Florida HOA financial question

1. are board members allowed to pay themselves for work they do, but are professing they are saving the members money? Plus, when asked to show bids or contractors names, we are told that is why you voted us on the board and will not show--only gives total amounts together, no break downs.

2.We were told a CAM was hired, received a letter from the CAM stating we are to direct all questions to them, I called to ask about the finances and was told by CAM, if you want to know anything about the finances you have to be on the board. Are we allowed to request and see the financial books?

Thank you for any help you can give.

There are several regular posters who live in FL and are very knowledgeable about FL legislation. I'm sure you will hear from them!

You're basically asking what your board's policy should be on records inspection. This has been discussed here many times, so you might do a quick search on "Florida, records Inspection," or some such.

Without looking myself, here's what I recall:

Upon your written request, the CAM should let you review the executed contracts of all of your vendors including the Management Co, (MC) itself. If i recall this right, the CAM does not have to give you copies of the bids.

Upon your written request, the CAM should give you access to the financial records of your HOA. But you must be specific in your request and say exactly what records you want to review. (We directors in my HOA, for example, have about 120 pages of financials every month.) Some records may be withheld to protect the privacy of certain H/Os, e.g., who has been called to a disciplinary hearing and fined. What financial records do you have in mind, Gary? Check ledgers to see if directors ares getting paid?

Whether or not directors can be paid for work that they do for the HOA would be spelled out in your documents, probably your CC&Rs. Maybe in state law too. Generally they may not. Directors usually, though, are reimbursed for, say, postage for mailers. What kinds of word are directors being paid for, Gary? And how do you know they're receiving pay.

If paying a director was a board vote, it should be in your meeting minutes, unless the ovate was made in executive session

As I wrote above, you should have the right to inspect the signed (executed) contracts for work that has been one in your HOA. In states where Homeowners may do this, the request must be in writing.

You owners apparently voted for the husband and wife to both be directors on your board. Not a good idea, but usually OK unless your bylaws or some other governing document says that members of the same household may not serve simultaneously.

What size is your HOA, Gary? How many are on the Board? If your CAM isn't supposed to take care of your finances and does not have copies of your HOA's contracts, what is s/he supposed to be doing?

Well, Gary, assuming your state gives homeowners the right to read contracts that the Board has entered into, such as the contract with the CAM, send your request to all board members return receipt requested. If none reply to your request after a couple of weeks or so, go to a board meeting and ask why you have not received a copy. Take other homeowners with you so that everyone can hear the board's answer.

Meantime, you own governing documents, probably your CC&Rs (aka covenants, declaration), give the board the authority to hire a CAM. Lots of people post here and I've never heard of homeowners voting on whether or not to hire a CAM. Read your documents!

If the person handling the money wont give a breakdown of expenses or any other financial related info its likely they are stealing your HOA's money. When no one is watching the people handling the money, it magically disappears. I see at least one person caught daily on the news for doing this. I'm sure there is a much larger number who have not been caught yet.

Demand transparency. If your current board/treasurer is not doing it, replace them.

Gary,

Since you defined the Association as single family homes, I would expect that the following statutes would be applicable:

FL 720, HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATIONS

FL 617, the Florida Not For Profit Corporation Act. (applicable if your association is incorporated as a nonprofit - most are)

As Glen pointed out, per FL 720.303(5) (scroll down the page), a member is entitled to inspect the records. Please keep in mind that an inspection is not the same as being given copies. If you ask for copies, instead of inspecting the records, the Association may be able to charge you (in advance) for those copies.
As Glen also pointed out, there are records that may not be inspected. These are also outlined in the statute.

If properly requested an Association must comply with a written request within 10 days (possible argument for 10 business days vs. 10 calendar days). Failure to comply with the request can result in a monetary penalty of $50 per day (not to exceed 10 days). However, to obtain that monetary penalty, the member would need to take the Association through the courts (perhaps small claims court would be enough).

My suggestion is to write the registered agent, which you can find using the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations website, with a copy to the MC and each Board member, to be allowed to inspect the financial records of the Association. Typically, the registered agent is also the Associations attorney and I suspect that the attorney will advise the client to make the records available.

Be aware, the Association can be a real a$$ if they want to be and require that you travel to the attorney's office to view the records. If you ask for copies, the Association could pass on the attorney's cost to you for the copies. Therefore, my suggestion, if you want copies, is to bring a portable scanner or simply a camera with you and take pictures of what you desire.

NOTE: Before acting on any of this advice, please be aware that I am not an attorney and I do not work within the legal profession. You should also read and understand the applicable laws regarding your issue. If there are questions, you may want to seek out an actual legal opinion from a local attorney or perhaps contact FL Office of the Condominium Ombudsman (who may or may not be able to offer advice).

Hope this helps,

Tim

Thank you for your help concerning our HOA. Gary

Thank you for your help concerning our HOA. Gary

Everyone ... Thank you for your help concerning our HOA. Gary