by By Joel Messinger
Dear Joel:
I live in a homeowners association and I am on the board of directors. We have a screening procedure we use through our management company for rentals and resales. Applicants must fill out an application and a signed affidavit giving the association permission to do a background and credit check. On one particular unit, the background check, which the individual gave permission for, came back indicating numerous serious felony convictions. Unfortunately, the tenants moved in prior to the approval being given, which has now created even more of a problem. Am I correct, in advising this owner that the tenants are not approved and must vacate the premises?
Michelle Bergens
Dear Michelle:
The rental/resale approval process is one that is very tedious and often causes the association great aggravation.
In the particular situation that you have described, I believe the association has two alternatives. One, I think the association should bear pressure on the owner to have the owner evict his tenant due to the fact that they did not properly follow the guidelines and procedures per the application process.
Remember, the declaration of covenants and restrictions, rules and regulations of the association are the responsibility of the owner to follow, and the ramifications come upon the owner. I would have your attorney immediately send a letter to the owner telling them they have violated the declaration of covenants and restrictions and must adhere to them by going through the complete process. I would have your attorney communicate to them the results of the background check, which indicated felony convictions.
Pressure must be brought upon the owner not to allow the lease to go through. If this is not successful, and the felony convictions are real, the association does have the ability to implement its own lawsuit against the owner.
Dear Joel:
My children, who are in their 30s, would like to buy a condo for me. I am over 55 and I would make the mortgage payments. Would they be permitted to do this in a 55 and older community?
R. Michaels
Dear R.:
Your question is not very clear, but I will make an assumption. If they are buying the unit for you and keeping it in their name, then it would be allowed based upon the fact there is a certain percentage of units that must be kept over the 55-year age bracket, thus allowing a certain percentage to be under.
In addition, since you will be residing in the unit as a 55-year-old individual and no one under the age of 55 will be residing there, I see no problem.
Nevertheless, it would be incumbent upon you or your children, prior to the purchase, to question the condominium as to the percentages of those owners over 55 and those under.
Dear Joel:
I live in a homeowners association in Delray Beach and I recently attended a board of directors meeting, which I must admit was the first board of directors meeting I have ever attended. At the meeting, the board of directors was making multiple decisions as it related to the operation of the association. They were hiring and firing two contractors, our landscape maintenance contractor and our pool maintenance contractor. I, as a resident, have never experienced a problem with these two specific areas. Does the board of directors have a right without a membership vote to make these types of changes?
Name Withheld
Dear Reader:
An elected board of directors is put in place to operate the association on a day-to-day basis. The operation of an association on a day-to-day basis includes the hiring and firing of employees and/or contractors, inclusive of a landscape maintenance company and a pool maintenance company. When voting for a board of directors, one must realize the residents are empowering these individuals to operate the association on their behalf. Once again, there are many decisions that are made by a board of directors that require the residents input, but it would be extremely difficult if not impossible for a board to make day to day decisions with the input of all the residents. It is important to understand that you have a right to voice your opinion, as it relates to the quality of the work the contractors do, but the ultimate decision is that of the board of directors.
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Questionable background check and the approval process