Congratulations! You’ve succeeded in being elected as a member to the prestigious world of your Homeowner’s Association Board of Directors! But are you aware of the certification requirements of Fla. Stat. 720.3033 that could suspend or even end your newly “elected official” career before it’s even begun? As a newly elected Homeowner’s Association Board Member you are required to comply with the reporting requirements imposed by the Florida Legislature through the enactment of Florida Statute 720.3033 as amended on July 01, 2013 and that requires all HOA directors to verify that they are prepared and qualified to serve their respective association board in one of two ways.

The first option via §720.3033(1)(a) is that within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the board, each director shall certify in writing to the secretary of the association that he or she has read the association’s declaration of covenants, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and current written rules and policies; that he or she will work to uphold such documents and policies to the best of his or her ability; and that he or she will faithfully discharge his or her fiduciary responsibility to the association’s members.

The second option via §720.3033(1)(a) is that within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the board, in lieu of such written certification, the newly elected or appointed director may submit a certificate of having satisfactorily completed the educational curriculum administered by a division-approved education provider within 1 year before or 90 days after the date of election or appointment. Furthermore, according to §720.3033(1)(b), the written certification or educational certificate is valid for the uninterrupted tenure of the director on the board. It would behoove the newly elected or appointed board member to pay heed to this requirement because a director who does not timely file the written certification or educational certificate shall be suspended from the board until he or she complies with the requirement and the board may temporarily fill the vacancy during the period of suspension. However, as a side note, it would be prudent and diligent for the newly elected director to be familiar with and understand both their own associations governing documents and the Florida Statutes applicable to homeowner’s associations.

After you have complied with the reporting requirements of §720.3033, the association shall retain each director’s written certification or educational certificate for inspection by the members for 5 years after the director’s election. However, the failure to have the written certification or educational certificate on file does not affect the validity of any board action as provided in §720.3033(1)(c). It bears noting at this juncture that if for any reason you are removed from or surrender your position as a director prior to the termination of your elected term that you will have to re-certify upon being re-elected or appointed back on the board of directors in the same manner as your initial election or appointment.

If you have any questions about your homeowner’s association please feel free to schedule a consultation with one of the outstanding attorney’s at The Orlando Law Group PL.

For most people, buying real estate is the biggest purchase they will ever make. Before committing yourself to a contract that will affect your life and your wallet for years to come, hire a real estate lawyer. Why – when so much is at stake – would you purchase a property without knowing whether your rights to use the property are in any way limited? Why would you rely on a generic contract that was not written for your specific set of circumstances? And why would you sign it without understanding what everything in it means?

A lawyer will request that all of the documents in the public records relating to the property be provided for her review so that she can fully inform you of matters that will affect your use of the property, such as easements and restrictive covenants, and will be sure that you understand any limitations or restrictions prior to purchase. A lawyer can also develop ways to resolve title issues, such as unpaid liens affecting the property, to keep the deal from falling apart or closing from being significantly delayed. A lawyer can review the survey and discuss any items of concern with you. Realtors and closing agents cannot do these things since they cannot lawfully give legal advice. Wouldn’t you like to know while you could still back out of the purchase that you wouldn’t be able to build that pool you promised your kids because there is a conservation easement that prohibits making improvements in that area of the property? What about learning prior to purchase that the condo you are about to purchase is on the side of the coastal construction line where construction was actually prohibited? Do you want to take the risk of having to evict tenants who decide not to leave after you buy the property? If these are things you would like to know about and be protected from prior to making one of the biggest investments of your life then hire a real estate attorney when you are thinking of purchasing.

And hire that attorney before you sign the contract for purchase. Lawyers are experts in negotiations and contracts. A lawyer can – and should – negotiate changes to the standard real estate contract in order to protect your specific interests far better than a generic form contract would protect them. For example, there are many things that can affect the property in a way that would make it undesirable to you personally but that do not make it unmarketable under a standard real estate contract, such as the conservation easement discussed above. Therefore, you as a purchaser would likely still have to go through with the purchase after discovering those undesirable items under a standard real estate contract. However, a lawyer will know to adjust the standard contract so that all information necessary for a fully informed purchase will be received while you are still able to walk away from the transaction without repercussions. A lawyer can also negotiate to have some or all of your lawyer’s fees paid by the seller when you get the lawyer involved prior to signing the real estate contract.

Kimberly Hosley Agee, The Orlando Law Group, P.L.

One huge reason homeowners are unable to buy and sell property are title defects which cause fights over lien priority. An experienced lawyer can help you work through lien priority disputes through quiet title actions, negotiations, or litigation.

Income Taxes: When you forget to pay your taxes, an IRS tax lien arises automatically. This lien stays until it is paid or until the tax assessment expires, which is 10 years. The tax lien lacks priority against listed classes of creditors until the Notice of Federal Tax Lien is filed. Holders of security interests, mechanic’s lien and judgment lien creditors have priority over federal tax liens if they are filed first.

State Taxes: State Tax Liens must be filed before IRS tax liens to have priority, even if the state lien arose automatically because the state taxes were unpaid.

IRS Tax Liens Eliminated:

1. Certificate of Release where the tax is fully paid or compromised.
2. Certificate of Discharge which only affects the specific property listed and does not affect taxpayer’s other   property.
3. Certificate of Subordination where the IRS can subordinate its lien in specific property if the IRS is paid the value of its interest or the IRS believes it will realize more money by issuing the subordination.
4. Withdraw of the IRS lien can be due to a prematurely filed lien or a lien in violation of IRS procedures or where the taxpayer has entered into an installment agreement where the agreement provides for the withdraw of the lien.

Lis Pendens: The purpose of recording this document is to give claimants constructive notice of a potential lien. The filing of a lis pendens does not perfect a lien. Once determined by a court, the filing may result in a perfected lien.
A document that shows the transfer of a deed of trust from one person or entity to another is an assignment. Some common assignment errors are:

• Data Errors: Recording an incorrect book or page, or leaving blank the name of the assignee. You cannot fill in the blanks after the document has already been signed and notarized. Missing chain of assignment.
• Not Recording Assignments: Recording assignments is not required by law, but it does cause title issues. Spend the money and record your assignment.
• Not Having Uniformity in Recording: With more than 3,600 recording districts in the United States, you need to know the county recording requirements before creating a template. Many have different recording requirements, regulating font size, margins and signatures.
• MERS: Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems no longer commences legal actions in its name. As a result assignments must be prepared. There is a backlog. There are times when the MERS number is not on the assignment when it is recorded or the wrong number is attached to the loan or MERS forgot to deactivate the number after it has been assigned.
• Release Not Timely: Once the loan is paid off, a release is required to be recorded.

When you are purchasing a new home or piece of land in Florida, it’s a good idea as a real estate buyer to have a lawyer helping you. Your goal as a homebuyer is to get what you paid for. Real estate is kind of complicated and having a lawyer to look out for your interests is a good thing. Your lawyer will help prepare and negotiate a purchase contract, help you through the buyer’s due diligence inspection period, and then review deed, title insurance commitment and other closing documents your behalf.

The real estate buyer’s lawyer can do the following:

1. Assistance during the Due Diligence Inspection Period. The due diligence period in a real estate contract is defined as a buyer’s obligation to thoroughly investigate a property within a specified time to determine whether the buyer remains satisfied with the property before finalizing the purchase. A lawyer can assist you in preparing and negotiating a contract for purchase of the real property that includes a due diligence inspection period with broad wording to allow you to check for obvious (patent) and non-obvious (latent) defects. These might be in the building, land, air or water. They could be environmental, structural, mechanical, electrical, or otherwise. There is an ancient Latin saying, Caveat Emptor, which means “Let the buyer beware.” This mean that the seller was not obligated to tell the buyer about defects known by the seller. With regard to residential real estate, this ancient rule no longer applies. However, it still applies in Florida to commercial real estate, so it is even more important for commercial real property buyers to do their due diligence inspections. As a residential homebuyer, it is still important to inspect because sellers are not obligated to tell you about defects they are not aware of; you may discover something they didn’t catch.
2. Drafting a Clear Contract. A real estate lawyer can assist in drafting a clear contract that states what you, the buyer expects to buy in the transaction. Sometimes this is done with a standard form such as the FAR/Bar form issued by the Florida Bar and Florida Association of Realtors or the FAR forms issued by the Florida Association of Realtors. Often, a lawyer will prepare addenda to these standard forms to clarify aspects of the transaction. Sometimes, however, the lawyer prepares a form specifically for the particular transaction rather than using a standard form that has many provisions that are not applicable to the particular case.
3. Follow-up on Deadlines. All contracts for the purchase of real property should include deadlines for such matters as inspections, financing, title insurance, surveys, closing, etc. To avoid breaching the contract, it is important to comply with these deadlines. A lawyer can assist you in meeting contract deadlines.
4. Reviewing Closing Documents. Legal documents can be written to include representations and warranties that are binding upon sellers after the closing, in a way that may obligate them to pay damages to the buyer even years after the closing. Sellers may try to avoid using this wording so that any discovered defects are buyer’s sole problems. Without an attorney you may not have the benefit of including this wording in the contract, deed and other documents. Since the seller’s goals are to get paid and avoid litigation, it is important to include seller’s representations and warranties in contracts and deeds. Lawyers know which warranties and representations are standard and which are not and which can be negotiated.
5. Cost-Benefit of Legal Advice. The benefits of having a lawyer come at a cost: legal fees. Buyers who do not have lawyers do not pay legal fees; at least, not unless or until a breach or defect is discovered. Legal fees in litigation are expensive because it is fueled by opposing parties with opposing claims and positions. Legal fees you may pay to a lawyer to advise you before signing a contract to purchase and before closing on the contract are much less than legal fees you may pay in litigation. It is best to hire a lawyer to assist in assessing and minimizing the risks of the purchase transaction to the extent possible.

Therefore, as a buyer of Florida real estate, whether it is residential or commercial, you should always engage a real estate lawyer to assist you in the transaction. That way you have someone legally on your side.