NOTE:  DATE CHANGE

FREE SEMINAR ANNOUNCEMENT FOR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION PROPERTY MANAGERS (CAM CREDIT), DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS OF CONDOMINIUM AND HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATIONS

Jay Steven Levine, Esquire, the Principal of the Jay Steven Levine Law Group, a community association and commercial litigation law firm, is pleased to announce that he is an invited guest speaker at the Free Quarterly Board of Directors Seminar and Property Managers Expo sponsored by Executive One Consultant Group on Thursday September 15, 2011. 

The Seminar and Vendor Expo will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1601 Belvedere Road, West Palm Beach, Florida.  Jay Steven Levine will be presenting an informative one (1) hour CAM credit course on Assessment Collection.  The license number for the presenter is PVD110.  The one (1) hour CAM course number is 9626271 in the “other” category.

The keynote speaker at the Seminar and Expo will be Orly Amor, the author of “The Practical Approach to Property Management for Our Times”.  Ms. Amor is also the President and CEO of the Executive One Consultant Group.

We invite you to contact Seminar and Expo representatives at (954) 977-8656 with questions and/or to RSVP.  For directions, to the Seminar and Expo, please call (888) 689-6892.  A flyer is enclosed for your information.

About the Jay Steven Levine Law Group
The Jay Steven Levine Law Group specializes in Florida community association law and Florida commercial litigation. The lawyers at the Jay Steven Levine Law Group have over a combined fifty years of legal experience, maintaining offices in Aventura, Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, and by appointment in the Treasure Coast.

For more information about the Jay Steven Levine Law Group, please email jsl@jsllawgroup.com. Additional information may be found at: http://www.jsllawgroup.com

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Jay Steven Levine, Esquire of the Jay Steven Levine Law Group offers two FREE CAM credit seminars on the subject of hurricane, casualty and property damage topics, in the "Other" category.  The one hour credit course is course number 9626161 and the two hour credit course is course number is 9626162.  The provider license number is PVD110.  The seminar could be available at one of the Firm offices and is also available to be at a management company location or any other location selected by the management company.

Mr. Levine also offers a board certification course covering the subjects of budgets and reserves, condominium operations, elections, records maintenance including unit owner access to records, and bids and contracts.  The board certification class lasts one hour and would be available to large groups of directors either in the Firm's offices or at the requested site.  The course is presented at no charge.

About the Jay Steven Levine Law Group
The Jay Steven Levine Law Group specializes in Florida community association law and Florida commercial litigation. The lawyers at the Jay Steven Levine Law Group have over a combined fifty years of legal experience, maintaining offices in Aventura, Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, and by appointment in the Treasure Coast.

For more information about the Jay Steven Levine Law Group, please email jsl@jsllawgroup.com. Additional information may be found at: http://www.jsllawgroup.com

Association Law · Collections · Construction Defects · Casualty & Insurance Claims ·Contracts · Litigation

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florida community association lawyer

Jay Steven Levine, Esquire, the Principal of the Jay Steven Levine Law Group, a community association and Florida commercial litigation law firm, is pleased to announce that he is an invited guest speaker at the 16th Quarterly Board of Directors Seminar and Vendor Expo sponsored by Executive One Consulting Group on Tuesday June 21, 2011.  The Seminar and Vendor Expo will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Sawgrass Mills, Sunrise, Florida. Jay Steven Levine will be discussing House Bill 1195, Senate Bill 408 and other new Florida legislation affecting community associations. 

The keynote speaker at the Seminar and Expo will be Orly Amor, the author of “The Practical Approach to Property Management for our Times”.  Ms. Amor is also the President and CEO of the Executive One Consulting Group.

We invite you to contact Seminar and Expo representatives at (954) 977-8656 with questions and/or to RSVP.  For directions, to the Seminar and Expo, please call (954) 851-1020.

With over 30 years of experience in Florida community association law, Jay Steven Levine of Jay Steven Levine Law Group is Your Community Partner^SM.

About the Jay Steven Levine Law Group
The Jay Steven Levine Law Group specializes in Florida community association law and Florida commercial litigation. The lawyers at the Jay Steven Levine Law Group have over a combined fifty years of legal experience, maintaining offices in Aventura, Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, and by appointment in the Treasure Coast.

For more information about the Jay Steven Levine Law Group, please email jsl@jsllawgroup.com. Additional information may be found at: http://www.jsllawgroup.com

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Questions often arise regarding minimum notice by the Board of Directors in adopting rules regarding unit (in the case of condominiums and cooperatives) or parcel (in the case of homeowner associations) use.  Can the minimum 48 hour notice be utilized since it is a Board meeting?  Are the proposed rules required to be affixed to the notice of the relevant meeting?   Well, the answer depends upon the governing documents.  First and foremost, ascertain and determine whether the Board has the authority to amend and adopt such rules.  Assuming the Board has the authority, consider that the law provides for a minimum 14 day notice prior to the respective meeting where rules regarding unit or parcel use will be considered.  For condominiums (718) and cooperatives (719), an affidavit attesting to compliance with the notice requirements is also required.  As for 718, 719 and homeowner associations (720), notice may be by mail, delivery or electronic notice (under certain circumstances) together with conspicuous posting of the notice on the property.  While the statute does provide minimum notice requirements, it does not mandate inclusion of the proposed rule in the meeting notice.  However, your governing documents may require more than just notice, such as a copy of the proposed rule to be delivered with the notice, which is not otherwise required by law.  The governing documents will control if such requirement is imposed.  The best approach is to confirm by checking your community governing documents for any variations to the minimum required by law.  In other words, one size does not fit all and for something as important as governing the conduct and actions of persons often living in close quarters, the best approach is the tailor made approach.

About the Jay Steven Levine Law Group
The Jay Steven Levine Law Group specializes in Florida community association law and Florida commercial litigation.  The lawyers at the Jay Steven Levine Law Group have over a combined fifty years of legal experience, maintaining offices in Aventura, Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, and by appointment in the Treasure Coast.

For more information about the Jay Steven Levine Law Group, please email jsl@jsllawgroup.com.  Additional information may be found at: http://www.jsllawgroup.com

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BP Oil Spill 

The BP deepwater horizon oil spill provides an additional risk to Gulf state communities for this upcoming hurricane season.  Experts are predicting that the oil spill can be forced onto land creating an environmental disaster.  Recently, CNN aired a story stressing that should oil be forced onto the land, residents would be forced from their homes, and may not be able to return until the oil and contamination were cleaned up.  As a result, Gulf state communities should be that much more prepared in the event of such possibilities. 

The question is whether associations will be insured for oil spill damage.  Officials from the National Flood Insurance Program have indicated that oil damage to buildings and contents will be covered, but site contamination will not.  Community associations should realize that flood insurance covers damage only from rising water but not from wind-driven rain containing oil contamination.  Many (non-flood) property, casualty and windstorm policies contain exclusions from pollutants (which would include oil), and as such, these communities should discuss with their insurance agents whether there is coverage for oil stains on the property.

Stay tuned for Part 4 of the 2010 Hurricane Season Guide: Condominium Association Unit Owner Insurance Coverage Obligations

About the Jay Steven Levine Law Group
The Jay Steven Levine Law Group specializes in Florida community association law and Florida commercial litigation.  The lawyers at the Jay Steven Levine Law Group have over a combined fifty years of legal experience, maintaining offices in Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, and by appointment in the Treasure Coast.

For more information about the Jay Steven Levine Law Group, please email jsl@jsllawgroup.com.  Additional information may be found at: http://www.jsllawgroup.com

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TRIM Summer Blues

The lazy, hazy days of summer bring more than heat and humidity.  You can also expect to receive your TRIM notice.  A TRIM notice, which stands for a “Truth in Millage” notice, is an estimate of your property taxes based on proposed tax rates (county, municipal and other taxing districts), property value and exemptions.

A TRIM notice provides:

· A description of the property by key number, parcel number and abbreviated parcel description. 

· Lists of the taxing authorities which levy taxes on your property. 

· Lists non-ad valorem assessments. 

· A comparison of last years taxes, proposed taxes if the taxing authorities budget is approved and proposed taxes if no budget change is made. 

· A schedule of taxing authorities meeting times and places (and taxing authorities phone numbers). 

· A comparison of last year and current years’ market values, assessed value, exemptions and taxable value. 

· A deadline in which to file a formal appeal with the Value Adjustment Board if you disagree with the estimated market value. This deadline is established by Florida Statute based on the date of mailing of the TRIM Notice and is near the bottom of the notice. 

Owners should check their TRIM notices very carefully examining it for errors in either content or calculation.  For example, is the value of your home properly and accurately valued?  January 1 is the valuation date in Florida (based on sales market data for the preceding calendar year).  Is your home accurately described in terms of age and size?  Are all of your eligible exemptions listed?  Was your home affected by Chinese drywall, thereby affecting its value?

You might consider filing a protest if you find an error or omission.  If you are correct, your estimate may decrease, resulting in a possible reduction in your property taxes, which means more money in your pocket.  For more information on how the Jay Steven Levine Law Group can assist you, please call or e-mail us.

About the Jay Steven Levine Law Group
The Jay Steven Levine Law Group specializes in Florida community association law and Florida commercial litigation.  The lawyers at the Jay Steven Levine Law Group have over a combined fifty years of legal experience, maintaining offices in Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, and by appointment in the Treasure Coast.

For more information about the Jay Steven Levine Law Group, please email jsl@jsllawgroup.com.  Additional information may be found at: http://www.jsllawgroup.com

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Community Association  clients of the Jay Steven Levine Law Group have questioned why should they be ready for a hurricane season when experts have for the past five years predicted a busy hurricane season which did not materialize.

Condominium Association Insuring Obligations

The Jay Steven Levine Law Group is often asked what are the insurance coverage obligations of the Condominium association.

For years the condominium statute contained express insuring coverage obligations of the condominium, but set forth enumerated exceptions which the condominium does not insure.  In 2008, a prior exclusion was removed, namely the entire air conditioning and heating system from the compressor all the way up to and including the thermostat - so the condominium association had to insure for this component for the first time.  The 2010 statute continues this arrangement as the condominium association insuring obligation.

The 2010 legislature made it clear that the excluded items must be located within the boundaries of the unit and serve only that unit. 

Since 2008, the condominium statute has required that the amount of insurance be determined every thirty-six (36) months.  The 2010 statute clarifies that the determination must be based on full insurable value. 

Effective July 1, 2010, the condominium statute was amended to provide that the notice of the meeting of the Board to approve of the insurance policy including the deductible, no longer needs to detail the proposed deductible and the authority upon which the board relies to determine the deductible amount, nor must the notice estimate the potential assessment against each unit.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the 2010 Hurricane Season Guide: BP Oil Spill

About the Jay Steven Levine Law Group
The Jay Steven Levine Law Group specializes in Florida community association law and Florida commercial litigation.  The lawyers at the Jay Steven Levine Law Group have over a combined fifty years of legal experience, maintaining offices in Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, and by appointment in the Treasure Coast.

For more information about the Jay Steven Levine Law Group, please email jsl@jsllawgroup.com.  Additional information may be found at: http://www.jsllawgroup.com

Association Law · Collections · Construction Defects · Casualty & Insurance Claims ·Contracts · Litigation

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A very important but negative development has occurred for homeowners' associations seeking to collect past due assessments provided by Section 720.3085, Florida Statutes, from banks and other parties who bid and obtain title to lots/units at bank foreclosure sales, or who obtain a deed in lieu of foreclosure, because of the case of Coral Lakes Community Association, Inc. v. Busey Bank, N.A., 30 So.3d 579 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010) (Condominium associations are not affected by this ruling). 

In Coral Lakes, the court was faced with a declaration containing language which provided for no past due assessment liability to a bank or other high bidder at a mortgage foreclosure sale, or one who obtains a deed in lieu of foreclosure.  The court reasoned that a mortgage holder or other high bidder at a mortgage foreclosure sale or the holder of a first mortgage who obtains a deed in lieu of foreclosure is a third party beneficiary under and thereby entitled to protection of the declaration, and therefore, the statutorily imposed fee (of the lesser of 12 months of past due assessments or 1% of the original mortgage amount) would not apply to a mortgage dated prior to the effective date of the statute (July 1, 2008).  The court held that doing so would retroactively impair the mortgage which was dated prior to the effective date of the statute, and thereby would be an unconstitutional impairment of contract.  The court concluded that there was no past due assessment liability, citing the declaration as controlling, irrespective of the language imposing limited liability as described in Section 720.3085. 

Every homeowners association should know whether the Coral Lakes case will be problematic for the association.  In determining the applicability of the case, Jay Steven Levine Law Group reviews the date that the mortgage was signed to determine whether there is even an issue in favor of the mortgage holder.  Jay Steven Levine Law Group further reviews the governing declaration to determine whether there is a provision relieving mortgage holders and other persons obtaining title at bank foreclosure sales or by a deed in lieu of foreclosure. 

Jay Steven Levine Law Group recommends that a homeowners' association having facts (including declaration language) similar to Coral Lakes consider amending its declaration to eliminate the problematic language involved in the Coral Lakes case.  Though there is no guarantee that an amendment will operate to eliminate the issues raised in Coral Lakes, it is certainly a positive step in dealing with the negative impact of this case.

About the Jay Steven Levine Law Group
The Jay Steven Levine Law Group specializes in Florida community association law and Florida commercial litigation.  The lawyers at the Jay Steven Levine Law Group have over a combined fifty years of legal experience, maintaining offices in Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens, Fort Myers and by appointment in Naples and the Treasure Coast.

For more information about the Jay Steven Levine Law Group, please email jsl@jsllawgroup.com.  Additional information may be found at http://www.jsllawgroup.com