Florida Association News Blog

If you own a home in South Florida, you should be preparing for the worst-case scenario regarding Hurricane Dorian. It may not impact your property, but you need to assume it will. The Board Members and Staff at Campbell managed properties will do everything in their power to keep your community and property safe in the event of a hurricane or tropical storm.

In addition to Management’s preparations, there are some very important things you as a homeowner need to do and be aware of to coordinate with Management in preparedness.

OWNER’S RESPONSIBILITY

If you are out of town or physically unable to prepare your home for the storm -Find a hurricane caretaker who will be responsible for preparing your home for a hurricane. In a Condominium, make sure to inform the Property Manager of the caretaker’s name and contact information. Management will not be able to check on individual units after a storm.
Close and securely latch hurricane shutters
Remove any free-standing furniture outside and on balconies/patios .
Close and firmly lock all doors/ sliding glass doors.
Prepare for loss of utility service – If you are out of town have someone empty your refrigerator and freezer. This IS NOT a service management can provide.
Turn off water valve (condos)
Prepare your disaster supply kit if not already done so. See below for helpful link for supply kit.
Take pictures of your unit/ home before the storm
Have an evacuation plan

We also highly recommend you download the hurricane preparedness guide for your County. This will help you understand the specific resources and services available in your local area.

If you want to know about the status of power at your address, please visit the FPL website below. Management needs to be mitigating any damage to the property and won’t be field calls related to power status in the aftermath of a storm.

After the storm, Management will make an effort (conditions permitting) to mass email updates to all owners and let you know the general state of the Association common areas and when services (power, cable, and water) have been restored. Please understand that unit owners are each individually responsible for his or her own unit. In addition, we ask that you refrain from calling the property management company about the status of your unit – we will be working diligently getting your community back to normal.

MORE HELPFUL LINKS

Check your home/ condo for power – FPL

Hurricane preparedness – National Weather Service

NOAA – National Hurricane Center

Supply Kit – FloridaDisaster Division of Emergency Management

Tags Dorian, Florida Condominium Act, Florida HOA, Hurricane, Hurricane Preparedness for Condos, Hurricane Preparedness for HOAs, Safety, Storm 3 Comments

Owners living in pet restricted communities are becoming increasingly frustrated when they see other owners walking a dog or taking their dog to the pool. While it may feel like these owners are “breaking” the rules it is important to remind our frustrated owners that community associations are considered housing providers under the Federal Fair Housing Act and the Florida Fair Housing Act. Condominium associations and homeowners associations must consider and sometimes grant reasonable accommodations to a pet restriction for assistance animals, including an emotional support animal. It is important to establish policies and procedures to assure board members and property managers understand what questions can be asked and what additional information can be requested when a request for a reasonable accommodation to your association’s pet restrictions is made. Otherwise, you may find your association in the “dog house” by receiving a HUD complaint for failing to respond properly to a request for reasonable accommodation to the association’s pet restrictions.

A person with a disability who has a service animal does not need to request a reasonable accommodation to the Association’s pet restrictions when the direct work or task performed by the animal is readily observable, obvious and identifiable. A service animal cannot be denied access to any part of the association property (i.e. the dining room) unless the animal is out of control, not housebroken or poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others that cannot be reduced to an acceptable level by a modification to other policies.

On the other “paw,” animals whose sole function is to provide emotional support, comfort, therapy, companionship, therapeutic benefits, or promote emotional well-being are not “service” animals. If the assistance animal is not defined as a “service” animal, an owner, tenant, or a guest with a disability must request a reasonable accommodation to the Association’s pet restrictions to own, rent or for access to the association property or dwelling unit. The association should consult legal counsel to determine if the request for a reasonable accommodation for an “emotional support” animal should be granted or if further supporting documentation from a physician, psychiatrist, social worker or other mental health professional to indicate the disability and why the animal is necessary to alleviate or assist the symptoms or the disability can be requested by the association to consider the request.

Limiting, restricting or denying access for other types of assistance animals (that are not “service” animals) to the common areas and facilities must be considered on a case-by-case basis. An association should consult legal counsel prior to imposing restrictions or developing rules restricting access to assistance animals to the common areas or facilities to avoid violating Federal law by imposing an unreasonable restriction which impairs the owner or tenants use and enjoyment to the dwelling unit.

KEEP IN MIND – an association may not charge a pet deposit or any related fee for an assistance animal; the information received by the association in conjunction with a request for reasonable accommodation is not an official record; and if asked why the owner has an animal the association’s response should be limited to the owner qualifies for a reasonable accommodation to the association’s pet restrictions.

By Paula S. Marra, Senior Associate, Rosenbaum PLLC

Tags assistance animals, Emotional Support Animals, Federal Fair Housing Act, Florida Condominium, Florida HOA, Pet restrictions, Reasonable accommodations, Service Animal No Comments »

As happens far too often, contractors bid on an improvement project, start the work, only to later walk off the job. The contractor might do this for one of many reasons: the job was not bid correctly, prices go up, the laborers demand more money, and anything else that leads the contractor to believe they will make less in profits than expected. Now, the association is left with a partially completed project, leaving the property unusable, with no contractor to complete the work. What should the board do in this situation? How does the association evaluate its damages against the contractor who walked off the job? Such questions were forced to be addressed by single family homeowners in the case of Forbeses v. Prime General Contractors, Inc., decided by the Second District Court of Appeal of Florida in an opinion filed on September 7, 2018.

In this case, the Forbeses contracted with Prime General Contractors, Inc. (“Prime”) for the complete renovation of their home. The contract required that the Forbeses pay Prime the total amount of $276,000 in separate payments due at five defined milestones of the project: (1) 25% due upon signing the contract; (2) 25% upon completion of demolition; (3) 25% upon completion of the “dry-in” stage of construction; (4) 15% after roofing and siding installation; and (5) the remaining 10% upon completion of construction. The construction contract also provided that “any alteration or deviation from the contract must be made in writing and signed by both Forbeses and Prime.”

The construction contract was signed, and Prime began the necessary demolition, requiring the Forbeses to pay the first two milestone payments in the total amount of $138,000. After demolition was completed, Prime informed the Forbeses that the cost of the materials needed for the project had increased requiring an increase in the cost of the project to $550,000. Prime demanded that the Forbeses immediately pay the third milestone payment and an additional $31,450 for the work Prime had already completed and provided the Forbeses with a written change order for the increase in costs to modify the construction contract. Relying on the costs quoted by Prime, the Forbeses refused to sign the change order, resulting in Prime walking off the job. Because the property had only reached the demolition phase, the property was left uninhabitable.

Needing a place to live, the Forbeses rented a home and began the search for another contractor to complete the work. Five contractors later, the Forbeses could not find a contractor willing to complete the work. The Forbeses ultimately purchased another home to live in and were not able to pay both the mortgage on the project home and the mortgage on the residence home. As a result, the project home fell into foreclosure.

The Forbeses sued Prime for breach of contract, seeking the following damages: (1) payments they made to Prime under the contract; (2) payments they made for updated architectural plans; (3) certain other expenses, including rent for alternate housing; and (4) a loss of equity in their home they had prior to contracting with Prime. At trial, the Forbeses argued that Prime materially and completely breached the construction contract by demanding payments it was not entitled to under the contract and then walking off the job. Prime defended by arguing that, among other things, the Forbeses were also in breach and failed to mitigate their damages. The trial court found that Prime did in fact materially breach the contract but only awarded damages for rent of alternative housing because the trial court took the position that damages in this case were to put the Forbeses in as good a position as if the contract had been fully performed, of which the Forbeses provided no evidence, and that the Forbeses did not engage in mitigation efforts.

The Forbeses appealed the trial court’s decision for two reasons: (1) the trial court used the incorrect method of calculating damages by taking the position that damages in this case were to put the Forbeses in as good a position as if the contract had been fully performed; and (2) the trial court’s finding that the Forbeses failed to mitigate their damages is unsupported by evidence. The Second District Court of Appeal of Florida agreed with the Forbeses.

The Court explained that, in the event of a party’s material breach, the non-breaching party may treat the material breach as a breach of the entire contract, at which time the non-breaching party can suspend their own performance of the contract and seek damages to either:

return the non-breaching party to the position the non-breaching party was in prior to contracting with the breaching party, or
put the non-breaching party in the position the non-breaching party would have been in had the contract been fully performed.

Based upon the damages sought by the Forbeses, the trial court should have concluded that the Forbeses were seeking damages to restore them to the position they were in prior to contracting with Prime. Because the trial court did not do so, the Court held that the trial court used the incorrect method to calculate damages in this case.

As to mitigation of damages, the Court explained that there is no “duty to mitigate” in contract cases but that the non-breaching party is prevented from recovering damages that the non-breaching party could have reasonably avoided. A reduction in contract damages should only be considered where the Forbeses failed to undertake measures to avoid damages that were available to them without undue effort or expense. Given the circumstances of the Forbeses with an uninhabitable home and unable to find a willing contractor, the Court found that there was no competent substantial evidence to support a damage reduction.

Due to the trial court’s failure to apply the correct method of calculating damages and its improper application of a reduction of damages for failure to mitigate, the Court reversed the decision of the trial court so that the Forbeses would be awarded the full amount of damages to which they were entitled.

This case is a classic example of the need to purchase both performance and payment bonds to accompany the construction project at hand. While doing so will cost the association an additional 2% to 5% of the project costs, these bonds ensure that, if the general contractor does not pay the sub-contractors and suppliers and/or walks off the job, the bond surety, pending the terms of the bond, will be obligated to step in. In this author’s opinion, payment and performance bonds are worth their weight in gold… and then some.

Jeffrey Rembaum, Esq. of Kaye, Bender, Rembaum attorneys at law, legal practice consists of representation of condominium, homeowner, commercial and mobile home park associations, as well as exclusive country club communities and the developers who build them. He is a regular columnist for The Condo News, a biweekly publication and was inducted into the 2012, 2013 & 2014 Florida Super Lawyers. He can be reached at 561-241-4462.

Tags Construction, Contractor, Contracts, Florida Condominium, Florida HOA, Improvement Project, Legal, Rembaum Association Roundup No Comments »

Hurricane Damage A good reason why society provides for prevailing party attorney fees and costs is to make a potential plaintiff think twice before filing a lawsuit. Imagine being able to sue your adversary in court without worry that if you lose you will NOT have to pay prevailing party attorney fees and costs to the other side. Such a situation could lead to an avalanche of lawsuits, and that is exactly what happened when Florida laws permitted contractors holding an “assignment of benefits” in their favor, who were unhappy with the award from the insurance company, to sue the insurance company with nothing to lose but to pay for their own attorney. Simply put, an assignment of benefits is an agreement transferring a homeowner’s insurance benefits to a contractor who may then file a claim against the homeowner’s insurance policy without the involvement of the homeowner. Notwithstanding the assignment of benefits, the homeowner is still responsible to pay the insurance premium and deductible. If the contractor then makes a claim against the insurance policy and is unhappy with the insurance proceeds received, the contractor can sue the insurance company with no threat of having to pay prevailing party attorney fees if the contractor lost its lawsuit against the insurance company. Without the fear of a prevailing party attorney fees award, these types of lawsuits became very prevalent. Insurers claim that this led to ever increasing insurance premiums. Not anymore!

Due to the passage of House Bill 7065 (“HB 7065”), officially taking effect on July 1, 2019, consumers may begin to notice a decrease in their insurance premiums as HB 7065 creates liability for the contractor for attorney fees and costs based upon the difference between the amount recovered and the amount offered during settlement negotiations as compared to the disputed amount. When HB 7065 takes effect, if the contractor holding the assignment of benefits sues and the difference between the judgment obtained by the contractor and the presuit settlement offer by the insurer is less than 25% of the disputed amount, the insurer is entitled to an award of reasonable attorney fees. On the other hand, if the difference between the judgment obtained by the contractor and the presuit settlement offer by the insurer is at least 50% of the disputed amount, the contractor is entitled to an award of reasonable attorney fees. Finally, if the difference between the judgment obtained by the contractor and the presuit settlement offer by the insurer at least 25%, but less than 50%, of the disputed amount, no party is entitled to an award of attorney fees.

Insurers claim that the old system resulted in abuse of property insurance claims, as contractors were inflating repair costs and essentially operating without significant financial risk during insurance litigation, thus allowing contractors to assert numerous claims in hopes that one would stick. As a result, insurance companies were left bearing the costs of these lengthy litigations, and thus, sought to recover their litigation expenses through the consumer – the homeowner – by increasing insurance premiums. While a homeowner is still able to enjoy the benefits of the one-way attorney fee privilege, this right is no longer transferable to the contractors through assignment of benefits. Clearly, this is a drastic change that will affect contractors around the entire State.

With hurricane season approaching, in the event you experience a casualty, before signing an assignment of benefits in favor of the contractor who shows up, often uninvited, not only do you need to read the fine print, but it is strongly suggested you have an attorney review the assignment of benefits contract first.

If you have any questions regarding the impact of this new law, please discuss them with your association’s attorney.

Tags Florida Condo Insurance, Florida HOA Insurance, Hurricane Season, Insurance Claims in Florida Community Associations No Comments »

by Rob Lora, Alarms.org

Tags Alarms.org, Home Swimming Pool Safety Tips, Pool Safety No Comments »

Invasive Iguanas in South Florida The Washington Post recently released an article regarding the consequences of the increasing green iguana population in South Florida.

The green iguana is native to large parts of Central America, eastern Caribbean islands, and parts of South America. This invasive species was first reported to be inhabiting South Florida in the 1960’s.

An invasive species is one that is not native to a certain location and typically spreads diseases and damages the environment.

As many South Florida residents know, the green iguanas tend to destroy landscaping, gardens, damage infrastructure, leave their droppings all over, and even carry harmful diseases such as salmonella. The population of these invasive species, which can grow up to 5 feet long and weigh close to 20 pounds, has been increasing uncontrollably for several years.

Green iguanas can live up to 10 years and may lay six dozen eggs at a time. Since they have no natural predators in Florida, the only population controls they face are cold temperatures and our pest control methods. However, after record heat levels this summer, the latter is the only viable option to control the green iguana population.

The population issue has grown so out of control, that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has announced an open season on the green iguanas. The FWC states that homeowners may kill iguanas on their own properties without a permit, as well as on 22 public lands in South Florida.

Precaution should always be taken whether you elect to remove green iguanas from your property yourself, by hiring a professional, or not at all. To read more on the Washington Post article, click here. Or to visit the FWC statement on green iguanas, click here.

by Ashley Dietz Gray, Marketing Director, Campbell Property Management

Tags Green Iguanas, Invasive Iguanas, Invasive South Florida Iguanas 3 Comments

people enjoy the beautiful Jade beach

Campbell Property Management announces the opening of their 7th office in South Florida on July 1, 2019.

This new office will allow Campbell Property Management, South Florida’s highest rated property management company to start serving Miami Dade County and additional areas of Broward which they were unable to provide service to previously including: Aventura, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Fisher Island, Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, North Bay Village, North Miami Beach, Sunny Isles, Surfside, Dania Beach, Hollywood, Southwest Ranches, Pembroke Pines, Weston and many others.

“We are very excited to start offering our services to associations in Dade and South Broward County,” said Dan Tiernan, COO of Campbell Property Management.

Gary Pyott, a resident of Aventura has joined Campbell as Vice President of Operations for the Miami Dade/South Broward Office. Gary is a 20-year veteran in the Association Services industry and was President of North America’s largest provider of association services for over 17 years. He is also Chairman of the Board for the Aventura Chamber of Commerce and the latest Governor’s appointment to the Regulatory Council of Community Association Managers under the DBPR. Gary is also a state CEU certified course provider and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience of the community association industry.

Miami Office
1680 Michigan Ave
Suite 700, #200
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Phone: 305-942-2490
Email: gpyott@campbellproperty.com

by Ashley Dietz Gray, Marketing Director, Campbell Property Management

Tags Campbell Property Management Opens 7th Office, Campbell Property Management Opens Office in Miami, Condos in Miami, Dade County, HOAs in Miami, Miami Beachfront Condos, Miami Dade County No Comments »

Campbell Port St. Lucie Office Campbell Property Management has opened their sixth office in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

They have built a strong presence in Port St. Lucie over the past few years. This local office will better accommodate the needs of the homeowner and condominium associations that Campbell manages in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties.

Some of Campbell’s current association customers that will benefit from the new location include TownMark Master, Canopy Creek HOA & Club, Watersong, River Marina Neighborhood, Vizcaya Falls and many more.

Port St. Lucie Office
525 NW Lake Whitney Place, Suite 202
Port St. Lucie, FL 34986
Phone: (772) 218-5405

by Ashley Dietz Gray, Marketing Director, Campbell Property Management

Tags Campbell Property Management New Office in Port St. Lucie, Florida, Port St. Lucie No Comments »

South Florida is a region where seasonal rains fall over flat lands that offer little drainage. It is imperative that associations understand their stormwater systems and that ongoing maintenance of drainage systems is performed for flood prevention and compliance.

Some counties and local water control districts require licensing and renewal of the permits for the operation and maintenance of surface water management systems. This benefits landowners by preventing flooding and helping to maintain water quality. Stormwater systems consist of combinations of the following components: lakes, canals, retention basins, swales, drainage structures, and stormwater pumping stations, to name a few. Routine maintenance and certification ensures that the system operates efficiently. It should be noted that in Broward County, failure to renew licenses may result in fines. Property Managers should be aware of local and county regulations and permits for each property they manage. Proper budgeting for the maintenance of stormwater systems is important.

Proper operation of a stormwater drainage system includes the following items:

All catch basin grates, stormwater manhole covers and outfalls are to be free and clear of all obstructions.
All catch basins are to be substantially free of mud, debris, silt and pollutants.
There are to be no areas of sunken pavement that are likely to be the result of a drainage system failure.
There are to be no deteriorated headwalls or broken grates.
Weirs and internal baffles must be in place, and in proper working condition.
Swales and retention/detention areas must not have been modified.
The system must be certified that it has not been modified or expanded and that all components of the surface water management system are functioning in substantial conformance with the plans and specifications licensed by the county.

A final inspection by a certified engineer usually includes, but is not limited to, a visual inspection of all outfalls, grates, stormwater manhole covers, weirs, baffles, manholes, and catch basins. The inspection of underground culvert pipes is normally required only if the engineer concludes that there is evidence of need. With proper budgeting, managers will be able to put necessary maintenance costs for drainage systems into an affordable posture for their clients.

Homeowner Associations, property managers and residents play a vital role in managing the drainage systems in their area. By being familiar with the components in their communities, residents and managers can become active in helping to prevent flooding and pooling water. Drainage systems in your neighborhood should be inspected regularly, checking to see if trash, vegetation and sediments are being removed. Keeping records for jurisdictional agencies is important in preventing potential problems.

By Colleen Sullivan, Marketing Manager, Allstate Resource Management

Tags drainage systems, Flood prevention, Florida HOA, Stormwater, Stormwater systems 1 Comment

Campbell Property Management Thanks to all of the Board Members who attended The Campbell Community Appreciation Event on April 16, 2019 at The Fort Lauderdale Marriott North.