Florida HOA Lawyer Blog
The firm’s latest Miami Herald “Real Estate Counselor” column by Gary M. Mars appears in today’s print edition of the newspaper and is titled “Community Associations Should Break Ties with Developer, Board Members During Turnover.” The article focuses on the turnover process by which control of a community’s operations and management is transferred from its developer to the home/condo buyers. Gary notes that this is one of the most critical junctures for the future administrative and financial wellbeing of all condominium and HOA communities, and those owners who have made the investment to be the charter members of their new association should always begin their takeover with the same vital step: breaking ties with the developers’ board members and experts. His article reads:
. . . Turnover is when a new community’s unit owners get their opportunity to hire independent legal counsel, financial professionals, and engineers to conduct meticulous audits and inspections. A very careful review of all a community’s rules and business records, as well as the physical state of the entire property, is very much the order the day. The end goal is to hold the developer, as well as its contractor, suppliers and design professionals, accountable for any budget shortfalls and construction deficiencies.
Given the nature of the task at hand, this work should always begin with the careful vetting of prospective advisor accountants, attorneys and engineers to ensure only independent and highly qualified professionals are retained by the new owner-controlled board, which must be expeditiously transitioned away from any directors and professionals appointed by the developer during its preceding control of the association, or with any ties to the developer.
The financial, engineering and legal experts retained by the new unit owner-controlled board of directors will be charged with representing the interests of all the owners by holding the developer, contractor, suppliers and design professionals to their warranty and financial obligations. They should also be tasked with changing any rules regulating community affairs, collections policies, and construction matters that were in place under the developer’s regime for its primary benefit.
