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Posted By RobertW35 on 07/09/2023 3:43 AM
Good Morning.....We are just in the beginning stages of a Developer Turnover in our Florida Community. First question is, Does anyone know of some reading information where I can get the step by step process in how this Turnover is performed. Like what obligations does the current BOD have ? What steps the community must take prior to the turnover to achieve a successful turnover for the community ? We have 1 community resident that sits on the BOD representing us. He was elected when the community reached 50% occupancy. Note that we are a 55+ community. My last question is that we have a new resident (4 months) who wants to assemble a group of residents together (said that he will include the whole community) to list all the concerns of items that are not completed or have not been repaired properly or fast enough for him, to the BOD demanding answers. He has totally by passed the resident representative on the BOD. Can he do this ? Is this good for the community or is he a troublemaker? A lot of community members are upset at the way he is trying to jump in and handle this.
Robert
This is a topic on which you are likely to get some very good advice on this forum. However, there are some questions we will all need about the community:
* How many homes are planned, and how many are complete?
* Do you currently have a property management company in place?
* Do you have clubhouses or other amenities?
* When you refer to the "current board" to whom are you referring? I assume you mean the board that is still controlled by the Developer.
* Have you read the Bylaws to see when you are required to hold an election for your new board? In some states this is guided by state law, but I believe often an Association's Bylaws are written to reflect state law on matters like this.
Some things I can say about what you have posted:
* First, understand there are two different things that happen. The first is termination of developer control of the Association. This is when the homeowners elect their own board and take over responsibility for billing, rules enforcements, finances, etc. The other event is transition of ownership of the common areas from the developer to the Association. This is where you will want to hire a company with experience conducting Transition Studies. That company will document the deficiencies, and you will use that report, along with local governments, to ensure the developer has met all of his responsibilities based on the community plan that has been filed.
* The loud homeowner is free to say and do any of the things you describe. What he lacks is authority to take any kind of official action. What he will want to do is run for the board when you hold your election. However, if right now he wants to coordinate an effort to itemize all deficiencies, that is harmless and could probably he helpful during transition stage.
* If this person, however, is bringing his grievances to the Board, he is barking up the wrong tree. Neither the current board nor your owner controlled board are responsible for completing everything in your community. Those things are the responsibility of the Developer.
I would suggest you take a couple of hours and consume the links that TimB provided. This is pretty complicated stuff, but with a few hours of earnest research you can be better-versed on the topics than 99% of homeowners, and you will be able to discuss these things intelligently with your fellow homeowners.