My opinion based on Florida condo ownership for over 50 years…
Many of us enjoy the lure of the beach; some of us live in the north and rush away fall and winter and can’t wait for spring and summer. In the late 1960’s many northerners addressed the lure of summer sun by investing in vacation homes in south Florida. It wasn’t long till the south Florida’s gold coast became a focus not only for sun worshiping middle aged, over 55 relatively comfortable northerners but profit seeking developers.
Like a magic act; land deals evolved, easy ways of all types became available to those who sought it out and a new phenomena the condominium became the expressway for developers, grandma’s and grandpa’s to get their very different piece of “Paradise”. It wasn’t long before Paradise turned into “The wild West” and the state of Florida in the 1980”s established “statute 718” the condominium act. This along with the Florida Department of Business development; have been at the forefront of condominiums and their operations.
Lets step back a little and focus on Condominium Basics…
From the developer side they:
1-fund it
2-build it
3-fill it
4-create estimates of operation and rules and regulations
4-create owner board
5-turn it over to unit owners board management
From Owner side they:
1-buy units(individually or multiples)
2-agree to share all expenses for common areas
3-accept maintenance fees
4-accept rules and regulations
5-on full occupancy owners vote to approve their board
6-Units as well as Common Areas become owner’s responsibility under newly established BOD
This is a very basic description, however the reality in my experience is most owners look at the benefits and ignore the truly important responsibility of co-ownership. With all the development left to builders, developers and management left to unit owner boards; a huge void has grown in Florida privately owned condominiums. This void can become a problem especially when the buildings have accepted the responsibility of self management.
Ask yourself these questions:
1-should I give an inexperienced person the right to overlook the care and maintenance of my co-owned low rise, mid rise, or high rise building?
2-should I allow those same people to manage a multi-million dollar budget?
3-should I allow those same people to make decisions on what safety measures need to be taken?
4- should I allow those same people to make decisions who moves in or out of the building?
5- should I allow those same people to make decisions on current or existing structural needs ?
6-are the board members interested in the owners or their own agendas?
7-are the board members knowledgeable enough to recognize their need for professional help?
8- can board members be honest in their evaluations ignoring friends needs or financial situations?
9-can board members project realistic financial planning based on required structural needs not their own popularity?
If you own a Florida condominium and have negative feelings about any of these questions; you should be very careful of who you elect to your board of directors, and probably should question the quality of your buildings self management or lack there of.
In closing, I as well as many of our south Florida Condominium owners was shaken by the event that happened at “Champlain Towers South” in Surfside. The loss of life and impact on loved ones will never be completely known. We as a unique group of owners who enjoy singular ownership of our units for our, as well as our family’s enjoyment should be more pro active in our elections, the care and maintenance of our co-owned properties. If we haven’t already asked questions, attended meetings, verified and scrutinized board’s ability to protect our property and the loved ones who enjoy it…it is time now and we should!
These are my thoughts and opinions and I welcome any further discussion.
alan b. meschkow
past president of
Plaza Towers South 2009-2015
Hallandale Florida
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