I wrote the following letter to our property manager following an incident with our condo security company.  The security company owner apologized and the guard in question was removed from our property.  Both the property manager and owner agreed that his behavior was unacceptable.

Do you have security guard stories to share?  Please use our comment form.  We’d love to hear from you.

I want to file a complaint  against the security guard who was on duty last night.

I used the flashing lights on my car  around 6:15 pm, but failed to turn them off.  The lights were flashing when I returned to the condo at 6:30 pm (when it was still light out) until 9:00 pm, when a resident phoned me.  She noticed the lights from her window and warned that my battery was draining.

In fact, by the time I reached the car, the battery was dead.

It was impossible for the security guard to miss the flashing lights, since I’m parked near the entrance to the building.

He undoubtedly saw them blinking for several hours while he circled the parking lot.  But he didn’t bother to phone me.

I found him riding around in his little vehicle, no more than 30 feet from my car. I demanded to know why he failed to alert me. The guard replied: “It’s not my job. My job is to stop cars that shouldn’t park here.”

WHAT?  I then said, “It’s your job to warn residents if their lights are on.  You work for us.  WE pay your
salary.”

He said: “No, it isn’t my job.  If I have free time, then I might do something.  But it’s the resident’s problem, not mine.”

I waved down a passing cab and asked for help.  Our security guard watched with amusement while the cab driver jumped my car with cables I had on hand.

Another owner left her parking lights on several months ago.  But the guard on duty that night never phoned.  How much effort could it possibly be?  Clearly, our security guards think they work for bricks and mortar, not for the people who pay their salaries.

A security guard also plastered a visitor’s car with the type of warning stickers that can’t easily be removed.  What’s wrong with this picture?  The visitor had a temporary parking permit hanging in clear site!

Imagine if there was a life-threatening emergency? How fast would our guard would he drive his little cart in the opposite direction?

Respectfully,

Dr. Joyce Starr

Condo Security Guards: Your Rights – Their Responsibilities originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on December 21, 2011.

The following article was authored and shared with our readers by Florida foreclosure expert, attorney Evan Rosen.  I interviewed Evan on the foreclosure process, specifically: how banks and third-party groups foreclose on homes without proper documents – and ways you can stop them.  Enjoy the audio and Evan Rosen’s insightful article below. ~ Dr. Joyce Starr

Understanding the Foreclosure Process

by Attorney Evan Rosen

We all regularly hear about the “foreclosure crisis” going on in our country but what you may not know is that the situation in Florida is far worse than in any other state. According to the latest statistics released by the Mortgage Banker’s Association, Florida accounts for 23.7% of all foreclosures nationwide; which correlates to 466,454 homes. Not only is this the largest number of any other state, it is larger than the total number of loans in 22 other states combined. The result is our courts are backed up with a caseload of 260,185 cases. Couple that with the termination of special court funding for foreclosure cases which took effect on July 1st and it appears the crisis in Florida is only getting worse.

So how did this backlog swell to such an enormous figure? Why does it take so long for a bank to foreclose?

This was not always the case, right? Well, we know that before Wall Street started selling shares of stocks in pools of mortgages through a process known as securitization, foreclosures could be handled within a few months. Now, in great part due to the banks’ rush to profit and lack of proper simple documentation required in any real estate or mortgage transfer, as well as the lack of complicated documentation required as a result of the securitization process, no one knows how long some cases will take because in many instances no one can properly prove who is entitled to foreclose.

Like every other plaintiff in any civil lawsuit, the plaintiff has the burden to prove all elements of their case by a “preponderance” or greater weight of the evidence. In a foreclosure action, the entity entitled to foreclose must successfully prove by this standard, among other things, that they are the proper party; the entity or person actually entitled to receive payments due under the terms of the note; and/or the party entitled to foreclose under the terms of the mortgage.

This is generally referred to as “legal standing” and often, the banks cannot prove they have it. What follows is a chart illustrating the time periods in the pre-foreclosure and foreclosure process in Florida.

PRE-FORECLOSURE TIMELINE

Day 1 Payment due, no payment made
Day 7-1 Call from Lender/Mortgage Servicer
Day 16 Late charges begin to accrue
Day 20-25 Call and letter from Lender/Mortgage Servicer
Day 30 Default reported to Credit Bureaus; Lender/Mortgage Servicer sends second letter
Day 40 Lender/Mortgage Servicer sends letter with payment options
Day 60 Lender/Mortgage Servicer sends demand letter or “Acceleration Notice,” Credit Bureaus update their reports.
Day 90 Lender/Mortgage Servicer sends file to attorney, Credit Bureaus update their reports
Day 90+ Any time after 90 days the entity claiming their entitlement to foreclose can file suit. In a scenario in which the entity seeking to foreclose is not the same entity as the original mortgagee or lender, and with competent counsel, this process alone can take more than 12 months.

FORECLOSURE TIMELINE

Day 1 Complaint and Lis Pendens are filed and served with a summons on the property owner.
Day 20 A responsive pleading is due. If not filed, plaintiff moves for default judgment. With competent legal counsel, there can be a multitude of legitimate issues raised via motions, hearings, and discovery requests which would extend this time period greatly.
Day 45 – 60 (If not represented by competent counsel) – Court schedules hearing for default judgment and at the hearing enters final judgment of foreclosure. By statute, the court should order the sale of the property on a specified day within 20-35 days of the order. However, sales can still lawfully take place later than 35 days and are sometimes taking many months after the order is entered.
Day 80 – 95 (If not represented by competent counsel) – Notice of Sale published once a week for two consecutive weeks in local publication, with last posting at least 5 days prior to sale; auction sale conducted; winning bidder applies 5% deposit from funds advanced electronically prior to sale and then pays the rest by noon the following day. Dade, Broward and Palm-Beach Counties conduct their auctions online. Certificate of Sale is filed “promptly” after sale and Right of Redemption ends when certificate of sale is filed.
Day 105 (If not represented by competent counsel) – Ten days after filing Certificate of Sale, Certificate of Title is issued – Title vests, no further action necessary unless property is still occupied.
Day 106 -119 (If not represented by competent counsel) – 1 -14 days after Certificate of Title issues, if property still occupied, sheriff issues Notice to Vacate.
Day 119 – 140 (If not represented by competent counsel) – 1 – 21 days after Notice to Vacate, sheriff vacates the property.

If, on the other hand, the entity seeking to foreclose is not the same entity as the original mortgagee or lender, and the owner has retained competent counsel, this process can take years, if the bank is ever able to foreclose.

The above is just an overview to help understand the current state of the foreclosure process. For more details or if you have any questions or comments, you are welcome to call or e-mail the author of this article for more information.

Evan M. Rosen
Rosen & Rosen, P.A.
4000 Hollywood Blvd, #725-S
Hollywood, FL 33021
954-981-1852(Phone)
erosen[at]rosenandrosen.com
www.rosenandrosen.com

RELATED POSTS:

Bankruptcy: Chapter 7 Benefits & Risks – Is Chapter 7 Right for You? 

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Foreclosure & Mortgage Crisis: How to Stop the foreclosure process 

Foreclosure Process Inside Story. Attorney Evan Rosen: Why Banks are Slow to Foreclose. originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on August 29, 2011.

Non-smoker Rights eBook

The real objective was to stop owners from smoking inside their units, but without directly attacking smokers. I opened the bulletin with “cooking” and closed it with “food.” Perhaps you could use a similar document in your condo. Feel free to share it with your board and manager.

For years, my arguments regarding the dangers of secondhand smoke fell on deaf ears. I was victimized by the smoker next door and frequently attacked when I raised the issue at Board meetings. Researching the laws and hoping to help others fight back, I wrote the book, Secondhand Smoke Crimes. Gift the paperback to your neighbors or download the eBook version.

Today, to their great credit, our Board and property manager are pressing forward with environmental initiatives. I didn’t give up, and neither should you.

Healthy Environment – Clean Air

Dear owners and tenants:

Our condo association earned a prestigious environmental award in 2011. The Board and Management are taking active steps to create a healthy environment and clean air for all residents. As you know, we share a common air conditioning and heating system.

Here’s how you can help.

1) Do not leave your unit door open when cooking. Cooking fumes settle into the hallway carpets and walls. Do not leave your unit door open in an attempt to cool your apartment. We want to reduce, not increase, our common electricity costs.

2) Do not smoke inside your unit. When a smoker opens his/her unit door, cigarette fumes and toxins travel into the corridors and remain there for the long-term. You have a right to smoke on your balcony with the door closed. Please do not inflict your habit on your neighbors.

3) Do not smoke in the pool area. The pool is a common area. Smoking is prohibited in common areas – even outdoors within the private property!

4) Do not leave food or sodas on your balcony, at the pool or in other common areas – including the trash room. Food attracts ants and other undesirable creatures. The Association spends a considerable amount of money each month to prevent infestation. Please do your part to ensure a healthy environment.

From fellow unit owners and tenants,

Thank you for your support!

Related Post:

Cigarette Addicts: How they Rob Your DNA & Threaten Your Life

Condo Health – Clean Indoor Air – No Smoking Inside Your Unit originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on August 18, 2011.

And it get’s worse! A slew of companies have popped up offering to help boards impose liens on condo & HOA owners  for nearly any reason. A condo board/HOA board member can destroy a neighbor’s life in a few hours – few questions asked – for less than $250. What a (raw) deal.

From: Billie Branam
Date: Sun, Feb 27, 2011 at 11:24 PM
Subject: Re: North Carolinian’s, WAKE UP—HOA/COA/CID–Fining,
assessing, FORECLOSING (legal, or not), Jane Jordan: TO MEDIA / HB 165
- QUESTIONS / Hello House Representatives Weiss

The Board that I was in hot dispute with in 2002-2004
was led by by a crew that crushed community spirit and input,
delegated tasks arbitrarily without full disclosure, played favorites
with some neighbors, discriminated against others, and totally ran the
HOA Board like the wild, wild West. According to the N&O story that
appeared in Jan/Feb 2005, the treasurer was involved in embezzlement
activities in his business dealings, yet he was not audited or
questioned about the HOA monies which he was in charge of for a number
of years.

If you look in the N&O you will see the story about him and
his affairs outlining a federal indictment. He really appeared to
lead the Board and appeared to have the management group entwined in
the whole conspiracy to ramrod me and others if any questions were
asked or input given contrary to his or others rules. These tactics
and futile efforts to solicit cooperation with the Board forced me and
others to leave. Perhaps I asked too many questions about the
maintenance costs, attended too many meetings, or even had the
audacity to ask to speak about maintenance and community issues. When
I pulled out the tape recorder, I knew I would be dead meat in that
crowd. To me, the Board acted like a posse out to hang someone or run
someone out of Dodge. Being a single female approaching sixty, I was
their perfect victim; old, lacking a male counterpart, and not in
their clique.

The president at the time was quite arbitrary and demanding to me and
her demeanor really intensified when I took the initiative to ask why
deck permits were not obtained and why my deck was condemned by the
Town of Cary for shoddy work done by their maintenance guy. She made
it very clear that I would be paying for that action (talking to code
people) in terms of payback. I perhaps painted a target on myself for
the Board members to attack when I questioned why the work on the
decks was not approved by building codes. It appeared the Board was
not prioritizing safety issues since many of the decks were quite
elevated and needed structural integrity. The emails I received from
the Board revealed the extent of their animosity and venom as well as
those of the management group.

I reported all of this harassment and terror tactics to 5 on your Side
and other news networks, even had an article written in the paper,
News and Observer, and appealed to the Attorney General’s office
consumer division. The AG did send a letter to the management group,
but the owner/manager appeared to fluff that over and somehow avoided
any repercussion or consequences. To me, it had become an ethical and
moral issue at this point, certainly reeking of conspiracy and decay.

But in the end, the HOA Board sliced and diced me even when I tried to
close my house. They continued the siege and torture of me and my
property by overcharging my dues and tacking on the deck costs which
was their responsibility in the closing statement at the sale of my
townhome. By the way, no charges were made to other homeowners who had
deck replacements. I should not have been charged and billed
repeatedly for the deck as was done. Decks were the HOA
responsibility as stated in the rules and regs of the HOA. I was also
charged for HOA dues at closing that had already been paid, but
because I had moved and could not keep fighting a lost cause, I closed
and suffered the financial losses.

The whole residency in that complex was a nightmare and took a toll
on my life, my health, and made me committed to a promise never again
to live in a community with a HOA Board. When I complained the deck
man they used had a criminal history, they continued to support that
person, who is still doing their decks and maintenance to this day.
When I asked that he not trespass on my property, the management group
and the HOA Board backed him and not me, allowing him to continue
working on my property. This was after I asked in front of multiple
witnesses that he stay off my property due to his negligence and prior
conduct.

I was the victim, others are the victims, and will continue until
these Boards are addressed, their criminal/civil activities are
reigned in and punished. Until this is instituted with legislation and
oversight, the community members will continue to suffer financially,
mentally and physically, as well as targeted socially in the
community. These Boards are rogues who rule the neighborhoods with
total disregard for homeowners and their investments.

I always think good will prevail and that acts will be punished. I
moved away and the next year found out that the HOA Board was
replaced, the treasurer was convicted of financial crimes, and the
decks were finished with proper permits.
But, a new Board has emerged, the same deck man is still working and
supervised by a relative, who was appointed arbitrarily by the current
Board to a quasi manager position with little or no input from the
neighborhood. So life continues, HOA Boards change members, but not
practices, and the terror remains rampant in these communities. HELP
these people! They may as well live in a third world country dictated
by ego maniacs and power mongers!

Please consider regulations that will have teeth, a regulatory Board
to regulate the Boards, and consequences for the criminal or civil
violations of these members of HOA Boards. I moved, but have
compassion for those who cannot move due to age, disability or
circumstances beyond their control. It appears heartless to hear the
suffering, read the stories, and walk on by like it does not happen.
Family friends have lost their condos to solvable issues of back dues,
lack of positive communication from the Boards, or just plain slippery
slopes created by these Boards. It happened to me and it can happen
to you or some other unsuspecting homeowner! Don’t throw the newly
married homeowners, the elderly disabled, or the struggling families
under the bus! Buyers beware is always the motto, but these
situations emerge after the property closes and the buyer then needs
emergency measures to be in place. We need 9-1-1 in this case of
hidden problems which can’t always be determined by unsuspecting
property owners. Some say they survive by sinking their heads in the
sand and hoping they won’t be targeted, but that does not always work
either. We need to be able to dial 9-1-1 and get help from NC State
government and from the federal government for violation of citizen
rights and for the stalking, terrorizing, and damage these Boards do.

HOA Boards Out of Control – Foreclosures, liens, abuse. originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on February 28, 2011.

Please refer to  condo election expert Valmore Lucier’s Condo Board Election Revolt. His anecdotes re condo electioneering & fraud would have you in stitches – if the consequences weren’t so sad. As board victim Karoline Kuebler wrote:  “Guess who broke all the rules, who  harassed, terrorized, discriminated and destroyed….the Board.”  Download the eBook version of our Homeowners Defense Kit.

Board of Directors of  the Mystical Condominium Association

Dear Board Member:

On January 17, 2011, I submitted the candidacy form for the Board of Director position to our Property Manager and ask her for specific policies and procedures regarding the regular election process. Although they were very kind, neither the property manager nor her assistant could give me accurate and precise information regarding this vital process for our democratic election. I understood that passing the exam for the Florida Bar or the CAM license doesn’t turn these professionals into association election specialists.

Florida Statute Chapter 718.112(2)(d)(3) and Chapter 61B-23.0021 of the Florida Administrative Code provide specific rules and previsions for election process. Property Managers, Attorneys and Board of Director need to know this process.

Pursuant to Florida Statutes Section 718.5012(9) the Office of the Ombudsman can provide us with an election monitor. It’s a very good investment in the peaceful, neighborly relationships of your community, especially if there are already rumors of malfeasance and election fraud circulating among your neighbors. Election Monitor policies and procedures of condo board elections prevent controversy, manipulation and misconduct.

Surprisingly, many unit owners were opposed to signing the Petition. They were mislead and misinformed regarding the role of the Monitor and about the cost and fees. Furthermore, some unit owners feel afraid and intimidated. The total cost of the Election Monitor will be around $300.- or free if the Ombudsman attends in person. The information that was circulated was incorrect, not thousand of dollars.

Unfortunately, the Petition for Monitor Election was denied. Celebration of this denial clearly shows lack of neutrality. Management Office should play an impartial role and conduct themselves accordingly, safekeeping the interests of all 309 units equally. This would be an excellent opportunity to show all unit owners transparency and lack of interest in personal agendas. A fair election is a very effective way to guarantee the integrity of our association and can save a lot of money and frustration.

“The integrity of elections in condominium associations has been seriously compromised. Legislative reforms are required to ensure that condo owners have democratic election procedures in place that are firmly enforced.”

Sincerely,

Daniel Baschkier

CC: Board of Directors and Property Manager, Office of the Condominium Ombudsman.

Read more about your condo rights.

Condo Elections – Policies, Procedures or Lack Thereof (Fraud) originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on February 28, 2011.

Defend Your Condo Rights - by Dr. Joyce Starr

Condo Shower: I turned off the shower, but the water kept dripping. How could that be? It was a new shower head, tightly installed. I looked up. To my horror, the ceiling looked like a cow’s udder – a big sack of water threatening to explode. I envisioned sackfuls of water pouring into my bathroom and possibly to the units below.

Although this happened on a Sunday, I called the building engineer, who, to his great credit, arrived within 45 minutes. He pricked the sack and out flowed a bucket of water. I asked him to cut away the sack – a thin layer of paint – so that we could determine the cause. To my shock and horror, a circular area was covered with black mold. He soon learned that the upstairs neighbor had cracks in her shower pan, which damaged a pipe underneath the pan and thus resulted in leaks and mold.

According to our Continental property manager, the 5-foot vertical pipe underneath the pan is the owner’s responsibility – which makes it an owner-to-owner dispute.

The property manager refused to visit my unit to assess the damage first hand – perhaps fearing exposure to the mold – although she did urge the owner to fix it. She also refused to provide the last name of the owner (who resides in New York), stating that the owner did not want her contact details revealed. It’s fairly difficult to contact an owner without a name, let alone an address. The owner has a tenant, who might decide to use the leaking shower. If so, further damage to my unit is guaranteed.

My ceiling cannot be repaired until she fixes the problem at her end. Therefore, it’s obvious that the two parties must be in touch. Can a property manager protect the interests of one owner (literally) above another? And to what purpose?

Lesson 1: Check your shower pan for cracks – before you destroy you neighbor’s unit below. Lesson 2: If your condo bathroom ceiling is leaking – even tiny drops of water – don’t ignore it. Lesson 3: Check your documents regarding vertical and horizontal pipes. Lesson 5: If the property manager refuses to visit a damaged unit and/or refuses to provide the last name of the owner to the victim, this may be a sign of much bigger problems ahead – with your property management company.

Mold Discovered Behind My Kitchen Cabinets

It wasn’t the first time we discovered mold in my unit. Three years earlier, a pipe burst in behind one kitchen wall and on another occasion, the boiler backed up on the roof. Water sprayed from my kitchen ceiling, showering the walls.

The cracked shower pan and mold were my neighbor’s responsibility, and she quickly agreed to pay for remediation (or so I thought). The first week dragged into a second, then a third…while she dragged her feet. She didn’t have home insurance and wasn’t eager to spend the money – including the required city permit to make alternations in her bathroom.

I understood her financial dilemma, but meanwhile the mold continues threatening my health/life and unit.  My insurance company stepped in months earlier. A second claim in one year could result in cancellation of my policy.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? A burst vertical pipe or backed up boiler is the condo’s responsibility. Here’s the rub. The condo is only responsible for outer dry-walls, which they eventually replaced. But inside walls – those pesky walls holding up your kitchen cabinets, are your responsibility if you live in a condo.

Condo Insurance Companies: The condo insurance representatives assured me that my kitchen walls were dry, and there was no mold. I insisted they were wrong. I could smell and sense the mold. It was a stand-off. My insurance company also sent an adjuster, who determined that there was no lasting water damage and thus no mold.

The only way to get to the truth was to remove the cabinets. But it was physically impossible to remove just one cabinet. All had to be replaced – or none. Who wants to launch a kitchen remodeling project during a recession? It was a difficult decision – and process.

I finally removed the cabinets at my own expense.

How do I describe the wall to wall canvas of black mold that emerged? The engineer and property manager were shocked. Consider: The mold wasn’t sticking around my apartment. It also threatened units above and below. Within two days, the same condo insurance fellow returned. He was visibly embarrassed, but said little. So much for those humidity testers insurance adjusters carry around in their pockets. After several calls and emails, my insurance company agreed to reopen my case. They sent a new adjuster, and he too was taken aback by the mold.

I’m convinced that my health was protected by four dollar tree plants that remained in the kitchen throughout this 3-year period. Whenever I tried to move them to a sunnier area in the living room, they looked sad and wilted. Why would plants prefer a windowless kitchen? It was beyond me, but that’s where they remained. While they hardly grew, once the mold was removed, the plants sprouted to twice their size. If only plants could speak. Were they shielding me?

Lesson 6: Don’t believe what insurance adjusters tell you. If you think you might have mold behind your kitchen walls, remove a cabinet or two to find out – if possible. Your health and life could depend on it. Lesson 4: Be prepared for a very long and trying ordeal. I suffered from mold in the kitchen for 3 years because the adjusters didn’t do their job – or perhaps they did their job, meaning found a way not to pay.

Lesson 7: If you’re suffering from mold, surround yourself with plants. Lesson 8: Listen to your plants when condo insurance experts insist that there’s no mold.

Please add your stories and comments.

Dr. Joyce Starr

Condo Mold – Condo Boards – Condo Neighbors – Condo Insurance originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on December 14, 2010.

Renters are rarely evicted for disturbing their neighbors, can’t be fined and can generally do whatever they want without consequence.

Click to listen and/or read below.

The absent owner can be fined, but it’s typically too much trouble for condo boards and managers to go after out-of-state owners for the bad deeds of their renters. Further, fearing the owner might dump the unit if they don’t receive their monthly rent, condo boards don’t want to rock the renter out of his/her comfee boat.

The net result: noisy, inconsiderate tenants. In one local condo, half of the penthouse floor is populated by renters, not owners. The next floor down is even worse. Owners below complain of ear-shattering music, moving of heavy objects at all hours of the night, boisterous balcony parties and secondhand smoke snaking through the corridors and central air-conditioning systems.

But complaints to management and/or condo boards fall on deaf ears. “The tenant said he wasn’t doing a thing” is a common retort. So the tenant said? Owners are treated as if they’re living in an imaginary world. The tenant is rarely wrong. The unit owner is seldom right.

Yes, renters are screened before being allowed to move in. But there is no way to determine in advance who will behave like an insensitive clod or bully. Prospective renters cannot be legally denied the right to lease based on personality. Tenants are also infrequently advised of good neighbor policies and practices.

In one case, a renter ran a cooking and food catering service out of her small kitchen – dumping pounds of hot grease down the kitchen sink weekly. Board members knew the renter was running a catering business, but didn’t intervene. A year later, a kitchen pipe full of her gunk exploded, destroying at least two kitchens in units below. By then, the unit had been sold, the renter was gone, and there was nothing the Association could do.

I wrote a book called Secondhand Smoke Crimes – When Neighbors Poison You, Your Family & Pets. The neighbor featured in the book – based on a true story – is a renter. His smoke permeates the living room of one owner and the kitchen of another. You can smell the disgusting tars in her kitchen cabinets, drawers and even in her dishwasher. Visitors to the corridor are overcome by the foul odor. Young girls and babies living only few doors away inhale the renter’s habit daily.

Several California cities have declared secondhand smoke a toxic health hazard in multi-family homes – while smoking in public housing units is now forbidden. The renter’s lease is up for renewal in October. Yet the board prefers to hide its head in nicotine, rather than refuse to renew the lease.

Owners who pay their condo fees and assessments have no rights against this vile individual, short of hiring an attorney take the condo board and/or renter/owner to court – at enormous personal expense. Several owners in the building are also smokers, but take care to smoke on their balconies or outside the home.

Given the fact that millions of owners have lost their homes, one might assume that offensive renters are previously foreclosed owners. This doesn’t seem to be the case.

Prior owners tend to be considerate renters – and on average, in their upper 30s, 40s or older. Younger renters, especially those who have never owned a condo or home, are less likely to care. The bully smoker, however, is in his mid-60s and was not a victim of foreclosure. He’s simply a horrid individual.

The joy of owning a home is ruined when owners become the target of renter abuse – especially abuses that fall into gray areas. Excessive noise before 11:00 pm may not break a rule, but it can destroy the nerves and peaceful enjoyment of property of those below. Smoking may be permitted in individual units, but that shouldn’t give a renter the right to kill you. Moving a heavy object nightly while others sleep may not break a specific rule, but it can break the health of the owner below. Intentional sleep deprivation, as we know, is classified as torture.

Condo documents typically limit the number of renters to 10 percent of all units, but Board members often turn a blind eye. One board treasurer provided the bank with falsified rental numbers and then bragged about her misdeed to fellow unit owners.

If actions aren’t taken to curtail renter abuse, condo owners may literally become a dying breed. What’s the incentive for buyers if the building is effectively ruled by renters?

To the protection of your health, sanity and peaceful enjoyment of property.

Dr. Joyce Starr

Related Articles:

Condo Owners vs Condo Renters: When Renters Rule the Roost originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on August 7, 2010.

If you’re fighting condo board abuse or HOA abuse,  we can help. Click the book images on your right or use this link:   Your Homeowner Association Rights Defense Kit.  We also provide individual consultations on condo association and homeowner rights problems.  Click here for more information.

Part One of this important interview is presented in both text and streaming audio formats. Part Two is streaming audio only. Please click the play buttons below.

Part One:

Part Two:

Dr. Joyce Starr: I want to speak with you today about the differences between the European and American condo systems.

Jan Bergemann: There are huge differences, because in Europe you don’t have associations. The membership is in charge of voting and making decisions. There is no board, no attorney. There is a manager who gets paid. He will send out notices to the members about repairs, contracts, bidding etc. I have owned condos in Germany since the mid-1970s, and there has never been a lawsuit in the building. This is the downfall of the American system. We now see – especially in the bad economy and real estate market – the real problems of these condos. The board members are not informed enough to make decision, so they rely on people whose have only one thing in mind – making money. You can’t blame the service providers. That’s their job. But it doesn’t help owners. The system is causing owners who paid all of their bills to lose their homes, because neighbors didn’t pay and boards made bad, bad decisions and wasted their money. There is no oversight. The Florida DBPR, for example, doesn’t do much. These boards do things that no normal person would do. And suddenly the entire association is in a deep whole and nobody can do anything about it. That is not possible in the Europe system.

Starr: How did the “condo owner” system evolve in Europe and how is it different than our own?

Bergemann: In Europe, every owner owns a share. Let’s say there are 100,000 shares. One owns 6,000 or 7,000 depending on the size. They all have a right to vote. It’s not like here where a small group of owners make decisions. That is not possible. That is one of the reasons why we see so many lawsuits. You see associations paying for everything from water to television, you name it. If one doesn’t pay, then the other neighbor has to pay for him/her. It makes no sense. It’s a communist system. In Europe, every owner has his own water meter, connection to the television. But if he doesn’t pay, you don’t lose your water or television. If the neighbor doesn’t pay, you feel sorry for the neighbor, because he’s in a financial bind. But it doesn’t mean your water or television will be cut off. The United States fought communism for so many decades, but we use a communist system for these Associations.

Starr: But how did community associations evolve? Why/when were they created?

Bergemann: It began with racial issues as is usual in this country. Some people didn’t want others to move into their community. But then a smart group of attorneys and other service advisors, with the help of HUD, established the Community Association Institute (CAI). The CAI was suppose to represent the interests of people living in these communities, but attorneys and corporations soon took over. HUD finances the CAI which clearly represents the interests of the service providers and is detrimental to the owners. Everybody is complaining that the banks don’t pay their shares. The attorneys are publicly outspoken that this has to change. But banks are members of the CAI, and not so long ago they were sitting together in committee meetings in Tallahassee.

Starr: So who are the bad guys?

Bergemann: The bad guys are the people who are forcing a system on the owners that doesn’t work, a system that is only made for profit of the providers. I’m not sure that the attorneys are serious about blaming the bankers. Allies are allies. The attorneys haven’t kept the bankers out of the CAI.

Starr: You mentioned that the CAI tried to bring this system to Europe, but the Europeans through them out.

Bergemann: There was a conference in Frankfurt. After the CAI presentation – showing how the system could be brought to Europe, one of the German legislators said, ‘Thank you very much. You’ve made a very nice presenation. But we had Adolph here. And we don’t need another Adolph. And this system is poised to be dictatorial.’ Even the best association is only one election away from dictatorship. I’ve seen people move out of an association because of problems, move into another where they check first to determine if everything is fine, yet soon find themselves embroiled in another set of problems.

Starr: Why do they neighbors seem to get along so much better in Europe and countries like Israel?

Bergemann: It’s very easy to explain. You give a small group of people called the board, with more or less unlimited powers but without proper oversight. They have the right to use Association money – meaning the money of their neighbors – to file lawsuits to defend their own violations. If you decide to sue the board, you’re suing yourself.

Starr: We typically blame US condo battles on human nature. Why are Europeans seemingly immune from such battles?

Bergemann: Europeans are much more willing to accept the life style of their neighbors without mingling in their lives. The biggest problem is that one group is trying to tell another group what they can do. Tell a European that he can’t rent his apartment or can’t have a cat. He would look at you like a deer in the headlight. An association is fining people for closing their hurricane shutters if they go away for a week or a short vacation. Try that in Europe. A neighbor fining a neighbor? It would be unthinkable in Europe. Here you give them the power and the money to enforce it. You would think that now that we have a bad economy, things would change. But you would be shocked at how many law suits are filed every day. The shingles on your roof are not allowed to be that particular shade of green. The frivolous lawsuits that are filed in America that would never happen in Europe. Board members are indemnified in the United States. They can do anything they want. It’s been proven in numerous cases that board members embezzled money, but nobody wants to prosecute them. The state attorney claims it’s a matter of contract law. But if someone steals money, it’s a crime. Here board members use association money to defend their own wrongs. Or they use Association money to persecute an owner because his flowers are too red. We had such a case that cost the owner over $130,000 in legal fees. The flowers died after a few months, but the legal battle went on for years.

Starr: Why was the owner willing to continue that battle?

Bergemann: Because he was a retired colonel who said the buck stops here.

To your condo owner rights!

Dr. Joyce Starr

European Condo System vs American Condo System: No Condo Boards to Ruin Your Life originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on October 1, 2009.

QUESTION: Our Florida condo association board is trying to charge access fees ($100 per event up to $1000) to those owners who rent unless their rental company has an agreement with the association to give them compensation. This is not in our bylaws at all and this was never a requirement previously. Can they do this without amending the bylaws?

ANSWER:

The board probably has that authority without amending the documents. A board normally has the power to charge owners/residents/renters fees to cover actually incurred or reasonably foreseeable costs. A board can charge a reasonable fee for processing/reviewing leases, perhaps as much as $100 but I doubt that a court would regard $1,000 as reasonable.

Moreover, a tenant usually steps into the shoes of the owner and enjoys all the rights and privileges thereof including having guests. IF a tenant were not treated accordingly by the board, a court might find it has discriminated against the tenant.

If, for instance, there was some special event which owners could attend/participate in for no charge and could bring guests, then a tenant should be able to do the same. However, if the viewing space, parking, etc. at the event were limited, the board could restrict attendance in various ways, including levying a fee to cover the costs of increasing access or parking provided it did so equitably, for example, first-come first-served reservations.

Again, the answer depends on what the law and the documents allow. And that may be implicit rather than explicit. De facto, a board can do almost anything it can get away with unless actively opposed by a sufficiently large group of owners.

Dr. Joyce Starr & Dr. David Goldenberg – Authors, Homeowners Defense Kit.

A related condo rental zoning question answered by Dr. Goldenberg.

The City of Miami Beach is going to pass a law to prohibit condo rentals less than six months and one day.  Our condo docs allow us to rent for 1 month, but not less.  Can the city override our condo documents and make us rent for more than six months? This may make some of us who rent our units for a few months in the summer lose our homestead? Would that be an illegal impairment of contract? Can the city force us to rent in a way that makes us lose our homestead?  I don’t understand how the city can take our rights to rent our own units.

Answer: This is a legal question and I’m not an attorney. However, I suspect that such a law could be: 1. successfully challenged by established owners acting renting for short periods if their governing allow such, 2. enforced against new owners in new condominiums, and 3. perhaps enforced against new owners in established condominiums. Essentially the city is changing its zoning rules. Of course, there are vast differences between proposing such a law, enacting it, trying to enforce it, and having it stand up in courts of appeal.

Dr. David Goldenberg

Can Condo Boards Charge Fees to Owners Who Rent Their Units if Bylaws are Silent? originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on September 27, 2009.

My guest is the condo treasurer and an experienced account in her own right. The condo president, who declared bankruptcy only a few months ago, recently transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars out of the condo’s reserve account – without the required signatures – into newly established accounts at other banks, (including the bank where he maintains his mortgage).

The treasurer begged her fellow Board members to stop the transfer. She also spoke with the police and with the condo’s attorneys. All to no avail. I provide coaching services to condo owners and HOA members on their condo problems/HOA problems. Each condo rights and HOA rights case is different. However this situation is so worrisome that the treasurer agreed to share it with my listeners.

How to Listen: You can listen to the streaming replay of this show below.  Bookmark this page and tell your friends.

Condo presidents/HOA presidents are not the only problem. Our Special Report explains how condo association & HOA owner managers often exploit  their condo associations and HOA homeowners associations – and what can be done to stop such practices.

Condo Owners & HOA Owners as Condo Managers - HOA Managers

Condo association owners who serve as Managers – paid or unpaid – can more easily take control of Association funds.

More about this special report….

Listen to heroine Isabella recount her effort to protect Association funds. Click the play button below. Phone 786-693-4223 if you need help on your condo rights or HOA rights problem:

Learn how to protect your condo rights and hoa rights here.

Related Condo Association Posts:

Condo Management by Condo Owners: How HOA & Condo Managers Exploit Associations

Condo Fees, Condo Assessments: HOA/Condo Rules and Your Rights

Condo Curse in Texas

Condo Fees, Condo Assessments: HOA/Condo Rules and Your Rights

Condo & HOA Problem Solving Solutions

Condo President Breaks Condo Rules: Condo President Transfers Funds originally appeared on Rights Radio™ with Dr. Joyce Starr - An Independent Voice on June 30, 2009.