IT’S BACK TO SCHOOL TIME

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published August 25, 2014

  

            It’s the end of the summer.  I watched my kids suck it up this week, pack their school bags and head off to school to return for another year of learning.  Millions of kids across our state did the exact same thing.  And if they can do it five days a week for the next ten months, each of you can do it for a one shot deal of three hours.  I’m talking of course about Condo and HOA Board Certification.

 

            There’s a lot that goes into my job as a lawyer in this area of the law.  Working on the current cases I have, keeping abreast of the changes in the law, advocating for legislative reform, doing the Condo Craze Radio Show each week and writing this blog each weeks as well.  Without a doubt however, my favorite part of what I do is teaching and meeting all of you at our state-wide seminars.

 

            As you all know by now, condo and HOA directors must get certified within one year prior to getting elected or appointed to the board or within 90 days of actually getting elected or appointed to the Board.  They can do so in one of two ways.  The first way is the chicken’s way out and quite frankly is an embarrassing loophole in the law.  The law actually allows you to sign an affidavit which basically states that you have read your association’s governing documents and that:

“he or she will work to uphold such documents and policies to the best of his or her ability; and that he or she will faithfully discharge his or her fiduciary responsibility to the association’s members.”

            

           Honestly, this is ridiculous.  Many of you have illegal provisions in your governing documents.  Your affidavit apparently requires you to promise to uphold these provisions even if they are illegal and unenforceable.  Worse yet, the affidavit does not even require you to read or even acknowledge Florida Statute 718 (the condo statute) or Florida Statute 720 (the HOA statute).

  

            Thank heavens that the law provides that you can also get certified by taking a DBPR approved course.  I fought hard two years ago to ensure that HOA members had the ability to get certified by attending these classes and am very proud of helping to pass legislation which did just that.  I am also proud to say that I have taught the course to over 8,000 of you all across the state.  At each class, not only do the attendees learn something, but I do as well.  So do the attorneys in my firm.  Your questions always help raise awareness to so many issues and often times you provide practical answers to what may seem like complicated issues.  The bottom line is that we all learn from each other.

 

            Whether the issue is budgets, reserves, insurance, year-end financial reporting, your fiduciary responsibilities as board members, the election process, foreclosures, suspension of rights, access to records, arbitration, mediation or even if the new laws that get passed each year apply in your association (the answer may surprise you), we really try to cover it all and a lot more.

  

            Our course not only certifies directors, but also provides three continuing education credits for community association managers.  (2HR and 1OPP).  It’s great to see so many Board members take the course together with their manager.  We always serve food and drink, we often assemble a panel of experts, the setting is always first class, and best of all….it’s completely free.  You even leave with a summary of everything we just taught.

 

            Our first class is quickly approaching and it will be part of our “Condo Craze Day of Education.”  It’s on Saturday September 20th.  It will be here in Broward County at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.  There’s a lot in store.  The festivities get under way with check in and breakfast at 8:00 a.m.  You can get to meet all of the radio show’s sponsors and eat some breakfast.  At 9:00 --- our Board Certification Course will start --- and of course we will also be including a discussion of all of the new laws for 2014.  After our seminar our guests can choose to also attend two of the following classes:   … all for free:

  

WATCH YOUR WALLET – TAUGHT BY ASSOCIA MANAGEMENT

ROOFING 201 – TAUGHT BY BEST ROOFING

THE ELECTION AND RECALL PROCESS – TAUGHT BY AFFINITY MANAGEMENT

BUDGETS AND RESERVES - TAUGHT BY GERSTLE ROSEN AND GOLDENBERG, CPAs.

ENERGY SAVINGS 101 – TAUGHT BY ELCON ELECTRIC

ASPHALT 101 – TAUGHT BY DRIVEWAY MAINTENANCE

HOARDING 101 – TAUGHT BY SERVICEMASTER

SAVING CAPITAL (ALL ABOUT RESERVE STUDIES AND MORE) --- BY CUSTOM RESERVES

THE COMPLAINT PROCESS – TAUGHT BY THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION

 

We will also be teaching our Board Certification Seminar all over the state: 

October 2nd, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. at the L & L Condo and HOA Expo in Miami; 

October 15th, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. at the L & L Condo and HOA Expo in West Palm Beach;


October 22nd, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. the L & L Condo and HOA Expo in Tampa;

November 12th, 2014 at 8:00 a.m. at the PM Expo event in St. Petersburg.

December 11th, 2014 at 8:00 a.m. at the So. Fla Cooperator Expo in Ft. Lauderdale.

AND WE HAVE LOTS MORE IN STORE FOR THE FIRST HALF OF 2015 --- ALL AROUND THE STATE. JUST KEEP CHECKING OUR WEBSITE.


In order to register, you can visit the show’s website at www.condocrazeandhoas.com. Or……just download our new Condo Craze App on your I-Phone or Android device– and just click on the “Register for Our Seminars” Tab. Once registered, you will get an e-mail confirmation.

I really look forward to another year of meeting all of you. It is a true honor and privilege.


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About HOA & Condo Blog

Eric Glazer Eric Glazer graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 1992 after receiving a B.A. from NYU. He is currently entering his 20th year as a Florida lawyer practicing

community association law and is the owner of Glazer and Associates, P.A. an eight attorney law firm in Orlando and Hollywood. For the past two years Eric has been the host of Condo Craze and HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show on 850 WFTL.

See: www.condocrazeandhoas.com.

  

He is the first attorney in the State of Florida that designed a course that certifies condominium residents as eligible to serve on a condominium Board of Directors and has now certified more than 7,500 Floridians. He is certified as a Circuit Court Mediator by The Florida Supreme Court and has mediated dozens of disputes between associations and unit owners. Finally, he recently argued the Cohn v. Grand Condominium case before The Florida Supreme Court, which is perhaps the single most important association law case decided by the court in a decade. 


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