PCS has begun rolling out the promised website changes to make your browsing experience easier and more informative. The following changes have been implemented:
- Streamlined community interface
- New Minutes and Financials viewers with in-page PDF support
- New look and feel to the community pages
The following changes are coming soon:
- New Forms & Information interface
- Community Images
- Upgrade of Newsletter and Directory pages to conform to the new look
If you have any comments or suggestions on the new community pages please send the webmaster an email!
CONDO BILL HAS BEEN SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR
SB 1196, the comprehensive community association bill passed during the Legislative session, was signed on June 1 by Governor Crist, The bill will go into effect on July 1, 2010.
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CONTACT THE GOVERNOR AND HELPING TO MAKE THIS BILL BECOME LAW.
SB 1964 WAS VETOED
WHICH WOULD HAVE granted unique privileges to architects, property inspectors, engineers, interior designers and related professionals by removing consumers' rights to sue these professionals for their mistakes. An error in design can be devastating to homeowners who rely on architects and engineers to safely design their homes and improve their properties. But SB 1964 would remove the recourse consumers have to sue for damages.
SB 1964 would leave consumers, contractors, local governments, developers and all others who rely on the work of design professionals without any legal recourse to recover their economic losses. Crist can serve the interests of Floridians by vetoing SB 1964.
SB 1196, the comprehensive community association bill passed during the Legislative session, was signed on June 1 by Governor Crist, The bill will go into effect on July 1, 2010.
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CONTACT THE GOVERNOR AND HELPING TO MAKE THIS BILL BECOME LAW.
SB 1964 WAS VETOED
WHICH WOULD HAVE granted unique privileges to architects, property inspectors, engineers, interior designers and related professionals by removing consumers' rights to sue these professionals for their mistakes. An error in design can be devastating to homeowners who rely on architects and engineers to safely design their homes and improve their properties. But SB 1964 would remove the recourse consumers have to sue for damages.
SB 1964 would leave consumers, contractors, local governments, developers and all others who rely on the work of design professionals without any legal recourse to recover their economic losses. Crist can serve the interests of Floridians by vetoing SB 1964.
PCS will be undergoing several interface updates this summer season. They will be rolled in continually over the next 3 months. Some new features to look for:
If you have any suggestions feel free to email them to me or Bill.
Thanks,
Jonathan White
PCS Webmaster
1. New "Find My Numbers" page
2. New files and images manager for your community
3. A search feature
4. New newsletter interface and presentation (with support for PDF!)
5. New financial viewer interface
If you have any suggestions feel free to email them to me or Bill.
Thanks,
Jonathan White
PCS Webmaster
CALL Alert for April 13, 2010 - Legislative Session Update
We are entering the final few weeks of the 2010 Legislative Session, which is scheduled to end on Friday, April 30. The CALL team is pouring over many of the amendments to the bills we are tracking to make certain the Legislature does not pass bills which are harmful to community associations and their members.
The most important community association package CALL is diligently working with the Legislature and Governor Crist on is SB 1196 and its companion bill, HB 561. Both bills have successfully passed several Committees and are still on track to head to each Chambers’ Floor in a timely manner. As is typical of the “give and take” legislative process, these bills have been amended (for the better) since their initial introduction. The latest version of each bill has been posted on the CALL website (www.callbp.com) and we urge you to review the bills in the coming days and provide your feedback to your elected officials by utilizing the Legislator Connect feature on the CALL website.
Regarding SB 1196 and HB 561, language addressing mortgagee liability was added in the last Committee. The latest version increases the statutory cap (i.e. the amount of assessments banks have to pay when they foreclose) for condominium associations from “the lesser of 6 months assessments or 1% of the original mortgage debt” to “the lesser of 12 months assessments or 1% of the original mortgage debt.” In other words, the bill will make the statutory cap the same for condominium associations and homeowners associations. Given the vigorous opposition of the lending industry and their well funded lobbyists to any change to the statutory caps, this is a significant move in the right direction. That said, CALL isn’t through fighting for even more fair and appropriate reforms. CALL is pushing for the removal of the “or 1 percent of the original mortgage debt” language found in current law. If this amendment is ultimately adopted, both condominium associations and homeowners associations will benefit as the statutory caps would be expanded, to the detriment of the banks, allowing for additional assessments to
be collected by community associations on foreclosed properties.
SB 1196 and HB 561 address other issues, as well. Much of the beneficial language from the major 2009 community association bills have been reincorporated into these bills (e.g. allowing for the collection of rent to pay for delinquent assessments [condominium associations, homeowners associations, cooperatives], insurance language fixes [condominium associations], revisions to the “official records” definition [condominium associations, homeowners associations], revisions to the director certification requirements [condominium associations], etc.). Additionally, the bills contain language which revise the fire sprinkler retrofit opt-out for condominium associations and cooperatives and extends the deadline to comply from 2014 to 2019. It should also be noted that Governor Crist, who vetoed similar legislation last year, has indicated, through his office, that this new fire sprinkler opt-out language is acceptable to him. The bills also contain language pertaining to elevators and fire alarms which will prove beneficial to community associations and their members who have been called upon in recent years to bear higher retrofitting costs. Given the length of the bills (both bills are over 100 pages in length) there remains some language that CALL believes needs to be tweaked and revised. CALL remains committed to improving both SB 1196 and HB 561 by working with the Legislature to accomplish this goal.
We also wanted to give you an update on the status of the Non-Judicial Foreclosure bills (HB 1523 and SB 2270), which were summarized and addressed in prior CALL Alerts. These bills would allow banks and other entities to foreclose on homes in Florida without having to go through the court system. On Monday, HB 1523 was not considered by the House Criminal & Civil Justice Policy Council, which serves as a big setback to the banking industry which was pushing the bills. The bills are not completely dead, but it appears more and more unlikely that they will pass during this Legislative Session.
We encourage all of our CALL members to stay engaged as the 2010 Legislative Session comes to a close. Please remain active, read the above-referenced bills and let your elected official know how you feel about the language contained therein. As always, your CALL team will remain vigilant and will continue to provide you updates.
Sincerely,
Yeline Goin and David Muller, Co-Executive Directors
Community Association Leadership Lobby (CALL)
We are entering the final few weeks of the 2010 Legislative Session, which is scheduled to end on Friday, April 30. The CALL team is pouring over many of the amendments to the bills we are tracking to make certain the Legislature does not pass bills which are harmful to community associations and their members.
The most important community association package CALL is diligently working with the Legislature and Governor Crist on is SB 1196 and its companion bill, HB 561. Both bills have successfully passed several Committees and are still on track to head to each Chambers’ Floor in a timely manner. As is typical of the “give and take” legislative process, these bills have been amended (for the better) since their initial introduction. The latest version of each bill has been posted on the CALL website (www.callbp.com) and we urge you to review the bills in the coming days and provide your feedback to your elected officials by utilizing the Legislator Connect feature on the CALL website.
Regarding SB 1196 and HB 561, language addressing mortgagee liability was added in the last Committee. The latest version increases the statutory cap (i.e. the amount of assessments banks have to pay when they foreclose) for condominium associations from “the lesser of 6 months assessments or 1% of the original mortgage debt” to “the lesser of 12 months assessments or 1% of the original mortgage debt.” In other words, the bill will make the statutory cap the same for condominium associations and homeowners associations. Given the vigorous opposition of the lending industry and their well funded lobbyists to any change to the statutory caps, this is a significant move in the right direction. That said, CALL isn’t through fighting for even more fair and appropriate reforms. CALL is pushing for the removal of the “or 1 percent of the original mortgage debt” language found in current law. If this amendment is ultimately adopted, both condominium associations and homeowners associations will benefit as the statutory caps would be expanded, to the detriment of the banks, allowing for additional assessments to
be collected by community associations on foreclosed properties.
SB 1196 and HB 561 address other issues, as well. Much of the beneficial language from the major 2009 community association bills have been reincorporated into these bills (e.g. allowing for the collection of rent to pay for delinquent assessments [condominium associations, homeowners associations, cooperatives], insurance language fixes [condominium associations], revisions to the “official records” definition [condominium associations, homeowners associations], revisions to the director certification requirements [condominium associations], etc.). Additionally, the bills contain language which revise the fire sprinkler retrofit opt-out for condominium associations and cooperatives and extends the deadline to comply from 2014 to 2019. It should also be noted that Governor Crist, who vetoed similar legislation last year, has indicated, through his office, that this new fire sprinkler opt-out language is acceptable to him. The bills also contain language pertaining to elevators and fire alarms which will prove beneficial to community associations and their members who have been called upon in recent years to bear higher retrofitting costs. Given the length of the bills (both bills are over 100 pages in length) there remains some language that CALL believes needs to be tweaked and revised. CALL remains committed to improving both SB 1196 and HB 561 by working with the Legislature to accomplish this goal.
We also wanted to give you an update on the status of the Non-Judicial Foreclosure bills (HB 1523 and SB 2270), which were summarized and addressed in prior CALL Alerts. These bills would allow banks and other entities to foreclose on homes in Florida without having to go through the court system. On Monday, HB 1523 was not considered by the House Criminal & Civil Justice Policy Council, which serves as a big setback to the banking industry which was pushing the bills. The bills are not completely dead, but it appears more and more unlikely that they will pass during this Legislative Session.
We encourage all of our CALL members to stay engaged as the 2010 Legislative Session comes to a close. Please remain active, read the above-referenced bills and let your elected official know how you feel about the language contained therein. As always, your CALL team will remain vigilant and will continue to provide you updates.
Sincerely,
Yeline Goin and David Muller, Co-Executive Directors
Community Association Leadership Lobby (CALL)
NAPLES and CLEARWATER AREA - HOME INSPECTION SERVICES
Home Inspection Services are being offered in Naples and Clearwater. Standard Services include:
Optional Additional Services:
For additional information and custon pricing, contact
Cynthia in Naples at Cindyw@profcommservice.com
Home Inspection Services are being offered in Naples and Clearwater. Standard Services include:
- Check A/C operation, major appliances and plumbing fixtures
- Check for signs of water leakage, pest infestations and mold or mildew
- Check for signs of unauthorized occupancy and vandalism
- landscape maintenance
- swimming pool status
- Removal of all papers and flyers
- mail forwarding
- Storm and sever weather inspections
- Photographic, check list and e-mail inspection reports
- Prices vary based on number of inspections
Optional Additional Services:
- Auto Start-up
- Clean and make ready for your return
- Close-up and secure when you leave
- Landscape maintenance services
- Airport shuttle upon arrival and departure
- Home inventory of your personal property
For additional information and custon pricing, contact
Cynthia in Naples at Cindyw@profcommservice.com
The web site is being updated and now has a Library feature for items such as State Statutes, Proposed legislation, Administrative Codes from DBPR and training manuals used in the free DBPR/CAI courses. This feature will be avaiable to anyone visiting the site.
There is a Board of Director section which has been developed and will contain Board information to help Boards with their decision making responsibility. Agendas and research information will be posted for Board review as it becomes available. Each Board member will be assigned a password by PCS. Passcodes will be assigned to Board Members in early 2009.
Bill White
There is a Board of Director section which has been developed and will contain Board information to help Boards with their decision making responsibility. Agendas and research information will be posted for Board review as it becomes available. Each Board member will be assigned a password by PCS. Passcodes will be assigned to Board Members in early 2009.
Bill White
