Rob Samouce writes articles and newsletters which are of interest to community associations, condominium associations and homeowners associations. The articles have been published in the Naples Daily News (www.naplesnews.com) and the newsletters are periodically sent to our clients. Those articles and newsletters that are listed below, and can be searched by key words in the articles or by date the article appeared in the Naples Daily News.
HOA House Bill 1203 Becomes LawAugust 12, 2024 - 2:10 PM
“Surfside” Condo Bills SB 4-D and SB 154 are Law of the LandJuly 1, 2023 - 11:10 AM
Some condominium association records now must be permanently maintained
/in Condominium AssociationsPrior to a strange amendment to Section 718.111(12), Florida Statutes in House Bill 841 was approved and became effective July 1, 2018 last year, most association records had to be kept for at least seven (7) years. An exception was made for “ballots, sign-in sheets, voting proxies, and all other papers and electronic records relating […]
Can you legally stop rude behavior by residents?
/in Condominium Associations, Condos and HOA's, Homeowners AssociationsMore and more recently Condominium and Homeowner’s Associations have informed us of residents who have been behaving rudely to their neighbors. We have been asked what, if anything, can legally be done to stop such bad behavior. For some reason, it appears a few people today find it perfectly acceptable to curse and swear at […]
Dealing with elderly neighbor in violation of rules
/in Condominium Associations, Condos and HOA's, Homeowners AssociationsFor most violations of rules and restrictions contained in a Condominium or Homeowners’ Association governing documents, the enforcement procedure is fairly simple. A call or letter is sent by management telling the rule or regulation violator to knock it off. If the violation continues, then a certified letter is usually sent from the Association’s attorney […]
How associations can save auditing fees
/in Condominium AssociationsThanks to House Bill 6027 that was approved by the Florida Legislature in 2017, the members of condominium, cooperative and homeowners associations can now waive the preparation of costly financial auditing reporting each fiscal year and instead opt for simple reports of cash receipts and expenditures. In the past, condominium associations could only waive for […]
Do directors and officers have to worry about getting sued personally?
/in Condominium Associations, Homeowners AssociationsAround this time of year there usually is a call for candidates to submit their names to be directors of their condominium or homeowners’ association for vacant seats coming up at next year’s annual meeting. Most associations have five to seven director seats usually with either one-year terms or two-year staggered terms. Many times it is hard […]
When do community rules and regulations have to be enforced?
/in Condominium AssociationsA typical question we get from new association directors is: When do our association’s rules and regulations have to be enforced? In most condominium and homeowners’ associations, there are regulations contained in the Declaration of Condominium or Declaration of Covenants recorded in the county public records and also unrecorded “house” rules located in the association’s […]
Diamonds are not forever if there is a unilateral mistake
/in Condos and HOA'sCondominium and homeowners’ association officers and directors need to be careful when negotiating and entering into contracts with vendors such as construction contractors, interior decorators, architects etc. because if the association and the vendor are not on the same page (legally have a meeting of the minds), the contract can be nullified based upon what […]
Fiduciary responsibility does not stop after season
/in Condos and HOA'sWell here we are in late summer and for many condominium and homeowners’ associations it has been a quiet summer because many, if not most, of the association members went back up North after Easter. Thus, “out of sight-out of mind” has taken over when it comes to association matters. For many associations, all of the directors […]
Condo boards must now get vote before material alterations begin
/in Condominium AssociationsA very important change to Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes (The Condominium Act) took effect July 1, 2018 that all Condominium Associations need to be aware of. In House Bill 841, the last sentence in Section 718.113(2)(a), Florida Statutes was amended by adding the highlighted language: “Except as otherwise provided in this section, there […]
What you need to know on tree law
/in Hurricane ProtectionWith all of the fallen and leaning trees resulting from Hurricane Irma, a question keeps coming up again and again. My neighbor’s tree limbs are hanging over my property or have fallen onto my property. Can I make the neighbor cut the tree down, cut it up and clean the tree debris off my property? […]