someone to knock on the door for notice of the lawsuit and foreclosure.
When the owner of my property management company was diagnosed with cancer, property management was transferred on short notice. The previous management firm was the address of record filed with the Homeowner’s Association.
Over the past several years, I have gone through several management changes on the property, went through a divorce and I am currently administering the estate of my brother who was killed in January of this year in Wisconsin due to the negligent acts of another. I would have likely caught this mistake (lack of payment) when I filed taxes this year, but I was caught up in legal proceedings with a District Attorney in WI, a probate attorney from WI, a civil lawyer from WI, two realtors for his properties, a tax associate up there, etc. Notification from the association sometime in the past 18 months would have been helpful. But they don’t care. So long as they can sit behind their desks, send out notices and make a homeowner’s life more difficult, they seem to be satisfied.
I have owned the property since 1985. This property was joint property until I divorced, at which point the Illinois court system granted me said property. A quit claim deed was properly filed in Seminole County and said property is now owned solely mine. Yep, amazingly enough, there is a quit claim deed filed with the same Clerk of Court (Maryanne Morse) that authorized the summons for the lawsuit, but the combined intellect of Alafaya Woods Homeowners Association, Sentry Management and Clayton & McCulloh had no idea of how to contact me or how to get that information. Pretty sad.
During the early months of XXXXXXXXXX managing the property, the lady managing it questioned how I paid homeowners association dues. She attempted to have Sentry Management change addresses for notifications involving the Alafaya Woods Homeowners Association. This took some time, and eventually I had to send Sentry Management the address of Graham Properties as the only appropriate contact for Homeowners Association matters. I have correspondence which shows that Sentry Management accepted that address. Unfortunately, only one (1) address of record could be maintained for each property. This ultimately prevented Sentry Management from having a backup contact address of my current residence in Illinois should anything invalidate the primary address. Alafaya Woods Homeowner’s Association and Sentry Management’s own corporate policy of accepting only one contact address adversely affected their ability to contact me with alleged delinquent account. Again, they could also just have knocked on the door in Oviedo to obtain my address or that of the new management firm.
In August of 2014, my property manager’s son son called to inform that his mother had been diagnosed with cancer. He made arrangements to transfer all property management under her cognizance immediately to other management firms. He apologized for the inconvenience, but I certainly had compassion for that situation.
The issue of Homeowners dues never came up with the new property manager during this rather turbulent change of management firms. Alafaya Woods HA, Sentry Management and Clayon & McCulloh show no compassion for that situation. They just see money and feel the need to sue.
When the next bill came due (2014) I was never notified. I also missed the next bill (2015) and was not notified. At that point, I was in the midst of burying my brother and putting his estate in order when the bill would have come due. I normally check that when I submit my taxes. I missed that I had not paid the 2014 bill during this tax season due to the stress of everything going on. Trust me! I am up to my ears in things to do and I am extremely stressed. Just what I needed ... a lawsuit that A reminder from the homeowner’s association would have been helpful. Once again, I believe that your firm should a simple knock on a door would have prevented. Of course, Alafaya Woods HA, Sentry Management and Clayton & McCulloh show no compassion for this situation.
Any billing authority has the responsibility to remind consumers of debts owed. This is true of taxing agents, credit card companies, licensing facilities, etc. (that the accepted business norm is to send a bill of some type, which the consumer then pays). So I never got notified of any such bill and alleged delinquent status. I already stated that Alafaya Woods HA and Sentry Management could have had my Decatur address if their policies didn’t prohibit that .... and they DID have my valid e-mail. Easier to sue and foreclose.
Alafaya Woods and Sentry Management made mailings to the Florida property address which were returned as undeliverable. I do not reside at that address. They knew that. Current residents at that address are legally prohibited by US CODE from opening mail addressed to another person and rightfully and lawfuly returned them to sender.
Alafaya Woods and Sentry Management made mailings to the other only address that I was allowed their mighty firm to keep on record. Now remember, they had ample opportunity to record a backup address ... but that is against their policies. So instead, they mailed them to the address of a deceased person and ... believe it or not ... those came back as undeliverable. How dare a dead person not forward the mail! No compassion .. already stated that. Just a bunch of money thieving thugs.
I readily admit that I missed a debt and attempted to pay that debt online, however the Sentry website requires a coupon (bill) code which I do not possess. Wilson Management does also not possess this information as they were never contacted by Alafaya Woods HA or Sentry Management. I attempted to contact Sentry Management via e-mail, the attorneys by e-mail, the attorneys by phone (twice) but no answer. Probably too busy suing homeowners.
Thank you for listening.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.