Heritage Circle Condominiums

 

  

 New law aimed at distressed condos to begin in 2010

Synopsis As Introduced
Amends the Illinois Condominium Property Act. Provides legislative findings concerning the importance of municipalities reclaiming housing stock that was used in fraudulent schemes.

Provides procedures for addressing distressed condominium property that is a danger, blight, or nuisance to the surrounding community or the public and that is substantially unoccupied, without utilities, or in a serious negative condition.

Provides definitions of "distressed condominium property", "owner", and "other party in interest".

Provides that a municipality may file a petition in the circuit court and that if the court finds that a property is a distressed condominium property, the court may appoint a receiver to manage the property.

Provides also that if a court finds that the property is not viable as a condominium, the court may deem that the entire property is owned in common by the unit owners and may authorize the receiver to sell the entire property without the consent of the unit owners.

Provides that if the receiver sells the property pursuant to court authorization, the sale proceeds shall be paid to unit owners according to their respective shares, after sale expenses, taxes, and liens have been paid.

Provides that the receiver has the power and authority to secure and insure the premises, make repairs, and otherwise manage the premises.

Provides that other parties in interest shall be provided written notice and a copy of the petition or complaint either by United States certified mail, return receipt requested, within 30 days of the issuance of the summons or by personal service of the complaint.

Provides that the court may authorize a receiver to enter into a sales contract for the property upon a motion, with notice to all owners and other parties in interest and those parties having an opportunity to be heard. Makes other changes. (more)

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Associa®

Benson's, Inc.

Homeowner NEWSLETTER

 Free Seminar for all Condominium & Home Owners Association Unit Owners

 When: Friday, March 19th, 2010, 9:00 A.M.

 Where: Clarion Hotel, 12635 S Cleveland Ave, Fort Myers, FL 33907

 Please click here to view the flyer with all of the details.

We hope you can join us!

 Benson's, Inc. | 12650 Whitehall Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33907 | Tel 239 277 0718

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A World Of Options: Planting Your Bamboo Garden! 

by Stacey Irwin on March 15, 2010

There are as many types of bamboo plants to choose from for your garden as there are uses for the plant itself.   Over 1000 species of bamboo in 90 genera have been described and named and there may well be varieties waiting to be discovered.  Bamboo plants grow at various heights in various ways with various leaf lengths and shapes.  Variety should not come as a surprise considering how many areas of the planet in which they’ve evolved.  Bamboo spans the globe from the United States to Asia to Australia and can now be a beautiful addition to your own home.

The bamboo plant not only adds beauty but it also helps the environment. 

There are several factors to consider when choosing a bamboo plant:

• Purpose – The uses of the bamboo plant are endless.  It can be a striking stand-alone, a low variegated border, a groundcover or an accent plant.  It holds prominent placement in creating stunning Japanese gardens.  By far it’s most popular use is as a fast-growing privacy screen.  Since bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet, a screen or hedge can be created more quickly and inexpensively than hardwood trees or fencing.
• Temperature – It is best to select plants that will tolerate temperatures well below the lowest ones you’ve experienced in the last few years.
• Sunlight – Choose a species based on the number of hours of direct sunlight they will receive and what part of the day they will be in the sun.  A.M. sun is cooler and P.M. sun may be harsher.
• Height and diameter - Affected by all aspects of the climate, most plants have a known reference point based on their climate of origin.
•  Clumping vs. Running Bamboo – There are advantages and disadvantages to both.  Clumpers spread wide more slowly but grow tall more quickly and they don’t require a root barrier for containment.  Runners spread wide more quickly to form screens and are less expensive but they sometimes require a root barrier.
• Aesthetic – There are canes with colors, stripes, large/small diameters, exposed or covered with foliage; leaves can be striped and variegated, long and thin or large and wide or very small.  Growth may be vertical and narrow, bushy and wide, weeping or arching.  Selection is all a matter of personal taste and landscaping needs.

Even if you don’t have the greenest of thumbs, the bamboo plant is a hardy enough plant to survive with minimal upkeep.  While the bamboo plant requires liberal watering in the first six months, once established they require only intermittent deep watering.  Organic composts are helpful to the growing bamboo plant and depending on type and purpose of the plant, pruning can be frequent or occasional. 

Unfortunately, bamboo plants have gained a bad reputation and can strike fear in the heart of many a homeowner association.  Bamboo plants spread via rhizomes.  Running bamboos have long rhizomes that spread quickly while clumping bamboos have shorter rhizomes that don’t spread so rapidly.  Running bamboo is easily controlled though.  To keep bamboo from running amok, install a plastic barrier in a narrow three-foot-deep trench along the row of bamboo plants.   Leaving an inch or two of the liner above ground will help prevent stray shoots from jumping the barrier. 

The spread of bamboo can also be controlled by effective use of water.  If the plants are watered only in the area in which the plants are wanted and nowhere else within 10 to 20 feet, the dry soil created will be a barrier to root growth.  Also, a water-filled stream or ditch can stop growth since rhizomes and roots cannot be saturated for long periods of time.  Make sure to wait and see if containment is actually needed.   Many species require a 3 year growth period before they begin to spread.  Rhizomes can be let go and you can remove new cane shoots by breaking them off if they emerge where they are not wanted – these are the tender shoots that can be used for any of the recipes in Green Earth News Bamboo Flavors section!

Bamboo plants also add an element of surprise to any garden.  Called gregarious flowering, bamboo species are able to flower periodically all over the world at the same time.  For example, the Phyllostachys bambusoides flowered during the 1970s, as it has done every 120 years through recorded bamboo history.  No one knows what triggers the flowering and the flowers themselves are as diverse as the types of bamboo plants available.

As the popularity of the bamboo plant grows, so does the number of nurseries and experts to speak with.  Visit this directory to find a nursery near you to learn more about the right type of plant for you and how to best plant and care for your beautiful bamboo garden.  

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A recap of Pending Florida Community Association Bills.

As you know, our regular Legislative Session lasts only 60 days in Florida. As such, a week in Session time is really more like a month in "real life" time in terms of changes that occur. I have briefly summarized below what has transpired since Session opened on March 2nd and where we're headed.

HB 329 Relating to Condominium Foreclosures

HB 329 by Rep. Robaina was taken up for the third time by the House Civil Justice & Courts Policy Committee after being temporarily postponed during the previous two meetings. One of the key provisions in this bill was the provision allowing condominium associations to collect rent directly from tenants in delinquent units. CAN fully supported that provision and this bill.  The bill was amended with a strike-all amendment and called to question by Rep. Murzin.  In debate, Rep. Grady argued that the bill infringes on the property rights of landlords and stated that, despite agreeing with the intent of the bill, his concern remained that the bill may be unconstitutional due to it violating current contractual agreements between tenants, landlords and condominium associations which required that he vote against the bill.  Rep. Robaina argued that property rights and the constitutional arguments that Rep. Grady made were not really the issue and that the real issue is that the banking lobby does not like his bill.  After debate, the vote was taken and Rep. Robaina’s HB 329 was defeated by a vote of 9 to 4.    

 HB 561 and SB 1196 Relating to Community Associations

HB 561 by Bogdanoff and Hudson, the major condominium bill moving through the House, was not heard last week. The bill will next be heard in House Criminal & Civil Justice Policy Committee but has yet to be placed on the agenda.

 SB 1196 by Fasano and Ring was not heard last week however, the bill was referenced to an additional committee, Senate Military Affairs and Domestic Security Committee. SB 1196 has four remaining committee stops before it is ready to be heard on the Senate floor. Based on communications with Sen. Fasano and Sen. Ring’s offices, the opt-out language for sprinkler retrofits should be amended into SB 1196 this week when the Military and Domestic Security Committee hears the bill at 8:30 am this Wednesday, March 17th. Please email members of that Committee and urge them to place the sprinkler retrofit language on this bill at that time. You can easily email all members of this Committee with a click of the button using our Capital Connection email tool

http://www.canfl.com/CapitolConn.cfm?CFID=13747464&CFTOKEN=14561033.   

 HB 1523 and SB 2270 Relating to Nonjudicial Foreclosures

HB 1523 by Rep. Grady, which creates the “Homeowner Relief & Housing Recovery Act” and provides general provisions for nonjudicial foreclosures, will be heard at 8:00 am tomorrow morning by the House Civil Justice and Courts Committee. Despite what the bankers are saying about the benefits of this bill, it is basically a "gift" to the banking industry at a time when most folks are not feeling particularly generous.  Currently, if a bank wants to foreclose on a unit or home, it must file for foreclosure in court and pay the fees associated with such action. If this bill becomes law, the burden shifts to the owner who must pay to fight a bank foreclosure! In addition, certain affirmative steps must be taken to keep and maintain homestead status or lose it. Overall, it is an extremely unfriendly bill to Florida's consumers and does little if nothing to help struggling associations. The Florida Bankers' Association (FBA) is using this bill in an attempt to shift the focus off the real bills that would bring relief such as SB 1270, 1272, etc. 

 SB 2270, the presumptive companion to HB 1523, which creates the “Nonjudicial Foreclosure Act for Nonhomesteaded Properties,” was not acted upon last week and has three committee stops. 

 Proposed Committee Bill GAP22/HB7095

GAP22 was filed as HB 7095 and referred to the calendar this week. The companion to HB 7095, SB 846 by Senator Bennett, has been referred to three committees but has yet to be placed on an agenda. 

 HB 337 Relating to Community Associations

HB 337 by Rep. Roberson passed the House Civil Justice & Courts Policy Committee by a vote of 10 to 1 last week. Later in the week, our CAN lobbyists met with Rep. Roberson to discuss her bill and what she hopes to accomplish should it pass. Our main concern is that her bill will greatly slow down an association's ability to pursue delinquent owners by creating a "notice period" during which those delinquent owners can object to the amounts owed and prohibiting the association from proceeding until such "objection is resolved".  I plan on following up with a personal call to Rep. Roberson to discuss the issues and perhaps suggest a better way to address her concerns which will not involve hurting associations with high delinquencies.

 

SB 968 by Sen. Justice, the companion to HB 337, has yet to be heard in committee. 

SB 840 Relating to Community Associations

SB 840 by Sen. Sobel is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Community Affairs Committee on Wednesday, March 17th at 3:15 pm. The bill revises the definition of the term "developer" to exclude a bulk assignee or bulk buyer, revises the jurisdiction of the Florida Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes to include bulk assignees and bulk buyers, provides for the assignment of developer rights to and the assumption of developer rights by a bulk assignee, and specifies liabilities of bulk assignees and bulk buyers.

SB 1172 by Sen. Bennett relating to Elevator Safety will also be heard this Wednesday at 1:15 before the Senate Regulated Industries Committee. This bill relates to Elevator Safety and contains a repeal of the statutory provisions that currently require the retrofit of elevators in residential structures with a generator as an independent power source.

Your CAN Advisory Council members in Collier County got the ball rolling in terms of getting cities and counties to pass resolutions of support for the sprinkler and smoke detector relief found in HB 561. Your other CAN Advisory Council members quickly took up the cause and rallied support amongst their county commissioners and city officials to pass similar resolutions. All of these resolutions can be found on the CAN website at www.canf.com under the Fire Sprinkler category under Latest Issues & Legislation tab.

On Thursday, March 11th, Pio Ieraci (one of CAN's Broward County Advisory Council members and President of the Galt Mile Community Association, Inc.), Eric Berkowitz also of GMCA and Editor of that organization's vast communications efforts and I met with Governor Crist to present him with the facts he needs to make an informed decision when HB 561 reaches his desk in June. We believe we made headway in convincing the Governor that he has heretofore not received an accurate picture of the alternatives and costs involved on an issue which has such widespread impact on citizens of this State. We even managed to snap a photo together!  http://www.canfl.com/photo.cfm?pid=109.

Please continue to send strong messages of support to Governor Crist regarding this bill and regarding the other bills we are supporting to help struggling associations regain a sounder financial footing. He did mention that he receives your emails and they do have an impact.

Lastly, I am very pleased to include a link to a short movie of our last Board Member Boot Camp which was held on Saturday, February 20th in Hollywood, FL.  Please take a look and see for yourself why "enlisting" in Boot Camp might be the best thing that ever happened to your community!
http://www.youtube.com/user/KGRLawfirm#p/a/u/1/jihBd6tlcEI

As always, if you have any questions or comments about any of the bills or information provided herein, please don't hesitate to contact me. One of the many benefits of being a CAN member is your ability to discuss these issues directly with me or with any of our ten CAN Advisory Council members so please take advantage of that!

Donna D. Berger, Esq.
Web: www.canfl.com
Email: dberger@canfl.com
Blog: condolaw.blogspot.com

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DALLAS, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Associa, the nation's leader in community management, recently became Greenified through Green Business Alliance. This designation validates the ongoing efforts of Associa personnel becoming more aware of how daily company operations can impact the environment and to actively change processes to help reduce waste and use of natural resources.

Associa's Eco Recovery Operation (AERO) was established in 2008 to bring together various environmental practices at local branch offices to meet Associa's desire to improve overall environmentally conscious practices company wide. Through AERO, Associa has been able to reduce waste, promote recycling and reuse, cut down on electricity usage, engage in local clean up efforts, promote eco friendly items to clients and purchase recycled or partially recycled office necessities.

Associa has extended to its clients the opportunity to make a positive impact through programs to reduce waste and the association's carbon footprint. Community association clients have the option to utilize electronic tools such as community websites, electronic statements, only payment options, online account look up and other web based tools. Associa also offers electronic newsletters to keep owners up to date on community news while still reducing the amount of paper and energy usage.

Associa is proud of its employees and clients for taking an interest in reducing business and personal environmental impacts. Associa employees and clients have actively worked together to reduce waste and improve efficiencies in order to meet the criteria and approval process for the Green Business Alliance "Greenify" Designation.

About Green Business Alliance

Green Business Alliance is a national firm helping companies "Go Green." They have assumed a leading role in enabling organizations to Greenify their daily business practices. Their proprietary guidelines give specific direction to companies who are looking to implement more environmentally responsible business practices. Upon completion of their Guidelines to Greenify, member organizations receive the "Greenified" seal, placement in the GreenVisibility Directory as well as other recognition premiums. To Greenify not only helps the environment, it also provides a compelling reason for prospective customers to work with a business. The organization is based in Boca Raton, Florida and can be found on the web at www.greenbusinessalliance.com.

About Associa

As one of the first management companies to specialize in common interest communities, Associa is America's leading community association management and developer services company. With more than 100 offices across the nation and growing, Associa is the largest company in the United States devoted exclusively to the management of community associations, representing thousands of communities coast to coast.

Associa's clients receive personal service from the local management staff while taking advantage of the strengths and resources of a national company. Associa's client programs such as insurance, websites and other communication channels help increase efficiencies and reduce association expenses. For more information, please visit www.associaonline.com.

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Defend Your Condo & Homeowner Rights! What You Must Do When the Board Turns Your Life Upside Down

A new Book by Dr. Joyce Starr
DEFEND YOUR CONDO & HOMEOWNER RIGHTS! is the first self-defense guide for concerned or distraught Condo and Homeowner Association (HOA) members. Vital information and insider secrets are revealed in remarkable detail. This book is your armor and shield if/when the Board turns your life upside down. Targeted as a condo whistleblower over toxic mold, Dr. Joyce Starr confronted and won a complex pet enforcement case. Now she’s transformed her experiences into criti… More >>

Defend Your Condo & Homeowner Rights! What You Must Do When the Board Turns Your Life Upside Down

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Free Condominium Educational Seminar

Condominium Financial Reporting,

The Complaint Process

&

Insurance

            The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes will present information on Financial Reporting, Complaint Process and Insurance relating to condominium associations. The seminars will include question and answer sessions and educational materials. The seminar is free and open to the public. The date, time and location is listed below. Reservations are not necessary. If you need directions, please call the number listed for the location. 

           PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COPY THIS NOTICE AND DISTRIBUTE TO ASSOCIATION MEMBERS.

Ft. Myers/Cape Coral

Northwest Regional Library

519 Chiquita Boulevard, North,

Cape Coral, Florida 33993

Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 5:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.

239-533-4700

If you have any questions, please contact Patrick Flynn at

850-488-1125 or email at patrick.flynn@dbpr.state.fl.us

Sarasota*

Sarasota County Commission

Sarasota County Administration Center

Commission Chamber

1st Floor
1660 Ringling Boulevard

Sarasota, Florida 34236
Monday, March 22, 2010, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

941-861-5111

If you have any questions, please contact Patrick Flynn at

850-488-1125 or email at patrick.flynn@dbpr.state.fl.us

*The March, 22, 2010, Sarasota presentation can be accessed live via the internet by going to the link listed below:

http://www.scgov.net/MeetingsAgenda.asp

Then under Sarasota County Links on the bottom left of the screen click on Access Sarasota TV Live.

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Fannie Mae Condo, Co-Op, PUD Eligibility

There may have been some confusion concerning the Fannie Mae eligibility requirements in Newsletter # 4. 

The "Special Approval Designation" application is not required for all associations. 

According to Joseph L. Minnich III, Sr. Risk Manager, Project Standards for Fannie Mae there are four methods for approval. Three of them can be completed by the lenders themselves and the associations that fall outside the accepted criteria must be submitted to Fannie Mae for approval.

Fannie Mae then analyzes the risk and makes a determination as to whether they will accept it or not.

Please go to their web site for additional information

https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/refmaterials/approvedprojects/index.jsp?from=hp

They have another interesting site that shows the distribution of mortgage fraud throughout the United States. Mortgage Fraud Monthly Statistics Updates Congratulations Florida you made the # 1 spot again.

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How insurers make millions on the side 

By Paige St. John

Published: Monday, March 15, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.

 

Today, nearly half of Florida's home insurance is provided by companies whose primary profit comes not from insuring homes but from diverting premiums into a host of side ventures.

Investors and executives in 2008 moved $1.9 billion in policyholder money out of heavily regulated insurers, where profits are capped and dividends are restricted, to separate companies that are owned by the same people, housed at the same address and sometimes use the same employees.

As soon as the money is moved, it is beyond the reach of homeowners who might need it to rebuild after a disaster.

It is also free to be paid to investors and owners as profit without interference from regulators.

Meanwhile, insurance executives complained about losses and state-mandated discounts, and pressured state regulators for permission to charge homeowners more -- even to end rate regulation altogether.

The payments to themselves, by and large, were legal.

As Allstate and State Farm have fled the state and left homeowners scrambling for coverage, Florida lawmakers have intentionally relaxed rules designed to police insurance company profits. Regulators hoped the promise of profits would persuade investors to start more insurance companies.

The Herald-Tribune spent more than a year investigating the Florida insurance industry, including reviewing the financial filings of more than 70 Florida-only companies that now provide nearly three-quarters of the private property insurance in the state.

It found that: (more)

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I'd Rather Not Be Involved

Blog by Arlee Bird

         In the fall of 2004 I ran for a position on our community home owners association board.  I was one of the winners of that election and now, nearly six years later, I am still on the board.  I am still here on the board not because I have done such an effective job, but because nobody else has offered to run.  We have a severe case of apathy perhaps, or maybe just an unwillingness to be involved.

         This seems to be a common problem in many communities, organizations, and other groups.  Often a small group of people will do most of the work while everyone else tries to avoid getting involved. You may have seen this in your church, club, or whatever group you might be involved with.  A handful of people run things, conduct events, and do the clean up.  But when things go wrong, who are usually the most vocal complainers?   From my experience, the loudest critical voices are the ones who didn't do anything.  They are the ones who expected everything to come off perfectly and if it doesn't, suddenly they are the ones who could have done things better if they had been in charge.  So why didn't they volunteer in the first place?

          When I first threw my hat into the ring I did so mostly out of exasperation.  After moving into my community in 1997 I immediately began attending every community association meeting because I wanted to know what was going on and wanted to have a say in any decisions that might affect me.  At first it was an intimate group of affable individuals who were mostly in agrreement about community issues.  The community was still under construction and the existing homes were new. The homeowners were very interested in maintaining the value of their investments.  The community development company also had a seat on the board and helped provide us guidance through their experience.

          By 2002 all 113 single family homes were completed and sold.  The board was now under full control of the community.  The association meetings continued to have about the same attendance of our original meetings when there were only about thirty or forty homes.  Now however there was less harmony and a little more agitation being displayed at the meetings.  Relatively few homeowners were coming, but some of the ones who were coming had very vocal agendas that they were trying to push.  By mid-2004 there was some real anger rising that at times threatened to escalate into physical confrontation.  That was the year I decided to run for a position on the association board.

         My platform was not so much about what plans I had for the community, but primarily about bringing unity among board members, peaceful conduct to the community meetings, and  harmony to the community in general.  I formed an alliance with some other like-minded candidates.  The strategy worked.  The community overwhelmingly voted us in and ousted the militant board members who subsequently seemed to vanish from community meetings after we took office.  We brought the peace and rationality that we had promised.
 
         And so it has gone now for the past several years.  Each election saw less candidates until it was eventually just the same ones for a couple of years.  I have now been on the board longer than any one else. Every election I have been a shoo-in because we never have more candidates than needed to fill postions.  Those of us running always have to coerce someone else to fill a vacated spot.  Last fall when we had our election I had to plead with two members who wanted to leave to stay on for one more year.  I can understand them wanting to leave because I'd like to leave too.

          Our management company had told us that if nobody filled the empty board positions then the state would come in and take over our associaton.  That sounded ominous, especially when you consider the financial condition of the state of California--the idea of them taking charge of our community sounded like a bad idea.  Right now our association fees are $77 per month which from what I hear is really low when compared to similar communities.  Our community is peaceful, safe, neat, and well-maintained.  It's a nice place to live in a city that has seen vast improvement since I first moved here.  The homeowners should be the ones controlling our community.

        I no longer want to be involved in the leadership because I feel like I've been here long enough.  I stay because no one else wants to become involved either.  In fact board members don't hear much of anything from our neighbors unless there's something they are unhappy about.  Then they are ready to track us down and demand action or to come to the meetings to scream at us about how we are not doing our job.  Excuse me?  We don't get paid to do this and most of us have jobs elsewhere.  People love to complain about the way things are being run, but a lot of times those same people aren't willing to step up to take the reins of leadership themselves.  It's so much easier to just sit back and let someone else do it. 

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SPECIAL REPORT: Weak insurers put Floridians at risk

By Paige St. John

Published: Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.

Millions of Floridians now bet their homes on property insurers that teeter on the edge of financial failure, a Herald-Tribune investigation has found.

These companies look nothing like the Allstates and State Farms that insure the rest of America -- legacy carriers that command bankrolls the size of small nations.

Instead, because State Farm and Allstate are fleeing Florida, a growing number of homeowners get their insurance from tiny, untested companies that have a few million dollars in the bank but insure billions worth of property they could never hope to rebuild on their own.

No one knows what will happen when the next big storm strikes Florida shores. But the signs are not promising.

Over the past year, without having to weather a single hurricane, Florida led the nation with a half-dozen property insurance failures. For the first time, state regulators openly warn that more failures will come, even if a storm does not.

The Herald-Tribune spent more than a year examining Florida's property insurers, tracing the ownership of more than 70 companies through shell corporations and reviewing the financial filings of each. It found: (more)

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Island Escape condos score 'final judgment' against fee scofflaw, again

By Susan Taylor Martin, Times Senior Correspondent
In Print: Wednesday, March 10, 2010

CLEARWATER — In a case closely watched by other condominium associations, a small Clearwater Beach complex has moved a step toward evicting an owner who owes thousands of dollars in maintenance fees.

 Last week, Pinellas County Judge Myra Scott McNary granted a final judgment of foreclosure against Laurence "Larry' Holzer, who bought a unit at Island Escape on Island Way in 2005.

 Since then, Holzer has paid his fees sporadically and is now $10,278 in arrears.

 "It's a problem, especially for smaller complexes like ours,' said condo association president Skip Shepherd. He and the other nine owners have had to pick up Holzer's share of fees as well as their own $325-a-month payments.

 This is the second time Island Escape has won a final judgment against Holzer. Shortly before his condo was to be sold at public auction in June, he declared bankruptcy in a move that automatically canceled the sale. A bankruptcy judge later dismissed Holzer's Chapter 13 filing for failure to make required payments.

 McNary set April 16 as the new date for Holzer's condo to be auctioned. Deutsche Bank — which holds the $335,000 first mortgage — would have priority over the association's lien and would be paid off first if the unit is sold to a third party.

 If nobody bid, the bank would take title but under current law would be responsible for only six months of overdue condo fees or 1 percent of the loan amount, whichever is less.

 The problem of deadbeat owners has become acute since many people who bought condos at inflated prices during the real estate boom are no longer able or willing to pay their mortgages and maintenance fees.

 Several bills that would give associations some relief have been proposed for the current Florida legislative session. One measure would increase the cap on back payments to 12 months and another would eliminate caps altogether.

 Holzer, whose Florida appraisal license was revoked in 2006, is living virtually free at Island Escape because he hasn't made a mortgage payment in more than two years. Besides being in default on both his mortgage and condo fees, he owes the Internal Revenue Service $18,272, court records show.

 In a motion to forestall the foreclosure, Holzer said he had started a new company and intends to pay.

"How do you get him out of there?' Shepherd wonders. "This is absolutely ridiculous — there's got to be some way to protect other people.'

 Susan Taylor Martin can be contacted at susan@sptimes.com.

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Are Derivative law suits the way to get the attention of the bad board?

Lawsuit targets wind insurance

BY JULIA CARDENUTO

South Florida News Service

Carla Gemmati, 45, a resident at the Lake Pointe Condominium in Oakland Park, saw her mortgage almost double from $975 to $1,700 in December.

The additional cost was to cover a windstorm insurance that her condominium's association had just eliminated, forcing her mortgage lender, Bank of America, to purchase a policy of more than $4,500 on her behalf and charge the cost against her monthly mortgage payment.

``I haven't been able to make the whole payment,' Gemmati said. ``If I can't make the payments, I foresee that [a foreclosure] can happen.'

Windstorm insurance coverage is mandated under Chapter 718 of Florida Statutes, or the Condominium Act. According to the law, insurers issuing residential property insurance policies, in this case the condominium's association, are required to include hurricane windstorm coverage.

In February, Gemmati filed an unprecedented lawsuit against the condominium association and members of its board in order to regain the windstorm coverage and get reimbursed for the price hike in her mortgage.

The lawsuit states that, ``the defendants intentionally refused to obtain and maintain adequate insurance, specifically windstorm coverage.'

Robert Kaye, a managing member of Kaye & Bender in Pompano Beach, is representing Gemmati, who is a collection specialist in the same firm.

``Florida Statute and the declaration of the condominium require the association to provide a certain level of insurance for the buildings and that includes the windstorm insurance,' Kaye said.

Gemmati has been living at the Lake Pointe Condominium for five years. Up until last September, the windstorm coverage was provided by the association and included in the $375 fee homeowners paid each month to the association.

``All the insurances are supposed to be included,' Gemmati said.

Members of the board and the association of Lake Pointe Condominium and the lawyer representing them did not want to comment after several attempts.

As of March 10, Kaye said the association had not yet contacted him regarding the lawsuit.

Kaye said there was an extension on the previously set deadline for the board and association to respond to the lawsuit with an action path. The new deadline is Monday, March 15.

Gemmati said she was not notified of the windstorm insurance cancellation but received a different kind of letter last November. Her mortgage lender stated Gemmati needed to present proof of adequate windstorm insurance or it would have to purchase insurance on her behalf and add the cost to her mortgage payments.

Kaye said after Gemmati received the first letter from her mortgage lender, he wrote to the association.

``A property manager contacted me saying they were not going to obtain the insurance,' Kaye said. ``We wrote again saying they needed to reimburse [Gemmati] for the cost. After that they stopped responding and we filed the lawsuit to reimburse the cost and provide coverage.'

Property manager Bob Mandell declined to comment.

Mortgage lenders usually hold the right, as stated in lender-borrower contracts, to add a lender-placed insurance if the borrower fails to maintain evidence of existing and acceptable insurance.

Bank of America, Gemmati's lender, notified her on Dec. 17 that it had purchased windstorm insurance at BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP, a subsidiary of Bank of America, at Gemmati's expense.

The letter stated that Gemmati was ``obligated by [her] loan agreement to reimburse BAC Home Loans for the premium paid.'

The premium cost $4,515.70, which was transferred to Gemmati's monthly mortgage payments, skyrocketing it to $1,700.

``I don't like that I can't make my payments. I get nervous,' Gemmati said. ``I just hope to get this all straighten out soon.'

Kaye said that the suit was also filed as a derivative action on behalf of all members of the association, which is made possible by Chapter 617 of the Florida Not-For-Profit Corporation Statute.

No other homeowners have come forward to join Gemmati in the lawsuit.

Kaye said that even if the association decides to repurchase the windstorm insurance, legal action will still be sought in order to reimburse Gemmati and possibly other homeowners.

``If they get the policy in place soon, it's possible that there will be no large amount of damages,' Kaye said. ``They might not have much expense for those premiums [charged to homeowners' mortgages.]'

Attorney Cheryl Levine, who is representing the association and board members, did not respond to several attempts to contact her.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/15/1530180/lawsuit-targets-wind-insurance.html#ixzz0iIOP25ub

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Half-price homes? Canadians pounce on the Sunbelt

March 14, 2010

Last November Stacey Lynn found herself in Florida pondering whether to buy a condominium in Naples or one in nearby Sarasota. The Toronto woman ended up buying both.

 "The prices were truly amazing, especially when you factor in the exchange rate," said Lynn, explaining her splurge.

 Except this wasn't for a pair of jeans. Cross-border shopping has never been this good for Canadians.

No snow. No nasty bidding wars. And condominiums for the price of a parking space in downtown Toronto.

 Canadians jaded by high prices at home are increasingly looking beyond our borders as a much more muscular loonie – and a sense that prices are bottoming out south of the border – has us flexing new-found financial brawn.

 Not since the Japanese started snapping up real estate in Manhattan have a group of foreign buyers been as prevalent in U.S. markets.

 "There is certainly a greater confidence out there with Canadians. It's not just economic. There is a sense that we are players on the world stage, whether it's our banking institutions or more recently at the Olympics," said Philip McKernan, author of South of 49: The Canadian Guide to Buying Residential Real Estate in the United States.

 Developers will be hard at work courting Canadian dollars this week as families descend on Florida, Arizona and other sun destinations for the March break.

 According to a U.S.-based National Association of Realtors study of international home buying activity, Canadians were the No. 1 foreign purchasers of property in the United States in 2009. And we have also been looking farther afield in Central America and the Caribbean.

 "Canadians are absolutely dumbfounded when they see the prices here," said Arnold Porter, the Canadian owner of Phoenix-based realty firm Arizona For Canadians. "You have this rare perfect storm in the United States where you have low interest rates, still falling prices and a Canadian dollar that keeps going up."

 Analysts have been predicting prices may never be this cheap again. And they may be right.

U.S. foreclosure filings dropped in February for the second straight month, according to figures released this week, as the backlog of distressed homes is being snapped up by foreign buyers.

 Porter and his wife Maureen have sold about 60 homes to Canadians in the last 12 months. Most of those sales were recent, he says.

 A favorite neighborhood with Canadians is in the new suburb of Laveen, about a 20-minute drive from downtown Phoenix.

 For instance, a newish 1,702 sq. ft. home, built in 2004, is listed there for $103,000 U.S. A similar property in Toronto would likely fetch more than four times that price.

 "That's just the asking price," says Porter.

 Remarkably, the property, which comes with a pool, will likely sell for less, as opposed to Toronto, where many properties sell for above the asking price.

 Analysts say Canada's stable banking system and real estate market means buyers are feeling a lot more confident. They are also tapping the value of their existing homes to purchase homes south of the border.

 In the United States, a combination of lax lending policies and widespread speculation helped sink the market. In Toronto, prices have risen every year for 13 years – even during the recession.

 But the biggest reason for going cross-border shopping is the rise of the loonie. It hit 98.2 cents U.S. on Friday, its highest level since July 2008.

 Economists are forecasting the Canadian dollar will be worth more than the greenback by this summer. Compare that with the all-time low in 2002 of 61.79 cents U.S.

 "The last few months have been like an explosion. People are coming out of the woodwork because of the exchange rate," said Brian Ellis, vice-president of Brampton-based Florida Home Finders.

 "I think the people sitting on the fence are finally realizing that this is crunch time."

 Last year Canadians represented 30 per cent of all foreign purchases in that state, according to Florida Home Finders, overtaking the British for the first time.

 And the bargain hunters seem to be back. Existing home sales in Florida increased by 24 per cent in January on a year-over-year basis. Yet with so many distressed sales crowding the market, prices keep falling – median house prices are down by 6 per cent.

 Analysts say prices may still fall in 2010, but the bottom is in sight because inventories are down from peak levels.

 The distressed sales are having an impact all the way up the food chain, where luxury properties have become white elephants.

 The asking price on disgraced financier Bernie Madoff's Palm Beach home was recently cut to $7.25 million, down from an already reduced price of $7.9 million – a 15 per cent drop in total from the $8.49 million asking price last year.

 "Being in Toronto you become jaded at the high prices. There really is a bit of a disconnect to what is happening here and what is happening in the U.S.," said Toronto buyer Lynn, who works at an agency representing photographers.

 Lynn's first buy was a relatively new one-bedroom condominium in upscale Naples near the beach for $54,900. That's about what parking would cost at a new luxury condominium in downtown Toronto. (An extra parking spot at the still-to-be-completed Ritz Carlton on Wellington St., for example, costs $55,000 Canadian.)

 And for just another $5,000, Lynn could have her condo fully furnished.

 While it might be a little unfair to compare a major North American financial centre such as Toronto to smaller cities down south, it's hard to resist seeing what a dollar will buy in the U.S. versus Canada, especially since prices have fallen so dramatically.

 In some places prices are down more than 50 per cent from the peak of the market. During the same time, the Canadian dollar has steadily increased by more than 50 per cent from its lows.

 Lynn's 500-square-foot condominium would have sold for about $169,000 three years ago, according to Florida Home Finders.

 Her second property was purchased in nearby Sarasota, a five-minute drive from Siesta Beach, considered one of the best beaches in America. Lynn purchased a 900 sq. ft. condo for $86,000. She estimates it would have cost her more than $200,000 at the peak.

 Both her properties were acquired for under $100 U.S. per square foot. That's an astounding price, considering resale condos in the Toronto area are in the range of $350 per square foot.

 The bonus was that there were already tenants in both units. The smaller property gets $700 a month in rent, while the two-bedroom gets $1,000. After taxes and condo fees, Lynn says she now nets $1,000 per month gross before any income taxes on the properties. Plus, she hopes the properties will go up in value over the next five years.

 "The worst-case scenario is that I have something to look forward to when I retire," says Lynn.

Renters are not in short supply either, says Porter, because there have been so many foreclosures.

 Florida's unemployment rate hit 11.9 per cent in January, matching the record set in 1975.

 "People are out there renting because they either can't afford a home or they're forced out of their homes," he said.

 Despite the low prices and the upbeat sales pitches from realtors, author McKernan, the keynote speaker at an international real estate conference in Toronto this weekend, warns buyers not to be "blinded" by the low prices.

 "You're on March break in the sun with your family. Emotions are running high. This is when you should take a step back and consider all the factors," he said. "You can buy foreclosed homes in Detroit for $20,000, for example, but the unemployment rate in that neighborhood could be at 50 per cent and you'll never get your money back."

 Like any other major purchase, potential buyers still have to be careful, says realtor Ellis.

Some projects have extremely high vacancies and their reserve funds might be severely underfunded. If that's the case, buyers could be hit with a huge bill once they move in if an unexpected repair is needed.

 Out-of-state residents, whether from Canada or other U.S. states, also pay higher municipal taxes than those who reside in Florida, under the Homestead Act. Purchasers should check with their tax accountant before placing a deposit.

 And of course, property prices can still go down. Both Phoenix and Florida have some of the highest foreclosure rates in the United States, which means distressed properties are still weighing heavily on the market.

 "This is not a market where I would advise anyone to buy if they're going to flip in the next year or two. This is a long-term buy," said Porter.

 "But I think it's very possible that many years from now we'll look back and see that conditions were never as good for Canadians looking to buy that place in the sun."

 

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