Tag Archives: official records storage

Florida Statute 718.111(12): Unit Owner Access to Florida Condominium Association Official Records

Posted on March 8, 2014 | 57 Comments

A reader recently asked how frequently a unit owner has a right to view the official records. In this person’s case there was a unit owner requesting official record documents on a weekly basis. This question prompted the following post on unit owner official records access.

Every Florida condominium association is required by law to maintain official records. An overview of what constitutes official records is provided here with a more detailed overview of financial records here. Florida Statutes 718.111(12)(b) and 718.111(12)(c) provide unit owners the right to view and make copies of official records; however, aside from very basic guidelines, the association remains responsible for creating reasonable rules surrounding the frequency, time, location, notice and manner of unit owner record inspections. Because associations are left to construct official record inspection rules, I recommend (as I always do) that the board create and distribute a policy around official records access. In general, it is my opinion that the more official records transparency the better; is a great way to earn unit owner trust.

This post will review the access provisions laid out in the Florida Statutes and provide general guidelines on constructing a reasonable official records access policy.

Florida Statute Guidelines

  • Official records must be maintained within the state for 7 years
  • Official records must be made available within 5 days of a unit owner’s written request
  • Official records must be available to unit owners within the condo’s county (or within 45 miles if the county boarder is more than 45 miles from the condominium)
  • Official records must be open to inspection at reasonable times
  • Associations may charge a reasonable expense for copies of official records
  • Associations may approve reasonable rules surrounding frequency, time, location, notice & manner of inspections
  • Unit owners who are denied access to the official records 10+ days after a written request are eligible for damages no lesser than $50 per day and reimbursement of any attorney’s fees.
  • Unit owners may take photos of official records with a camera, phone or other electronic device.
  • The association must maintain copies of the declaration, articles of incorporation, bylaws, rules & regulations, frequently asked question & answer sheet and most recent year-end financial report on the condominium property for unit owners and prospective purchasers. The association may charge its actual costs of preparing these documents.
  • The following documents are protected and NOT available to unit owners: (1) documents protected by lawyer-client privilege; (2) information associated with the sale of a unit; (3) homeowner medical records and other confidential information such as Social Security Numbers; (4) association security information (e.g., passwords); and (5) personnel records (if the association has employees).

NOTE: Personnel records include items such as the health records, W-4s and performance reviews. This records exemption does not include salary details of the employee as this information should be readily available in the association’s budget.

 

Official Records Storage

Before an association can establish reasonable rules around unit owner access to official records, the board must have a good handle on how/ where official records are stored. Associations that are self-managed or in-house managed have much more control over the storage of their official records than do professionally managed associations. As I discussed in length in my post on management transitions, I strongly recommend that boards of professionally managed associations complete official records “audits” from time to time to ensure proper records maintenance. I also recommend that boards provide guidelines to their management companies on how they would like their records organized and stored. Here are a few recommendations:

  1. If the association has an on-site office or lobby, consider keeping a computer with all official records on it for unit owners to review at any time.
  2. If the association has a website, keep the association’s key records (e.g., financial statements, meeting minutes, agendas, budgets, reserve studies, insurance information) on the website for unit owners to access at their convenience. This also provides a web-based backup of the official records so there is no concern about them being destroyed due to theft or natural disaster.
  3. Keep binders with hard copies of all frequently requested records on property or at the manager’s office. A simple way to do this is to have a binder for each key item.
  4. Store any hard copy records that will be accessed infrequently (e.g., copies of checks, invoices from prior years) in a professional storage facility designed to withstand hurricane force winds.

 

Official Records Access Policy

Given that the Florida Statutes provide associations with the flexibility to create reasonable rules surrounding official records access, I believe establishing a policy is prudent in that it specifically informs management how to proceed and ensures consistent unit owner treatment. Of course, if your association has its official records readily available on property or electronically for unit owner viewing at their convenience, the majority of this policy becomes irrelevant. If unit owners in your community are frequently asking for official records documents and your records are primarily in hard copy, it may be worth contracting to have all of your records scanned and made available via the web. From personal experience, the time saved by directing every official records request to one website is well worth the upfront cost.

I would recommend that every official records access policy include the following:

Governing Documents, FAQ Sheet & Year-end Financial Report: While the Florida Statutes specifically say “copies” of these documents must be available on property, the association should focus instead on compliance with the spirit of the law. If the association would like to keep paper copies of these documents on property, that’s great. If that doesn’t make sense for your association, I believe the following options also comply with the law: (1) making the documents available on a website, (2) making them available on a CD/ thumb drive, (3) emailing them to the requestor.

 The policy should specify how these documents will be provided to unit owners/ potential buyers and any costs associated with these documents. The law specifically states the association may charge actual costs of these documents. If they are available via website or email, there should be no charge. If available via hard copy, CD, or thumb drive, the association should charge whatever amount the manager or document preparation services (e.g., Kinkos) charges the association. For self-managed associations completing printing work in-house, a cost of $.10 – $.15 per page for black and white or $.50 for color is reasonable. This range should cover your paper, ink and printer wear and tear. If creating CDs or thumb drives in-house, the cost should reflect the actual cost of the CD or thumb drive.

 Copying Fees: For official records excluded from #1, the association may charge a reasonable fee for copies, CDs or thumb drives of these records. I don’t see this as much different than actual cost given that it seems unreasonable for the association to make a profit (even if a small one) on official record distribution. As mentioned above, unit owners should charge the exact cost charged to them by the manager or other professional preparing the records. For self-managed associations, the cost guidelines mentioned in #1 remain reasonable though the association may charge an additional amount for time spent making copies so long as the amount is defendable.

 Viewing Location:  The policy should specify where unit owners may view the records. There may be multiple locations. For example, meeting minutes, budgets and monthly financials may be available on the association’s website while copies of contracts and invoices are available at the management company’s office.

 Frequency of Requests:  The policy should specify how frequently a unit owner may request records and clarify that any requests in excess of the frequency limitations will not be accepted. There is no right choice: daily may be too burdensome on the association but quarterly may be too limiting for the unit owner. It may be worthwhile here to distinguish between how frequently a unit owner may request electronic records (i.e., those that can be easily emailed) and how frequently they may request viewing of hard copy records.  These specifics will entirely depend on how your property is managed and how records are stored.

Viewing Times: The policy should specify when documents are available for review. For those available on the web, there is no limitation on viewing time. For all other documents, viewing times may be by appointment during the management company’s business hours.

Making a Request: This section should indicate how the unit owner makes a request. It should specify who the unit owner contacts and what information to provide. I would recommend associations require unit owners to select specific records or groups of records (e.g., 2009-2011 budgets, March 13, 2013 invoice from Joe Plumber). This avoids the “I’d like to see all your records” requests which are nearly impossible to accommodate. Generally these requests arise if a unit owner feels the association is hiding something. All requests should be in writing (mail or email). The policy may also require the unit owner to provide his/ her availability over coming days (if applicable).

Request Response: This section should indicate how and when the association will respond. The law states that documents must be made available within 5 days of a written request. Do not read this to mean that in all circumstances the documents must be in the hands of the requestor within 5 days. If the association has the requested documents available electronically, they should certainly be emailed within 5 days. However, for hard copy documents, the association should respond as promptly as possible (I’d recommend within 1 business day) and offer reasonable viewing time(s) that fall within the 5 days window.

 

As I recommend with all policies, the association’s attorney should review the policy before it is finalized. Further, the board should re-review and re-approve the policy annually to ensure continued compliance with applicable law.

Feel free to reach out with any questions.

Emily

Emily Shaw is a condominium homeowner in Tampa, Florida and a Director of VERA Property Management, a firm providing full-service community association management in the Tampa Bay Area as well as consulting, financial and legal services to all Florida community associations. 

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Interviewing a Florida Community Association Management Company: 5 Important but Frequently Overlooked Questions

Posted on January 2, 2014 | 15 Comments

It is very important for Boards of Directors ask the right questions before hiring a management company for their association. All too often important items are overlooked and Boards are left disappointed when they realize that the services they are receiving fail to meet their expectations. This post will examine 5 important and frequently forgotten questions to ask a prospective management company.

1.     What is the maximum number of properties a Licensed Community Association Manager (LCAM) at your firm will be responsible for? In general, property management is a low profit margin industry and management companies have to manage many properties in order to earn a decent profit. Given this, management companies (and in particular the LCAMs that work for them) are often stretched too thin. With one LCAM managing up to 10 properties at a time, it is not surprising that they cannot keep up with their workload. In the end, it’s the associations that pay the price. In the property management business, firms often define an LCAM’s workload as the number of doors or units (versus properties) that the LCAM manages. This takes into account the fact that the size of properties, and therefore the number of hours dedicated to the property, varies. Of course, a small 20-unit property could be riddled with problems that require the LCAM’s time just as a 200-unit property could be smooth sailing. In general, however, I think this is a reasonable way to measure LCAM workload. I recommend no more than 650 doors under management by any full-time LCAM. If a management company does not have a unit limit per LCAM, this is a big red flag.

 2.     Which LCAM specifically will be assigned to our property? Can we meet him/ her?  Property management proposals, particularly from the larger management companies, tend to speak generally about an LCAM being assigned to the property. The person(s) that meet with the Board to discuss the management proposal are often the company’s owners or an employee specifically hired to meet with potential clients. It is exceptionally important that Boards meet and interview the actual LCAM that will be assigned to the property. I also recommend that Boards negotiate a clause into the management contract that should the specific LCAM leave the firm, the Board has the right to terminate the contract. This will be the person the Board works with on a routine basis and if the LCAM is incompetent, unmotivated, overworked or simply does not “mesh” with the personalities of Board members, the management partnership will likely be unsuccessful. Management companies tend to highlight their expansive accounting teams, their fancy websites and their new technologies when presenting to Boards. But in the end, it is the quality of the LCAM assigned that will determine how well your property is managed. Don’t be shy about asking for a resume of the LCAM to determine what experience he/ she has. It is also wise to find out how far he/ she lives from your property as it is very helpful to have an LCAM that is nearby in the event of an emergency on property.

 3.     Where and how are our official records stored? Are email communications maintained? While the specific items considered Official Records are listed in the Florida Statutes (and discussed here for condominium associations), there is no specifically required method of storage. Records may be stored in hard copy at the manager’s office or with a professional document storage firm; they may be stored in electronic format on a computer or an external hard drive; or they may be stored on a web-based application like an association website. The Board will want to make sure that they (and other homeowners) have easy access to the Official Records (accessible within 1 business day) and that the records are stored in such a way that protects them in the event of fire, hurricane, or other casualty. The other item that the Board should inquire about is association emails (i.e., any email sent or received by the property manager regarding the association). These emails do not necessary constitute Official Records but they do provide important information on past events and can be very helpful to new Board members. Some management firms save these emails and some don’t. Make sure that the manager not only saves all association emails but also has a method in place to provide them to the Board upon request.

4.     Do you have 24-hour emergency response? How does it work in practice? When are managers required to come on-site during an emergency? Most, if not all, management companies have 24-hour emergency response built into their management agreements. However, not all after-hours emergency response programs are created equal. Smaller management companies may provide the manager’s direct phone number to all residents and simply field calls as they come in. Larger management companies generally contract with an emergency answering service. In this scenario, after hours phone calls from residents are answered by a call center attendant who determines if the call is an emergency. Call center attendants generally know little to nothing about the property. From there, the call center attendant attempts to contact the property’s LCAM. This process can be effective if a quality call center is used. For management companies that use a service like this, I recommend the Board research the call center and also determine if there is a cost per call to the call center that will be charged to the association.

Regardless of the type of emergency response program in place, the Board should understand who serves as backup in the event the community’s LCAM is unavailable. How long will residents have to wait for a response from the LCAM until a backup responder is contacted? How does that process work? How many backups are there?

Another issue to consider is whether or not there are any internal policies regarding LCAMs coming to the property during an emergency. One thing that frustrates many Board members is the sense that emergencies are not responded to as effectively as possible. For example, if there is a leak that causes damage to multiple units, would the Board expect the LCAM to come to the property, assist homeowners, meet with restoration vendors and photograph the damage? Or would the Board be content with the LCAM handling the event over the phone? I recommend the Board create several scenarios and ask the management company to walk you through how they would be handled. This will help the Board understand if the manager’s procedures align with their expectations.

5.     Do you offer any non-management services? Certain management companies will offer non-management services (e.g., maintenance, plumbing) at a fixed hourly rate within the management contract. When interviewing a management company that offers bundled services, it is important to find out if it is a requirement that the association use them. The Board should maintain the flexibility to choose their own maintenance man, plumber, etc. It is my belief that bundled services like this are ultimately damaging to associations for the following reasons:

  • Bundled services make terminating a management relationship more difficult as associations would lose key vendors as well.
  • As bundled services are offered at a fixed rate, management companies are incentivized to contract with the least expensive vendor as opposed to the most qualified vendor in an effort to increase their profits.
  • With control of vendor selection shifted from association to manager, competitive bidding is eliminated, leaving associations at risk of paying the management company above market price for these services.
  • As these vendors are representatives of the management company, managers are less likely to be upfront with Boards about issues related to the vendor’s work.

That being said, if the Board is considering using these services, it is important to find out more about the experience of the specific vendors as well as the process the management company uses to find these vendors. Further, it is important that the Board compare the hourly rates provided by the management company with those offered by independent vendors to ensure the Board isn’t paying too much for these services.  Lastly, the Board should consider an agreement with the management company specifying that Board member review and approval of completed work is a prerequisite of payment for these services.

The next blog post will discuss 5 additional questions to ask a potential management company. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or comments.

Emily

Emily Shaw is a condominium homeowner in Tampa, Florida and a Director of VERA Property Management, a full-service community association management and consulting firm serving the Tampa Bay Area.

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The Benefits of a Condominium Association Website

Posted on July 30, 2013 | 5 Comments

If your condominium association doesn’t have a website, I strongly recommend you get one. They can provide a plethora of services at a relatively reasonable cost and can be a self-managed association’s best friend when trying to provide large quantities of information to residents in an efficient manner. Further, they are a great way to publicize your property as most prospective buyers and renters begin their condominium search online.  Not sure that a website would be of that much use? This post is dedicated the many ways that self-managed condominium association Boards can use a website to their advantage.

Don’t have a tech savvy Board? No problem! Services like AtHomeNet provide websites exclusively for community associations that can be customized to meet the needs of your property for as little as $35/ month. All of the website perks I discuss below are available through this service.

Community Photographs

A gallery of quality photos can make your property appealing to potential buyers. If you make them available on your website, you will find that realtors will begin to actively use these pictures in their property listings.

General Communication

Associations have an unending list of things to communicate to their residents. Your website can be used to post and send email notices about association projects, policy updates, cable and internet options, homeowner maintenance reminders such as air conditioning service, Board meeting agendas and minutes, social events, and much more.

Board Member Contact Information

One way Board members can make themselves more accessible to homeowners, which in turn tends to make homeowners more confident about the Board’s ability to management of the property, is to make their contact information available to homeowners. I recommend that each Board member establish a unique email address used exclusively for association business.

 Events Calendar

A website events calendar is a great way to community upcoming events to residents. This can be used for association-sponsored social events, area events, board meetings, proxy/ voting deadlines and timelines for major association projects, just to name a few.

 Classified and Condos for Sale/ Rent

Most association websites offer homeowners a place to list personal items for sale, condos for sale or condos for rent.

 Community Policies and Forms

It’s smart to keep all frequently requested policies and forms on your website. Good examples of this would be the property’s rental policy, the association’s bylaws and declaration, insurance certificates, maintenance fee schedules, or a frequently asked questions sheet.

Credit Card Maintenance Fee Payments

Many association website companies offer homeowners the ability to pay their maintenance fees by credit card on the website. Usually there is a several dollar convenience fee but for residents that need to make a payment immediately, this can be a good option.

Official Record Storage

As discussed in our post about the Official Records section of Florida Statute 718, condominium associations have a responsibility to maintain certain Association records and make them available to homeowners upon request. What would be easier than to direct homeowners to the property’s website to review specific records? It probably isn’t feasible to store all of the Association’s records on the website; however, the most commonly requested documents certainly can be. These documents include recent meeting agendas and minutes, monthly financial statements, the Association’s budget and maintenance fee schedule, and any property rules and policies. The website also serves as a web-based backup system for your key official records.

Area Information

Though not a necessity, providing information about your property’s surrounding area can be a nice addition to your website. You can include emergency contact information (e.g. the local fire and police departments, emergency hotlines), evacuation information if you are in a flood zone (e.g. shelter locations), additional parking options if parking on your property is limited, local restaurants and sites, local government website and information on recycling programs. Further, your website can be a great way to communicate with residents before or after a hurricane (learn more about hurricane preparedness for your association here).

In all, a website can be a tremendous tool for condo association Boards and is definitely worth the reasonable annual fee. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
Emily

Emily Shaw is a condominium homeowner in Tampa, Florida and a Director of VERA Property Management, a firm providing full-service community association management in the Tampa Bay Area as well as consulting, financial and legal services to all Florida community associations. 

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Florida Statute Review: 718.111(12) Official Records

Posted on June 21, 2013 | 37 Comments

The Florida condominium statutes are very specific about what records an association must keep and for how long. For a self-managed condominium, one Board member (typically the Secretary) should be responsible for ensuring that the association’s records comply with 718.111(12) at all times. I will provide a brief review of the requirements of this statute here as well as some helpful tips to maintaining your association’s records.

What are the key items you are required to keep?

  1. All plans, permits, warranties and other items the developer provided to the association upon turnover.
  2. The Declaration of Condominium and any approved amendments.
  3. The Bylaws and any approved amendments.
  4. The Articles of Incorporation and any approved amendments.
  5. The current Rules & Regulations (old versions do not need to be maintained)
  6. Meeting minutes of all association meetings for the last seven years.
  7. Any audio or video recordings of association meetings (at least until the minutes from the meeting has been approved)
  8. A current roster of all homeowners’ unit numbers, mailing addresses and telephone numbers.
  9. A current roster of all homeowners’ email addresses and fax numbers if the owner has consented to receive notice by electronic transmission. This information is not available to other homeowners unless the homeowner has consented to receive notices by electronic transmission.
  10. Current insurance policies (old policies do not need to be maintained)
  11. Every contract to which the association is or was a party (including management, janitorial and landscaping contracts, to name a few) over the last seven years.
  12. All accounting records of the association for the last seven years. Details surrounding accounting record retention will be discussed in a separate post.
  13. Ballots, sign-in sheets, voting proxies and any other documents related to a homeowner vote for one year from the date of the vote.
  14. A copy of the current question and answer sheet referenced in FL Statute 718.504. As sample of this sheet is available from the Florida Department of Business Regulation (Form CO 6000-4).
  15. All other pertinent records of the association.

The association’s official records must be available for homeowner viewing. Homeowners have the right to view and photocopy all of the association’s official records with the exception of (1) documents protected by lawyer-client privilege; (2) information associated with the sale of a unit; (3) homeowner medical records and other confidential information such as Social Security Numbers; (4) association security information; and (5) personnel records (if the association has employees). If the homeowner requests a hard copy of a specific record, the Association may charge the homeowner its actual costs to prepare those records for the homeowner. It is very important that the association comply with requests from homeowners to view association records as failure to do so can lead to monetary damages.

I strongly recommend that self-managed associations follow these guidelines to ensure that the association’s records are protected and also easily accessible for viewing by homeowners. Official record transparency is a great way to keep homeowners confident in the Board’s ability to successfully manage the association.

  1. Keep hard copies of the Declaration of Condominium, Bylaws, Rules & Regulations, meeting minutes, and budget with maintenance fee schedule available for homeowners and prospective buyers at all times. Establish a reasonable fee schedule for these items ahead of time based on production costs and ensure these fees are enforced consistently.
  2. If the association has a website, keep all of the association’s records on the website for homeowners to access at their convenience. Not only does this provide complete transparency but it also provides a web-based backup of the official records so there is no concern about them being destroyed due to theft or natural disaster.
  3. Keep binders with hard copies of all of the association’s records on property. A simple way to do this is to have binders for each key item (e.g. meeting minutes, contracts, historical budgets, etc.).
  4. Keep a binder with all Board member meeting packets (the information provided to each Board member prior to a meeting). All of this information is considered official records of the association, and it is a great way to look back at exactly what the Board discussed in past meetings.
  5. Keep electronic copies of all association records on one designated association computer and backup all of these records routinely onto an external hard drive maintained by one of the Board members.

Two other items that I think are worth keeping in both hard and soft copy include:

  1. Any opinions provided by the association’s attorney. Often these are kept in the email of the Board member that asked the question and, therefore, when new Board members join, they waist association resources by asking the same questions again.
  2. Any email communications where a quorum of Board members discuss or take a vote on an association issue. Email communication between a quorum of Board members should be limited as much as possible as these email chains technically constitute a Board meeting which must be open to homeowners. However, in certain circumstances this cannot be avoided so my advice would be to use email to communicate to a quorum of the Board as little as possible and to keep copies of those communications for homeowner review.

I hope this overview of the official records statute has been helpful. As always, feel free to comment or reach out to me via email if you would like to discuss this topic or any other.

Emily

Emily Shaw is a condominium homeowner in Tampa, Florida and a Director of VERA Property Management, a firm providing full-service community association management in the Tampa Bay Area as well as consulting, financial and legal services to all Florida community associations. 

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