European Condo System vs American Condo System: No Condo Boards to Ruin Your Life

Condo rights advocates Dr. Joyce Starr & Jan Bergemann – President of Cyber Citizens for Justice (CCFJ.Net) – discuss striking differences between the European and US condo systems. According to Bergemann, European countries do not have condo associations, condo boards or condo strife. He contends that the US condo association system is just another form of communism.

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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:

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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

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

Condo and HOA rules on homeowners association fees & homeowners association assessments. Who controls condo/HOA financial decisions?

I receive weekly questions from condo association and HOA members regarding condo rules, condo fees and condo assessments.

These questions are answered in detail in our Homeowners Association Defense Kit or in specific special reports offered on StarrPublications.com. Answers may differ depending on your condo association documents or HOA documents, your state and of course, your personal situation.

The problem arises when condo association or HOA members are already involved in a bitter dispute with their condo board or HOA board over failure to pay condo fees or condo assessments – and when a simple black and white answer will not suffice.

At this point, we typically move into a one-hour consultation. In 99 percent of the cases, an hour is sufficient to address – and often put an end to – the problem.

Here is a short list of common questions on HOA/condo association rules and HOA/condo association policies on fees and assessments. You can find the answers here:

1. Condo Associations: How are condo associations and HOAs established and managed?
2. Condo Rules: Who approves condo association financial decisions?
3. Condo Association and HOA Fees and Assessments: What are condo and HOA policies on fees and assessments?
4. Condo Fees: Are condo boards and HOA boards required to collect condo fees when the amount is in dispute?
5. Condo Budgets: What are the budget responsibilities of the condo Association or HOA?

To your condo rights and HOA rights.

Learn how to protect your homeowner rights here.

Your Homeowners Association Rights: Condo Rights & HOA Rights

Dr. Joyce Starr – Your Condo Coach – HOA Coach. Homeowners Association Rights: Condo Association Rights & HOA Rights -Florida Condo Act FS 718 – Florida Law H 995.

Do you have a condo rights problem. Contact Dr. Joyce Starr – Condo Coach – HOA Coach at 786.693.4223 or visit StarrPublications.com for condo rights and HOA rights books and special reports.

Topic: Important changes to Florida Condo Act FS 718 resulting from the recent passage of Florida Bill H 995.

Show Date: SEPTEMBER 24, 2008 at 5:00 PM.  Join our mailing list on the right-hand sidebar to receive instant notification about future homeowner association rights broadcasts.

Guest: Jan Bergemann, President, Cyber Citizens for Justice, CCFJ.net. Back by popular demand, Jan Bergemann discusses condo association board candidate eligibility and certification.

He will also discuss the soon-to-be released CCFJ HOA REFORM SURVEY.  Although final survey results are still being tallied, Jan provides important highlights. Condo & HOA owners demand reforms, especially regulatory agency enforcement reforms and increased accountability for the people in charge.

The plunging housing market and roller-coaster stock market demonstrate that owners are being misled when told that condo associations and HOAs inherently protect property values.

To the contrary! Numerous condo associations and HOAs create a serious financial liability for their association members.

The many foreclosures and empty homes/units create a crippling financial burden for responsible owners. Associations have to raise the monthly fees and levy special assessments to cover the budget shortfalls caused by foreclosed and empty homes.

This results in greater financial strain on owners whose finances are already overburdened – causing more families to lose their homes!

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To your empowerment!

Dr. Joyce Starr