Some Useful Information about Homeowners Associations Sometimes I'm reminded that government agencies can provide very useful infor...
Some Useful Information about Homeowners Associations
Sometimes I'm reminded that government agencies can provide very useful information for the public. I congratulate the Florida Division of Condominiums, Time Shares & Mobile Homes within the Florida the Dept of Business and Professional Regulation. They produced a clear, readable, and easily understood short publication that uses layman's language to discuss vital legal and regulatory matters of home owner's associations. It is linked below.
http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/lsc/documents/CondominiumLiving07152011.pdf
Once under contract to buy a condominium or town home, a buyer is entitled to receive all relevant documents relating to the governance and finances of the homeowners association (HOA). r Florida real estate law provides the buyer with three days after receipt of the documents to review them, and make certain he/she is satisfied with them.
After all, all owners are obligated to abide by the docs as well as the rules and regulations set down by the Board! You will also be financially obligated to pay your share of the upkeep and any assessments that may be necessary. Governance documents filed at the time of incorporation of the association (often 40-50 years ago in Pinellas County) have often been modified by amendments etc. For your own protection, be certain that you receive all the relevant documents! Your real estate agent should assist you in this. In some special situations, you may even want to consult a real estate lawyer about certain aspects of the condominium documents.
Many prospective condominium buyers have never owned a residence under the purview of an HOA before. I strongly recommend they read "How to Successfully Live under a Homeowner's Association", a brief article published by U. S. News and World Report's Money and Personal Finance section (2015 Here is the link to that good piece of practical advice:
http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2015/04/27/how-to-successfully-live-under-a-homeowners-association
Finally, I urge all owners to consider serving on an HOA board itself after you have lived in the community for a year or two. In many ways, HOA boards are an example of democracy at its most elemental and local level! Serving for a few years not only allows you to engage with your neighbors but to develop a more thorough understanding of the financial and management aspects of the property in which you own an interest. Everybody has heard jokes about condo boards and dictatorial board members as "condo commando's". In my experience such boards are the exception not the rule. Board members vary in their abilities and the energy they bring to their task, but the great majority work hard for their community, often for little appreciation and no money. Under Florida law, no compensation is to be paid HOA board members.
There are potential downsides to Board service. Often Board members have reason to feel that their service--by law not compensated--is not sufficiently appreciated by their neighbors. I've attended more than one regularly scheduled board meeting in our 104 town home community during which there were at most one or two non-Board members in attendance. Of course, many meetings concern rather mundane matters that aren't of much popular interest.
The HOA board on which I currently serve as Treasurer recently formulated a plan for a major re-roofing project for all our buildings with projected expenditures that would cost a majority of our reserves and also involve a relatively modest special assessment. On the evening this plan was approved (by 2/3 vote of the homeowners) I was pleasantly surprised that about half the resident attended to vote in person. The audience applauded the Board members at the conclusion of the evening for our hard work, dedication, and good planning. That expression of appreciation for the work we did felt very good!
