Real Estate Law Articles

The top Florida real estate law firm scored a big win for its clients at the Mediterranean Condominium Association, Inc. in Surfside last month. Fort Lauderdale, FL – February 11, 2016 – PeytonBolin, a leading real estate law firm based in Florida, today celebrated its noteworthy recent success i...

Define, measure, track, share, succeed. Most business people have heard of KPIs or Key Performance Indicators and understand their value when it comes to evaluating success at reaching goals. But did you know that your community association board can use your own set of KPIs? It makes perfect sen...

Summary: For the third year in a row, Fort Lauderdale-based real estate law firm PeytonBolin was honored with the prestigious Readers' Choice Award for Legal Services from the Florida Community Association Journal (FLCAJ). Fort Lauderdale, FL – PeytonBolin, a leading real estate law firm, is exci...

Here are five key elements that make up a community association board's cycle. How often does your community association board address all the issues and aspects that need to be handled for the entire year? If you're thinking “never” or “as the need arises”, it's time to take a better approach. J...

Filling in the knowledge gaps on your board When it comes to handling the many aspects of your community association, especially if you are running it as you would a business, it's important to have certain professionals who act as your trusted advisors. When you do this, you'll have an unbiased ...

Here's the simple answer. Because you are one. In essence, your community association is a not-for-profit business and although your board members are volunteers that were elected by popular vote, you are still required to follow certain requirements like other businesses. That being said, there ...

So much to read and so little time. We've made it easy and put together 10 of our most popular community association blogs. Happy reading. How to Get Residents More Involved in Your Community Association In order for a homeowner's association to work to its full potential, it needs to have the he...

The short answer? Absolutely! As a member of any Florida HOA—from the smallest complex to grand-scale planned developments—you are guaranteed both legal rights and access to information with regard to your individual property, as well as the expectation of consistency in treatment and enforcement...

A recent Florida case highlights interesting concerns about a homeowner's right to privacy. A condominium owner had repeatedly refused entry to her unit when her Association conducted pest control. According to the owner, she had a breathing disorder which would become more problematic if pest co...

No! The Grandfather Clause is a useful tool that allows communities to update their rules without driving current residents away Many community associations are aware of the potential benefits of the grandfather clause. As environments change, regulations may often change with them. It is not alw...

HOAs and condo associations have a unique set of operational, legal and financial issues you must be aware of before you decide to move in Condominium associations, most homeowner associations and cooperative housing corporations (“co-ops”) are all common ownership communities. While each runs di...

Whether you want to bring the camera or are uncomfortable because someone else has, here's everything you need to know about videotaping condo, HOA and cooperative board meetings in Florida While condominium and HOA members in Florida have the right to videotape board and membership meetings, coo...

How associations can build a case regarding incidents of nuisance. In some situations, the rules established by a community association just don't do enough to deter conflict. There are probably no specific rules outlined in your governing documents that ban behavior like setting off fireworks or...

Branding Is Not Irrelevant for Communication Associations: Here's Why… Don't make the mistake of thinking that branding is irrelevant to your community association. It's something that associations should consider carefully, because your brand communicates a great deal about your organization. Th...

What Due Diligence Means For Board Directors and How To Apply It Flexibly Directors often hear this phrase: “do your due diligence” before committing to a decision. But what does that really mean? Read on to learn more about the role that due diligence plays for a director and how to use it to ai...

Before you trust them to collect your debts, determine whether you can trust them at all Choosing the right collection agency is about finding the solution that works best for your community. You have a choice to use a collection agency or a law firm; however, collection agencies do not have the ...

Review the laws and best practices regarding association reserves in Florida Planning ahead for future maintenance needs or even replacements are crucial to the success of a community association. It's not only in the best interests for the association and the association's members, but in many c...

While you likely have rules in place regarding smoking, what do you do when issues arise regarding second hand smoke? Smoking has received a lot of attention in recent years as a bad and unhealthy habit, but research about the impact of secondhand smoke has reignited the conversation about whethe...

When one wrong decision can set an unfavorable precedent for years to come, establishing clear guidelines becomes critically important We've spoken to many board members about rewriting or amending their governing documents, but the question of whether to include the right to grant hardship exemp...

How you can ensure that your annual meeting or election runs smoothly and adheres to community law The Florida Statutes and Florida Administrative Code define the specific processes and procedures for electing association Board members to ensure that elections are fair and that any unit owner int...

Turning to your community for help If you are curious about Home Owners Association or community common areas and upkeep, the answers are going to require a bit of legwork and investigation. After all, the governing documents of towns and HOAs vary widely, and the bylaws, CC&Rs and other articles...

When deciding where to live, it is more important than ever to read the fine print When you are looking to purchase a property in a common interest development, you aren't just buying your unit. Instead, you are becoming part of a larger entity that works together to protect and maintain the buil...

Help Your Community through the Storm When hurricane season rolls around, it's a frightening and busy time for many different areas of the country. Homeowners need to make sure that their properties are safe from any potential storm and hurricane damage. This is also important for homeowner's ass...

How to Help New Tenants Where's the water shut off in case of an emergency? Who is the point of contact for our homeowner's association? What fire exit plan do I use? These are but a few of the relevant and common questions that a buyer might have when they close on their condominium or apart...

How to make sure Fido is an upstanding member of your community. Does your community association allow people to have pets in the building? Are there rules against it? All associations need to make sure they have their pet policies in order, so residents will have solid answers to the questions t...