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JacquelineB2
(Florida)

Posts:19

06/17/2008 8:45 AM
I have answered and requested information from this website to which I was given so much information via responses. I just attended a special meeting where a special assessment was wished for by the board because they don't have enough monies to pay bills. One bill was for landscaping (common and lot grounds). The board just sent in a payment to the landscaping company for $4,000 (leaving $2,000 unpaid).......my arguement was: this is a luxury we cannot afford.....we live in Florida and the grass hasn't grown in 6 months (not much rain)......I battled back and forth. In the end I advised the board that instead of nickle-and-diming the residents why don't you right a Rule/Regulation stipulating that for a 6-month period the landscaping will be put on hold and readdress later to see if the monies are available to restart the service.......The board looked at me in disbeliefe.......the grass needs to be cut.......my arguement if you don't have the monies then the homeowners will have to cut their own grass.........I am in the prossess of creating a Petition to halt, temporarily the landscaping.......I just have to get it signed and notarized...........we didn't have a quarum so the $150 was not voted on. We will have another meeting in 30 days (are the proxy votes from the first meeting still valid?)......... The information does help............they were surprised to know there were amendements in the Governor's Office (Florida) waiting to be signed.......the property manager did know, but neglected to tell the board members........mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

GlenL
(Ohio)

Posts:1221

06/17/2008 8:59 AM
We will have another meeting in 30 days (are the proxy votes from the first meeting still valid?)......... Jacqueline most proxies are valid only for a specific meeting/purpose unlike a general power of attorney so IMO you need new ones for the next meeting.

DonnaS
(Tennessee)

Posts:2299

06/17/2008 9:46 AM
JAcqueline, Proxies in Florida are called "LIMITED PROXIES" and they are valid for 90 days from the date of the original vote. They must be used for the exact purpose, not other matters from the original purpose. Now, to stop the grass cutting sounds to me to be a bit extreme unless this is a Preserve area or someplace that it would not be in view from the public. To require the homeowners to take over the job of mowing will NOT be a rule and regulation decision. Lawn maintenance was an amenity that the owners bought into and cannot be just washed away with the stroke of a pen. It will take a vote rom the membership and probably would never pass. Bite the bullet and know that your yard maintenance item in the Budget was underfunded and will have to be increased. none of us wants our dues to go up but it is a fact of life that they will. What amendments are you referring to in the Govs office? There are some things that the Gov, even Charlie, cannot make happen and changing your Docs without membership approval is one of them unless it is a Statute and your lawn would certainly not be a State issue.

JacquelineB2
(Florida)

Posts:19

06/17/2008 10:35 AM
I read in the by-laws that you cannot remove but can amend, or right a rule or regulation modifying, changing or adding to ect. something that already exists. We do have information reference landscaping but not only the "common areas"............not the actual lot areas.

DonnaS
(Tennessee)

Posts:2299

06/17/2008 10:59 AM
Jacqueline, Exactly what do your documents call the individual lots? Are they considered common area or "limited" common area? Even tho your ByLaws say that you can amend, change or add, etc, the amenity of having the lawns cut for each unit is not something that will come under R. and Rs. That is under "association responsibility" and the Board does not have the power to change that unless the membership allows it per a vote. Why don't you send us the exact wording for lawn care and who is responsible for unit lawn care. The description of care will be how you will be able to change this. Again, in my humble opinion, this is not Rules and Regs.

DonnaS
(Tennessee)

Posts:2299

06/17/2008 11:01 AM
Again, what are you referring to in the Govenors office waiting to be signed??

JohnM3
(Florida)

Posts:208

06/17/2008 1:23 PM
Dear Ladies: Donna of Tenn there are now 6 bills sitting on Sunshine Charlies desk waiting for him to sign 4 having to do with HOAs the other 2 as modifications to 719 big time ( Condos) Jacqueline: Depends on your docs are states that the HOA must cut both sides front and rear as long as they are accessable. What you can do is: 1. Volunteer to be on the Beatification Comm as a member. Recommend to the board to shut down the contract and go to a Cut-Blow-Go type of landscaping setup. Its 50 percent cheaper than standard lawn Service Then cut it down to 2 times a month for 8 months a year. This is what you have to do to save money then do it Instead of a special assessment. 21 years in existence and we have never had a special in this development of 305 members. Good Luck

DonnaS
(Tennessee)

Posts:2299

06/17/2008 1:42 PM
John, I am aware of the bills and have read them. I want to know exactly what Jacqueline is referring to, what is applicable to her situation to discontinue lawn cutting on the individual lots. There are ways to cut expenses but we are dealing with her wanting to remove an amenity that the homeowners bought into.

EllenS1
(Florida)

Posts:321

06/17/2008 2:36 PM
(1) Have you seen the contract the HOA has with the landscaping company? If you breach that contract it may cost more than the special assessment would cost. (2) If your covenants say the grounds,etc will be maintained rules and regs cannot be made that voids this covenant. Our docs allow for a 5% increase in assessments EXCEPT for landscaping in which case assessments can go up to pay for the same. People who purchase in HOAS do so for because they do not want to do lawn work. Petitions, notarized or not serve only to inform the board of what you desire. Rules and regs do not replace owners' rights unless you have whatever percentage of homeowners agree to amend the covenants. Another costly and time consuming effort. (3) I suggest you review your covenants and the lawn care contract. It may be possible to work out a deal that would be agreeable to both the lawn care company and the owners, i.e., is there some service that the lawn care company will not do in exchange for a lesser amount? It appears your HOA has no reserve. If so, this may be a good time to address that issue.

KirkW1
(Texas)

Posts:679

06/17/2008 11:04 PM
Why does your landscaping need to be an all or nothing situation? You can cut the cost of landscaping by reducing the number of times the grass is cut (assuming you can get a new contract). If you shift the cost to the owners, many will not feel a savings. Instead they will have to buy lawn equipment. And a good mower is much more then the $150 you mentioned. I do think that perhaps you need to have a meeting to discuss the budget and fix the thing. Regardless of your position on services or the like, not having a budget that works puts a tremendous strain on people.

EllenS1
(Florida)

Posts:321

06/18/2008 4:44 PM
KirkW1, I agree that something may be able to be worked out with the landscaping company but this HOA board cannot decide they will not take care of the propery promised when people purchased there. I am 76 and moved to an HOA because I was no longer able to do yard work and even if they gave me a free lawnmower it would be a cold day in h--l before I would go out and mow. I also agree that they need to revisit their assessments and budget. I purchased a condo in So. Fla and was there for two weeks when they asked for a special assessment of $600 to cover insurance and it was still not enough to cover our basics. Some realtors brag that the assessments are low but never mention reserves or special assessments. I lived there two years and we had two special assessments which did not address our 50 year old roof or plumbing issues. As they say, let the buyer beware.

JacquelineB2
(Florida)

Posts:19

06/20/2008 12:27 PM
To answer some of the questions: There seems to be 4 bills amending Chapter 720 (FS which were approved in 2008). I was given these websites to keep updated on HS-1105, HB-679, HS-1986er. http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx? FileName=_h1105er.xml&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=1105&Session=2008. This is just one example of the website but if you know the bill number just type the same path with a different bill#. The information was received from: Holli.McLanahan@LASPBS>STATE.FL.US who I think works in the Governor's Office (Crist). I am not getting rid of the landscaping permanently, just putting it on hold for 6 months so we can at least catch up. The by-laws state "common areas", that's it and they are on what is called "conservation" lands.

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