Part 2 of Understanding Changes to Florida Statutes for Condominiums,Cooperatives and HOAs: SB-154 Condominium and Coop Safety (Surfside Glitch Bill)
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Understanding SB 154 - Condominium and Coop Safety (Surfside Glitch Bill) Effective June 9, 2023, except as otherwise indicated herein This bill was passed in response to the surfside legislation passed last year, namely SB4D. This legislation clarifies many of the open issues and concerns that Associations were faced with after last year’s legisla...
Part 1 of Understanding Changes to Florida Statutes for Condominiums,Cooperatives and HOAs: HB-919 Homeowners Bill of Rights
Blogs
Understanding HB-919 - Homeowners Bill of Rights This law applies only to HOA’s and does not apply to Condominiums or Cooperatives.  This Act takes effect October 1, 2023. For all HOA notices of Board meetings, the notices now must specifically identify all agenda items for the meetings. The bill requires that where an Association collects a d...
Commissioner Steve Geller Appointed to Florida Association of Counties Committees
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The Florida Association of Counties (FAC) has appointed Broward Commissioner Steve Geller to serve as Chair of the FAC Community & Urban Affairs Committee and Policy Leader on the FAC Finance, Tax & Administration Policy Committee.  The Community & Urban Affairs Committee is tasked with developing and recommending an annual statewi...
Founding Partner Peter S. Sachs Celebrates 50 Years of Practicing Law in the State of Florida
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We hope you all join us in celebrating Founding Partner Peter S. Sachs’ 50-year anniversary of practicing law in the State of Florida!   Peter became a member of The Florida Bar in 1973. He and his fellow 50-Year members were honored at the 2023 Florida Bar 50-Year Member Luncheon at The Boca Raton on Friday, June 23, 2023. The special ev...
Robert Rivas Scores Big Win in 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
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Hunters Run Property Owners v. Centerline Real Estate, LLC   The firm has struck another blow in support of the right of homeowners’ associations to enact and enforce mandatory country club membership requirements for their members. The Atlanta-based Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a complex, 22-page opinion written by Circuit ...
Covenant Enforcement
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Today, I’d like to discuss something called covenant enforcement. Covenant enforcement is when an association must enforce the rules, regulations and restrictive covenants that are contained in an association’s declaration, whether it's a declaration of condominium or a declaration of covenants and restrictions – and there are many ways of doing so...
3 Important Tips for Board Members of HOAs and Condo Associations
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Whether you’re an existing board member or a new board member this year, as Community Association Law attorneys, we’d like to offer you some advice as you begin to fulfill your duties in 2023. Here are the 3 top tips for community association board members: 1. Know Your Governing Documents  Whether you're a Condominium Association under Chapte...
5 Things to Keep in Mind When Looking for an Attorney
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Hiring an attorney isn’t really something that most people think about, until they suddenly need one. That means the majority people don’t really know what to look for when they do have to find an experienced attorney in South Florida. If you find yourself searching for one of the best lawyers in West Palm Beach and beyond, here are 5 things you ma...
Tips for Returning to Your South Florida Home
Blogs
We at Sachs Sax Caplan want to welcome back all of the out-of-town residents who are now coming back down to South Florida after a summer respite elsewhere in the country. As Community Association attorneys, we would like to give you some brief pointers of things we recommend you do upon returning to the Tri County area.  Start by checking you...
Why is the assistance of an attorney important in the review of service contracts?
Blogs
Benjamin Franklin famously said back in 1736 that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Mr. Franklin’s saying was most certainly not meant to apply to Florida property owners associations as Florida was not even a state at the time but his advice can be seen as applicable to community associations insofar as service contracts are conce...
Closing on your home?
Closing on Your Home: Why You Need a Real Estate Attorney
Blogs
My firm receives roughly three phone calls a month from people that have bought or sold homes without the help of a professional real estate attorney and experience post-closing issues. As real estate lawyers, we're here to help avoid having to make those phone calls in the first place.  In the State of Florida, it's not required to have an at...
Understanding the Mechanics of Your Commercial Lease
Blogs
Rent is typically a business's second largest expense following wages and a lease is often a five to ten year term. Therefore, your lease is probably one of the most significant contracts that you as a business owner will enter into. And it's probably one of the most costly ones, too. That’s why it's important to understand some of the mechanics of...
Steve Geller Serves as Panelist at National Gaming Law Conference to Discuss Sports Betting
Blogs
The National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) held its Summer Meeting at the Westin Copley Place in Boston, Massachusetts in early July 2022. Steven Geller, who is the NCLGS’s General Counsel, was a panelist on the topic of Sports Betting at the conference. The conversation centered around the Wire Act of 1961, which banned gamblin...
Why Everyone Should Have an Estate Plan
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When I ask people if they have an estate plan, I often get responses such as I'm not wealthy, so I don't need a plan, or I don't have an estate, or why do I need a plan at all? Doesn't everything just go to my spouse and kids? These are common misconceptions regarding estate planning. As an estate planning attorney, it is my recommendation that eve...
Mandatory Mediation in Condominium Disputes
Blogs
Mandatory Mediation in Condominium Disputes By Michael Chapnick, Community Association Law - Principal   Today, I'd like to talk about an issue that comes up in condominium associations… Covenant Enforcement. Since 1992, anything that qualified as a dispute under Section 718.1255 of the Florida Condominium Act, Chapter 718, was required to go ...
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