View full article below.  Published in Herald Tribune, July 7th by Derek Gilliam  Download PDF File Here

Community associations confronted with construction defects face some very difficult financial choices. Often, these choices come on the heels of turnover, when a newly minted, owner-controlled board is just getting their bearings on planning and managing their operating and reserve accounts. Or, the defect may emanate from an expensive major repai...

Excerpt from article : Alan Tannenbaum, a Sarasota construction litigation attorney with Tannenbaum Lemole & Kleinberg, once represented about 125 investors who found themselves in a similar situation as many of the Konsul Development's clients, with large deposits paid out and half-finished homes in North Port and Charlotte County. That case e...

The American Institute of Architects and three national engineering associations publish contract forms (AIA owner/general contractor agreements) and (EJCDC owner/general contractor agreements) that are intended for use nationally on major new construction projects.It's an easy default for Florida architects, engineers and contractors to recommend ...

Florida engineering firms servicing condos, and connected townhome and duplex buildings under HOA control, before the tragic Surfside condo collapse were already paying very high premiums for professional liability insurance. Plus, the per claim deductibles under these policies were very high, sometimes up to $100,000 per claim. After the Surfside ...

Florida has a strong, comprehensive Condo Act (Chap. 718). It has a weak HOA Act (Chap. 720). It is apparent that developers in Florida kicked themselves for having allowed a consumer-friendly Condo Act to have been passed in the early 1970's by The Florida Legislature and vowed never to allow it to happen for deed-restricted HOA communities. The r...

Many Americans are by now familiar with the shortage of consumer goods resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.Condominium and homeowners' associations have also been faced with supply disruptions affecting planned or on-going major repair projects.Many a community association is being asked by its contractors to accept both delays and price increases...

ARGUMENT FOR AMENDING THE CCRs EARLY ON TO MAXIMIZE THE HOA's MAINTENANCE, REPAIR, AND CLAIM AUTHORITY For decades after condos were first developed in Florida in the '60s, developers desiring to build and sell connected townhomes (duplexes, triplexes, quadruplexes, etc) declared the buildings to condominium. Under the condominium regime, typically...

Alan Tannenbaum, a board-certified construction lawyer, told Insider more than 400 attendees recently showed up to an educational Zoom session held by his firm on the topic of aging condominiums. He said he viewed it as "an awakening" of what condo boards' responsibilities are to the unit owners. "The [condo] boards are very concerned about their l...