Assessment fees charged to unit owners typically based on size, or number of bedrooms in, their condos

Michael Bogen devotes his legal practice to representing hundreds of condominium and homeowner associations. Bogen, who is admitted to practice law in Florida, Washington, D.C., and Nevada, also is admitted before the United States District Court in the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida. He is assistant executive director of the Condo Council, which provides education to over 1,000 association members.

EMAIL: column@Condo Law.com Member of the Boca Raton Board of Realtors 38 years

I have created a new and unique program whereby a homeowner can get paid to list their home with me, upfront, with no strings attached. This is perfectly legal; I’ve checked this out with the Florida Board of Realtors’ attorneys, and the Florida Real Estate Commission. It is not a kickback or rebate as referred to in Florida Statutes, since no commission has been earned. Whether the home sells or not, the homeowner keeps the upfront money paid for the listing. This is good for I aman owner in a condo building wheremy next-door neighbor is a renter and the renter has people living on the enclosed patio. The people living on the patio are not necessarily troublemakers; however, it just bothers me that people are using the patio as their home and that when they are simply talking at night the sound resonates into my bedroom making it hard to sleep. Is there anything that could be done? Most condo association governing documents have a “single-family” clause, all homeowners. It’s the right thing to do given that a homeowner is allowing me the privilege of listing their home and working to get it sold.

The new program of paying a homeowner to list their home is innovative, and will change the way real estate is sold here and throughout the country. The details are spelled out on my website, WePayForListings.com.

I am bringing the program of paying homeowners to list their homes initially to Broward and Palm Beach counties, and expect to take it throughout Florida and the rest of the country as the concept grows. meaning that only one family may live in the unit. If the owner entered into a lease with the renter and then the renter brought in additional people to live on the patio, chances are the owner does not know about it. I would ask the association’s manager or a board member for the phone number or at least mailing address of the owner and let them know what is going on. I would also put this in writing and send a letter to the association via certified mail return receipt requested and also regular mail. Give the association and owner a little time to rectify the situation. If the

I am giving money upfront for a listing. As a result, I won’t just be listing it in the MLS and all the major internet sites, or just doing open houses and contacting vast numbers of buyer’s agents. I’ll be paying for advertising everywhere. I’ll be investing in extensive marketing to reach all possible interested buyers to get the home sold at the best price as soon as possible. Do your homework with the help of a Realtor before presenting and negotiating any offer. Why would anyone list a property without being paid to list it? The problem persists, the likely next step would be taking action against the association for failure to enforce its governing documents. We keep hearing different things. Should all of the units in our condo – whether one, two, or three bedrooms – pay the same amount in assessments, or should the bigger condo units pay more in their assessments? Florida law states that if your condo was created in 1996 or later, each unit’s share of the common expenses times, they are changing! You should list with a broker who doesn’t just put it in MLS, but does so much more. Why shouldn’t you be paid to allow me to list your home and let me do everything possible to sell it? PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER ADVERTISING DESIGNER SPECIAL SECTIONS WRITER SENIOR SALES MANAGER REAL ESTATE ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE and common surplus (for your question’s purpose, the assessments) shall be the same as the unit’s ownership interest in the common elements. Generally, your association’s governing documents usually would state the percentage interest each type of condo (number of bedrooms) has in the common elements. Based on this percentage, which usually is different for the various sizes of condo units, the one-bedroom unit owners will pay “x”, the two-bedroom unit owners will pay “y”, and the owners of three-bedroom units will pay “z,” rather than all units paying the same amount. GARRETT A. FOSTER DEBORAH DOCHERTY TRACY KOLODY ARIEL GONZALEZ TANYA PLATH 954-425-1642 954-425-1029 954-425-1695 954-425-1053 954-425-1517 May the board offer a delinquent owner a release of liability for his or her debt if the owner gives the unit to the association? Generally, the associationmay acquire title to the unit in exchange for a release benefitting the delinquent owner. This is called a “deed in lieu of foreclosure”.