Horror Story

Do you think this only happens with condominiums? Do you think this can't happen to Cross Tie Ranch owners? Think again!! Most of it already has and will continue; unless you stand up for yourself and make your voice heard...

Honorable Senators and Florida Legislators:

I ask for your immediate attention to an urgent gap in Florida's legislative system that has unit owners of deed-restricted homes and condominiums at risk of losing their properties to abusive associations. My family and I may lose our home and NOTHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT! Your support of Senate Bill SB 1248 would help save families like mine from losing their homes to unethical, out of control and law breaking condominium associations like Grand Vista in Hialeah Gardens, where we have lived for the past seven (7) years. I am certain you have all heard of horrors that occur in condominiums, but I am urging you to please pay special attention to my story, because it clearly details how inadequate our current state laws are.

I may have been paying my association fees for the past seven (7) years and I may have been a model resident of this community, but one day when I decided to exercise my right and investigate why over $200,000 of my Association funds had suddenly disappeared, my Association threatened me and is attempting to take my home. DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR? Incredible how in today's system, it is possible for associations to have so much power that they can force people out of their homes just to stop them from inquiring about missing funds. My family and I may lose our only home for no reason other than because my condo association is upset that I reported their violations to the Department of Business and Professional Regulations ("DBPR").

A group of us discovered the missing funds and other violations and reported it. The Association has been issued over seven (7) violations and they are currently under investigation for another seventeen (17), including using over $200,000 of the Association's funds for personal use. The unit owners of my community have requested annual reports, proposed budgets, we have requested meetings and demanded fair elections and we have been ignored. A group of us have been to several local, state and federal agencies, such as the police, the mayor's office, the State Attorney's office, and the Insurance Commissioners office to request an investigation for Economics Crime. These agencies did nothing! After being exhausted on resources and unable to find affordable legal representation, a large group of us turned all this over to the DBPR. Investigators at the DBPR found violations during the last election and requested to review the election documents, but the Association ("conveniently") stated to have lost those documents. Nothing resulted from this investigation because no agency has jurisdiction to remove or penalize runaway board members. As a result of our complaints to the DBPR, a group of us were attacked with liens for no valid reason and the Association is now threatening to foreclose on our property and there is NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO TO HELP US.

It does not matter that a person does not owe the association money, THEY CAN STILL HARASS YOU USING RUTHLESS COLLECTION MEANS AND THEY CAN FILE A LIEN AND FORECLOSE. Why? The DBPR has no jurisdiction over these matters. The Federal Trade Commission does not either. Not one single agency has been willing or able to help. Our Association refuses to prepare annual reports and fails to file their yearly reports with the state when due. They hold elections at whim. During the past four years, the elections have been late every year (about two to four months late.) They issue checks to each other and their friends and relatives, amounting to over $50,000. They lose the receipts and accounting records every year or when unit owners request to inspect them. No audit has been prepared since the developer turned over the property seven (7) years ago. They have made over $200,000 in the reserve accounts disappear without a trace and they have not been obligated by the DBPR to show any accounting records. They left us all without insurance last year and made us all responsible for payment of various damages and liabilities. NOTHING CAN BE DONE! After two years of this abuse, a group of us have attempted to review the official records and requested copies of the Annual Reports that every corporation is required to prepare for their shareholders. Instead of providing us with the requested information, the Association has attacked us with fraudulent and false debts.

When disputes arise, associations automatically know to immediately stop accepting the individual's monthly assessment checks and later they say they never received payment, whereby they pursue aggressive collection means to take away their home. Because I was responsible for exposing the violations to these agencies, they placed a LIEN and now they are threatening to FORECLOSE. Though I have not fallen behind on my monthly assessments, and I have been paying my association fees via certified bank checks so that they cannot later say that I did not send it, they can STILL HARASS ME WITH COLLECTION LETTERS AND LIENS AND DO JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. That is just what they have done! A report I made to the FTC has gone without investigation because it is "condo related". Did you know that under the current Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA 15 USC 1692 et seq.) associations and their attorneys had until this time been excluded from complying because they do not technically fall under the definition as "bill collectors"? As proof of this, a group of us who complained to the DBPR received bogus bills and statements, and even though we disputed those charges via certified mail, they recorded a lien nine (9) days after presenting us with their notice. IS THIS FAIR? Certainly not, but our state legislation has made it possible for associations such as this one to abuse their power and the system for many years. There is no department where we can turn to for help. Everything ends up in the court room. But what happens when unit owners like myself do not have the resources to file a lawsuit?

Condominium attorneys are taking advantage of this situation. While reviewing the public records I came across an overwhelming pattern of this abuse. The attorney for our Association, Mr. Nestor Alvarez frequently issues notices of liens where he indicates that owners have "thirty (30) days to dispute the debt", but public records will show that in nearly all cases Mr. Alvarez has filed the claim of lien with the court registrar within 5 - 10 days after mailing his notice, thereby not allowing the unit owners an opportunity to dispute. He later demands legal fees in order to remove the lien. This is a SCAM, and legislation permits attorneys like Mr. Alvarez to do this to unit owners. When Mr. Alvarez was asked why he did not comply with his notice to permit thirty (30) days to dispute, Mr. Alvarez responded that his actions are not enforceable under FDCPA, even though his letter quotes the FTC requirements for Fair Debt Collection. Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes does not address the issue of collection of assessment debts and what means are considered unlawful. The FTC and the FDCPA does not cover condominiums. The DBPR does not become involved in what they consider "internal financial disputes." As I was informed, the State Attorneys office is "too busy with bigger cases to be bogged down with all these condo problems". Local law enforcement does not have the resources to investigate condominium matters. The only option is for unit owners to TAKE ASSOCIATIONS TO COURT. However, board members cannot legally be sued.

On August 21, 2001, I complained because they black listed unit owners by placing lists with their names and balances all over the condominium property. The following day I received a bill for an outrageous amount of $700. On July 15, 2002, I requested to review the official records. That day they billed me another $400. On December 13, 2002, I arrived at an appointment made by the DBPR to inspect the records, and after being expelled from the facilities I received a bill for $856. They charged me an additional $546 in late fees, compounded monthly when I disputed their false debt and they refuse to demonstrate proof of any debt. The DBPR has been informed numerous times of my situation, but has provided very limited assistance. It is time that better enforcement is put in place to STOP THIS ABUSE. Please support SB 1248 and help make living in Florida peaceful, easier, and less harassing for the residents of Condominiums and HOA's.

Respectively yours,
Name Withheld
Grand Vista Condominiums
Hialeah Gardens, Florida