Dear
Senators Mike Fasano and Don Gaetz,
I
can only hope that you fell for the same false promises by the
same people as Senator Paula Dockery when she initially
sponsored S 398 (Companion
bill to H115) when you decided to sponsor this totally
ill-advised bill. Please note that your bill is listed with: Compare
CS/H
0115. Senator
Dockery withdrew her companion bill three days
after she was advised about the many downsides of this bill,
which is outright anti-homeowner.
With
all due respect, the complete bill S1196 contains only one
owner-friendly provision, not considering some provisions that
are repeats from other owner-friendly bills like H419/H561 and
S864/S1222.
The
provision disallowing developers to levy special assessments
without owners’ approval (Lines 1824 – 1832) is really the
only provision in the whole bill that can be considered
owner-friendly. It is commendable, but falls way short of
protecting owners, who bought in good faith into newly developed
HOAs, against bankrupt developers and/or communities with
bankrupt developers.
I
hope you are aware that the wording of some of the provisions in
the bill does exactly the opposite of what the headline promises
(Example: Compensation Prohibited [FS 720.303(12)]). The HOA
election language added to the existing language will confuse
election procedures even more, allowing more shenanigans of the
sitting board.
The
real solution for this serious problem is so easy: Just use the
proven election and eligibility language of FS 718 [Condo Act].
That would create fair elections.
To
be very honest, the whole bill does absolutely nothing but
create more problems for owners living in
Florida
’s community associations, and should quickly be withdrawn --
like S398. As you can see from the attached
summary with comments, there is really nothing worth
discussing any further.]
If
the special interest attorneys who are behind this bill feel
that they and community association managers deserve to make
even more money and should be allowed to fleece owners even
more, the money should come from other sources than owners
living in community associations, who are already in serious
financial distress caused by a system that surely doesn’t
serve these owners.
If
you read the latest OPPAGA
HOA REPORT you will read that the
Florida
legislature neglected more than 5 million citizens living in
Florida
’s mandatory homeowners’ associations (HOAs). The report
speaks for itself and should finally get the attention of our
legislators who we elected to represent our interest.
Florida
’s owners living in HOAs really need help. These families were
left to fend for themselves, unprotected against fraud, scams
and embezzlement. The false promises which lured these owners
into these communities have come back to haunt them and
seriously endanger the financial welfare of many of these
families, especially retirees.
The
bad economy and the “dead” real estate market have clearly
shown the total downfall of this system called Community Association.
I
beg you to do the right thing and withdraw this bill, like
Senator Paula Dockery withdrew S398. It would be the right thing
to do, if you really feel that you are serving your constituents
who elected you into office!