Condominiums, Cooperatives & HOAs
MARK PERLMAN, P.A.
Since 1975, Mark Perlman has rendered legal services to more than One Hundred and Twenty-Five (125) Condominium, Cooperative and Homeowner Associations.
These services include writing and amending the governing association documents, rendering written opinions to Boards of Directors, sending demand letters and filing liens to assist associations in collecting delinquent assessments, providing representation in Arbitrations, lawsuits and appeals pertaining to the collection of assessments and enforcement of documents, and providing advice to Boards of Directors.
The collection of assessments for Condominium, Cooperatives and Homeowners Associations generally commences with an attorney’s demand letter to the delinquent unit owner. If the assessments are not paid in response to the letter, a Claim of Lien is prepared and subsequently recorded. The Claim of Lien together with a Notice of Intent to Foreclose the lien is served upon the unit owner, and if the unit owner still fails to pay the past due assessment, a lawsuit is filed to Foreclose the Claim of Lien. The lawsuit then proceeds through the litigation process and, if successful, results in a Final Judgment of Foreclosure and public auction of the real property to pay the past due assessments..
Certain Condominium and Cooperative enforcement actions require the filing of an Arbitration Petition with the Division of Land Sales prior to the filing of a lawsuit to enforce the documents. Mr. Perlman has been involved in the Arbitration process as well as the filing of lawsuits, obtaining of Injunctions, and taking appeals pertaining to Association matters.
Finally, Mr. Perlman has attended annual meetings and meetings of the Boards of Directors of Condominiums, Cooperatives and Homeowners Associations to provide legal advice pertaining to proposed action of the Boards, or the meaning and effect of the Association documents and Florida law.
The Florida Statutes governing Condominiums, Co-operative Associations and Homeowner's Associations have become extremely complex, setting forth detailed requirements that the Associations and their Boards of Directors are required to follow.
While generally, officers and members of the Boards of Directors of these Associations are not personally liable for actions taken in the scope of their duties, there are exceptions where a criminal act takes place, where the officer of director obtains a personal financial benefit and for reckless, bad faith, malicious or other similar acts.
An experienced Association attorney can guide an Association thorugh the requirements of the complex Florida Statutes, assist in collecting assessments and enforcing the Association documents and provide the general legal and practical operational advise needed to efficiently and effectively operate and manage a Condominium, Co-operative or Homeowner's Association.
