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
New legislation affecting condos, co-ops and HOAs
/in Condos and HOA'sLast year the Florida Legislature was silent when it came to passing any laws affecting community associations. Not this year. This year four bills were approved and signed by the governor and one was vetoed. SB 398 applies to condos, cooperatives and HOAs and prescribes a “form” for estoppels certificates. We discussed that bill last […]
New laws creating uniform estoppel certificates
/in Homeowners AssociationsThere were five (5) bills approved this year by the Florida Legislature affecting community associations. As of the writing of this article, only one bill had been signed by the Governor, SB 398, that prescribes new detailed information and procedures required to be followed by condos, cooperatives and HOAs in response to request for estoppel […]
How associations can approve and pay for improvement projects
/in Condominium AssociationsWith many of the local condominium and homeowners’ associations clubhouse buildings now reaching 30 to 40 years of age, many associations are looking at doing major remodeling projects to the inside or outside of the buildings to keep their look competitive with new products reaching the market. Because such improvements are considered material alterations, it […]
Extra fees limited in condos; not in HOAs
/in Condos and HOA'sWe often get asked by board members, officers and managers of community associations whether their association can charge a capital contribution fee to new owners or charge a fee for processing unit sales and lease applications. The laws pertaining to such fees are quite restrictive for condominium associations while the laws for such fees in […]
How to get the proxy votes needed for approval
/in Condos and HOA'sThis is the time of year when most condominium and homeowner associations have their annual meeting. When there is something to vote on, such as amending the governing documents, approving a property enhancement project, or waiving the annual audit, proxies are sent to the owners so that the requisite vote can be obtained to approve […]
Screening prospective tenants and purchasers is important
/in Condominium Associations, Homeowners AssociationsWith the ever-increasing influx of new visitors and residents coming to Southwest Florida, it is becoming even more important that new people coming to your condominium or neighborhood are adequately screened or vetted before they become residents. We have found, along with all the good folk moving to the area, there are few bad characters […]
Nuisance laws do not protect supersensitive people
/in Condominium AssociationsWith the return of snowbirds in season, we start getting phone calls from associations telling us some condominium unit owners are complaining about the conduct of their neighbors and they want the association to do something about it. The complaints are usually about either noise or smoke emanating from a neighboring unit or unit lanai. […]
Appropriate vehicle and parking rules for your community
/in Condos and HOA'sA condominium or residential neighborhood can suffer detrimental effects to property values and the well-being of its residents if it does not have in place rules concerning residents’ and guests’ vehicles that the majority of the members in a community want. Condominiums have a limited number of parking spaces, and many newer gated communities have […]
Protecting residents’ privacy rights from drones
/in Condominium AssociationsLast month we discussed the benefits of implementing new governing document regulations for allowing security camera installations in community common areas, single-family homes and condominium units to stop and prevent vandalism or violations of rules and regulations while at the same time protecting the privacy rights of residents. Today, we will look at an example […]
Use of security cameras in communities
/in Condominium AssociationsWe are seeing more and more homeowners and condominium unit owners wanting to protect their property by installing security cameras. This can be a good idea but must be weighed against the privacy concerns of their neighbors. Many homeowner and condominium associations also want to protect the common areas from vandalism and rule violations; such […]