Condominium Foreclosures vs.  the Rights of Mortgage Holders

One of my condominium Presidents asked me to advise him and his Board about the process of foreclosing a condominium lien and how the rights of the Association relate to the rights of a mortgage holder.  For purposes of this article, a first mortgage holder will be referred to as a “Bank”, even though the first mortgage may be held by a bank, an individual, a mortgage company, pension fund, or other entity.

            Discussion –    The laws governing condominiums in ...

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14
DEC
0

Articles

What is a condominium?


«RETURN TO VIDEO FAQS

A condominium is a legal structure. It consists of the land and all the improvements on the land. It’s composed of units, which is the space that you own as a unit owner, and everything else is considered the common property, and that’s owned in common with all of the other owners. Each of you has an undivided share of that common ...

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16
SEP
0

Articles, Videos

Can a condominium association deny an owner the right to rent his unit if his assessments are unpaid

The short answer is:  “it depends” – because the board can deny a lease only if the authority to approve or deny a lease is stated in the declaration or bylaws.

718.104(5) of the Florida Condominium Act states that the Declaration as originally recorded or as amended may include covenants and restrictions concerning the use, occupancy and transfer of units.    Thus, if  leasing a unit is not subject to prior approval or otherwise restricted  in the Declaration (or in the Bylaws, an ...

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21
OCT
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Is your condominium’s right of approval enforceable?

Most condominium declarations contain a right of approval. In general terms, they typically state no sale, lease or other transfer of a unit is permitted without prior written approval of the Association.  But most declarations do not specify the grounds, if any, upon which denial is permitted.  Most are very open-ended; for example, “grounds for disapproval include but are not limited to the account being delinquent.”  Thus, what is the limit of the association’s authority to approve or disapprove, or ...

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5
OCT
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Suspension of Voting Rights in a Florida condominium

Update to §718.303 of Florida Statutes – posted June 28, 2017.

Effective July 1, 2017, §718.303 was amended to provide that an owner’s voting rights can be suspended if the monetary obligation owed is more than $1,000.00 and 90 days delinquent but proof of such obligation must be provided to the owner or member 30 days before the suspension takes effect.

The prior article was written by me in January 2015:

A condo manager asked me about the voting rights of an owner ...

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28
JUN
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New laws directly affect Property Managers

Do you know ….?
Under §718.111 of the Condominium Act, as amended and effective on July 1, 2017:
1) the new law expressly prohibits any officer, director or manager from receiving a “kickback”. Previously, the law prohibited such persons from accepting anything or service of value without consideration other than services or items received in connection with trade fairs or education programs. A kickback is already the subject to a civil penalty but under the ...

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27
JUN
0

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Unpaid assessments of previous owner are not always owed by the foreclosure buyer

In January, 2017, my client received title to a house he bought in December at a mortgage foreclosure sale. The mortgage had been recorded in 2005. Soon after, the homeowners association (HOA) demanded more than $19,000 from my client that it claimed was owed because the prior owner who was foreclosed did not pay assessments for years and the law passed in 2007 states that a buyer, including a purchaser at a foreclosure sale, is jointly and severally liable with ...

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18
APR
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Are your condominium association’s finances in good shape?

If you don’t know the condition of your association’s finances, you can find out.   By law, an annual financial report must be prepared  within  90 days after the end of the association’s fiscal year.  Within 21 days after it is received from the party who prepared it, the association must provide a copy of the report  to the owners or a notice that a copy may be obtained upon written request without charge.

At any time, an owner may ask in ...

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20
MAR
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