Petty Powers: New Florida Law Limits HOAs

The old saw that “you get the government you deserve” applies to HOA boards as well. Because my wife and I are part-time residents of a South Carolina condo neighborhood, we never took board elections seriously. Big mistake. Our condo association comprises 28 units in six buildings. The original building of just two units and our six-unit building were the first two built 25 years ago. The next four buildings featured 2nd floor porch decks off the upstairs bedrooms. A few years ago, because of improper care and questionable construction, some of the porch decks suffered from rot. The HOA board decided to replace all of them and assess EVERYONE in the association $14,000 for the repairs, even though eight units do not have porch decks. Unfortunately, the porch decks were defined as limited common elements, making the entire association liable for replacements. A creative board might have shared the costs more fairly. But every member of the board lived in a unit with a porch deck…a $14,000 lesson learned; in the last election, we worked to get two of our own elected to the board. In short, HOA associations need a board to govern; you just need to make sure you elect the right representatives.

Our HOA volunteers work very hard to apply the rules fairly - the rules that EVERYONE read before buying into the community, the rules that keep our community looking good. The rules help keep a neighbor from, say, having garbage in their yard, or having a year-around yard sale, or storing used tires in their front yard. No one here is too concerned unless there is a clear violation, usually one that annoys most of the neighbors,

I have never lived with an HOA. In my next move, I might. I currently live in a neighborhood where people make noise all hours of the day and night, have junk cars in their yards, make their dogs live outside, etc. I would love to live in a place where that doesn't happen. Under HOA rules, I don't think it would. I do know there would likely be rules I would not like. But who gets everything they want?

I’ve lived in a 55+ community in Florida for 6+ months annually during the last ten years and have little to no problems with our HOA. When considering a move to a property with an HOA, it’s important to do your homework before committing to ownership. Fees have been reasonable except for the insurance costs over which the HOA board has very little control, since most condo communities in Florida have only the state-run Citizens Insurance available them. However, you can usually shop around for your own unit’s contents/personal liability insurance. There are a number of good books on condominium living on the market (or in your library) and it’s a good idea to read through at least one of these while you’re looking. As is often pointed out, prior to buying, request a copy of the HOA budget and how reserves have been funded in the property you’re look in at. Also, most states require a prospective buyer be given a copy of the HOA documents (by-laws, etc.) before they close on a deal. Read these carefully or have an attorney review to avoid surprises or misunderstandings later. For the most part, HOA fees simply cover the individual costs you’d be paying (and effort you’d spend) if you lived in a property without an HOA. Prior due diligence is the key to later being satisfied with a condo purchase.

I live in a community with an HOA. I LIKE that we need to bring in our empty trashcan within a certain time period, that we cannot have cars parked all over the street, that we need to keep the outside of our house looking decent, that we pay so that our common areas look nice, etc. I read the rules, agreed to the rules, keep the rules, and like the rules.

We live in an area of Fort Myers where there are numerous gated communities but only one, ours, is a 55+ community. There are very few problems with the HOA rules. Comments from current and new residents over the years (we've been here 12 years) are they felt the HOA rules are a plus. Interestingly, the other communities in our area tend to have numerous problems with residents testing the HOA rules even though they knew what they were when they moved in. The commentary I read on Next Door about their HOA rules issues is generally from those under 55 years of age with families. Makes us all the more glad we chose a true 55+ community!

I'm not a huge fan of HOAs but they do serve a purpose. If the people running the HOA are not right, they should be voted out. However, like Larry said he didn't vote & got what he voted for - short changed.

I think the law that was created in FL is a good start to putting all HOAs on notice, that abuse fraud will not be tolerated in any form! There really needs to be a law against them being able to take your home for unpaid dues & fines.

It's not just fraud and abuse with hoa's. I lived in a 4 unit condo building in coastal Los Angeles. Some of the owners didn't want to agree to basic repairs, some were more meticulous. There were noisy kids, unsupervised, running around all the time. The mixture of owners was not good. The values and personalities did not mesh.