THE
VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 2
IN THIS ISSUE President’s Message | 1 March Meeting Recap | 3 Board Spotlight | 7 Association Loans | 12
A Quarterly Publication of: New Members | 2 Home Rule Authority| 4 Pool Season Prep | 11 Chapter Calendar | 14
President’s Message Cindy Craft Dunlop Dear Jax Metro CAI Members, Our chapter 2015 board and committees are working hard on many initiatives for the remainder of the year. There are still many opportunities to participate so please inquire if you are interested in getting more involved. Thank you to those of you who have taken the time share your ideas, opinions and concerns. Your input is most valuable to us as we continue to evolve into a more seasoned chapter. We had the pleasure of welcoming eight new members to our chapter during the first quarter and attendance was up to almost 50 at our last luncheon. If you haven’t attended recently, I encourage you to join us on May 14th at Maggiano’s as we hear from our very own Legislative Action Committee (LAC) delegates, Amy Layne, CMCA®, AMS® of Associa - Community Management Concepts and Ed Ronsman, Esq., attorney with The Jackson Law Group. The panel will discuss the results and impact of decisions made at the Florida Legislative session currently under way. Guests are encouraged and always welcome. You spoke and we listened! Thank you to those of you who took the time to give us your feedback regarding our 2015 education and expo day. The survey results clearly showed that our chapter would like a 2015 event which is facilitated by the chapter, scaled back, and focused on quality educational programs. It is my pleasure to announce that our past president, Amy Layne, has volunteered to chair the committee this year and is busy planning an early fall event. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
W: www.JaxMetroCAI.com E: caijaxmetrochapter@gmail.com M: 9802 Baymeadows Rd #12 PMB201 Jacksonville, FL 32256
2015 Chapter Sponsors PLATINUM
Anguis & Terry, LLP Lake, Brown, Williams CPAs and Consultants, Inc.
GOLD CNL Bank Kings III Emergency Communications
SILVER Aquatic Systems BB&T First Coast Association Management Mosquito Joe Union Bank
If you are interested in becoming a chapter sponsor, please visit www.JaxMetroCAI.com for details.
PRESIDENT CONT.
Please contact Amy at alayne@cmcjaxfla.com if you would like to join the committee and help out. I hope to see many of you at the CAI National Conference in Las Vegas in late April. Our national organization delivers top notch speakers, informative classes and great opportunities to better ourselves and benefit our chapter. Congratulations to our Chapter Executive Director, Brittany Lamoureux, who was the recipient of a $1,500 scholarship to attend the conference this year! This is significant to us as a small chapter as the funds can be put to good use for direct programs and initiatives. Sincerely, Cindy Craft Dunlop CAI Jax Metro Chapter President The best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing.� -Theodore Roosevelt
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Jason Brown Cox Fire Protection Christine Connery Dunmar Group Chris Phillips Mosquito Joe
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Josh Madden TruGreen Lawn Care
Jamie Woodward Community Association Volunteer Leader Brennan Heintzman ThyssenKrupp Stacy Hudgens Elevator Community Association Manager
Meeting Recap March 2015 Meeting
Many thanks to those who attended our March luncheon & to our Chapter sponsors. We saw many new faces & enjoyed catching up with others not seen in some time! A big thank you to our Spotlight Speaker & new Silver chapter sponsor, Chris Phillips with Mosquito Joe, for his presentation on keeping those pesky mosquitoes at bay. Also in attendance were Jason Brown with Cox Fire Protection (new member), Christine Connery with Dunmar Group (new member), Jerry Hall with McCall Service, Kim Shane with Performance Roofing, Traci Abel & David Herrin with Southeast Pipe Survey (new members), and Josh Madden with TruGreen LandCare (new member). In case you missed our last luncheon, our speaker was Mark T. Smith with Smith Appraisal Service. Mark is a State-Certified General Real Estate Appraiser (FL licenses #RZ2620). He is also an FHA approved appraiser (HUD #0409). Mark has owned his business, Smith Appraisal Service, in Florida since 2002 and has over 25 years of experience in the appraisal field. His State-Certified General Real Estate Appraiser license allows him to appraise all types of buildings/properties in Florida with no restrictions. His appraisal firm specializes in replacement cost valuations for insurance purposes, as well as commercial and residential real estate appraising including condominiums. Please feel free to contact Mark should you have any appraisal questions at 904.471.0922 or smithappraisal@comcast.net. You will not want to miss our upcoming luncheon May 14 th, in which our chapter’s Legislative Action Committee delegates, Amy Layne CMCA®, AMS®, and Ed Ronsman, Esq., will provide us with important updates to the current Legislative session currently underway! Mike Buresh, Chief Meteorologist on Action News at WJAX-TV/WFOX-TV, will provide hurricane preparedness tips at our July 9 th luncheon! Check the website for more details!
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Restoring Home Rule Authority F l o r i d a ’ s S t r u g g l e t o R e g u l a t e Va c a t i o n R e n t a l s James Roche, Esq. | Attorney—Jackson Law Group | Jroche@jacksonlawgroup.com | (904) 823-3333 Recent legal developments have once again drawn attention to an area that has experienced heated debate and spurred litigation: vacation rentals. “Vacation rentals” are defined by statute as “any unit or group of units in a condominium or cooperative or any individually or collectively owned singlefamily, two-family, three-family, or fourfamily house or dwelling unit that is also a transient public lodging establishment but that is not a timeshare project.” Also, a “transient public lodging establishment” is defined as “any unit, group of units, dwelling, building, or group of buildings within a single complex of buildings which is rented to guests more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days or 1 calendar month, whichever is less, or which is advertised or held out to the public as a place regularly rented to guests.” In other words, and as the terminology implies, vacation rentals are condominium units or homes frequently rented on a short-term basis to people looking for vacation lodging.
increased tax revenue, and increased consumer traffic to local businesses. Opponents argue that vacation rentals have a negative impact on parking, noise, garbage collection, and the residential character of certain neighborhoods generally. Community associations in particular are often troubled by the lack of concern that short -term renters have for the community’s common areas, such as clubhouses, recreation rooms, and swimming pools. In addition, other interested parties argue that the lack of regulation of vacation rentals Although Florida’s foreclosure creates an unfair crisis has resulted in many unfortunate business circumstances for former homeowners advantage over who were unable to pay their traditional mortgages, it has also provided transient lodging opportunity for investors who purchase establishments homes or condominium units at (hotels), which are foreclosure sales. Such investors often subject to higher have one of two goals: (1) renovate the regulatory standards. In response to the property to sell it to an ordinary competing interests, Florida lawmakers purchaser for a profit; or (2) transform have struggled to strike an appropriate the property to accommodate as many regulatory balance. Further, Florida guests as possible and rent it on a short lawmakers have struggled to determine term basis to generate income. While whether any regulation of vacation many agree that the first option rentals should be enacted by the state generally benefits all interested parties, or be reserved to local governing the second option is the subject of much bodies. controversy. Prior to 2011, local governments Investors generally argue that (counties and cities) were free to the vacation rental market results in an regulate vacation rentals and some even economic benefit through job creation, 4
prohibited them altogether in residential neighborhoods. However, in 2011 the Florida Legislature passed House Bill 883 which precluded local governments from “regulating, restricting, or prohibiting” vacation
rentals, thereby preempting vacation rental regulation. Although HB 883 prevented local governments from regulating vacation rentals, the law contained a “grandfather” clause which allowed any local governments’ regulations adopted on or before June 1, 2011 to remain in effect. However, even with the grandfather clause, local governments were hesitant to revisit any prior regulations for fear of invalidating them.
After enacting HB 883 and preempting local regulation, the Florida Legislature did not appear to specifically address any of the competing interests discussed above through further lawmaking. To be fair, the apparent intent of HB 883 was to delegate the state’s regulatory authority to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (“DBPR”), an
companion Senate Bill 356 made their way through various committees and the former was ultimately passed and approved by the governor on June 13, 2014, with an effective date of July 1, 2014. In apparent effort to strike a balance among the various interested parties, the intended effect of SB 356 was to restore some authority of local governments to regulate certain aspects of vacation rentals (often called “home rule”) while not allowing them to prohibit them altogether. While local governments may not prohibit or regulate the duration or frequency of vacation rentals, the new law does not prohibit local governments from regulating other aspects and treating them differently than other residential properties. Some of the areas that are likely open for home-rule regulation include: noise, parking, signage, and registration. However, one area that is of particular controversy and has already spurred litigation is whether local governments have the authority to regulate the number of guests that are permitted to simultaneously occupy a vacation rental.
Whether the Legislature has finally reached an appropriate regulatory balance regarding vacation rentals is a matter of perspective. However, what is certain is that local governments will continue to be challenged with lawsuits as they pass ordinances that affect the vacation rental industry. Vacation rental lawsuits administrative agency with which many not only challenge the particular community associations are familiar. ordinances at issue but also raise However, after being delegated that foundational governmental policy authority, the DBPR did not actually concerns, such as how much authority promulgate any regulations pertaining lawmakers in Tallahassee should have to to vacation rentals, which left them regulate matters that may have a largely unregulated. A cynical-thoughdifferent impact depending on plausible view is that this was the intent geographic location within the state. all along. What may be of particular interest in Fairly recently, the Florida the community association context is Legislature revisited the issue of whether a vacation rental company vacation rentals. House Bill 307 and its might attempt to challenge rental
restrictions in a community association’s governing document as an impermissible “local law, ordinance, or regulation” under the new law. Given the economic incentives, such a challenge would appear to be inevitable. Recent legal developments have once again drawn attention to an area that has experienced heated debate and spurred litigation: vacation rentals. “Vacation rentals” are defined by statute as “any unit or group of units in a condominium or cooperative or any individually or collectively owned singlefamily, two-family, three-family, or fourfamily house or dwelling unit that is also a transient public lodging establishment but that is not a timeshare project.” Also, a “transient public lodging establishment” is defined as “any unit, group of units, dwelling, building, or group of buildings within a single complex of buildings which is rented to guests more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days or 1 calendar month, whichever is less, or which is advertised or held out to the public as a place regularly rented to guests.” In other words, and as the terminology implies, vacation rentals are condominium units or homes frequently rented on a short-term basis to people looking for vacation lodging. Although Florida’s foreclosure crisis has resulted in many unfortunate circumstances for former homeowners who were unable to pay their mortgages, it has also provided opportunity for investors who purchase homes or condominium units at foreclosure sales. Such investors often have one of two goals: (1) renovate the property to sell it to an ordinary purchaser for a profit; or (2) transform the property to accommodate as many guests as possible and rent it on a short term basis to generate income. While many agree that the first option generally benefits all interested parties, the second option is the subject of much controversy. CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
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BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Cindy Craft Dunlop President Educational background, where you grew up, info about family (spouse, kids), employer & job title, length of employment at current job I grew up in St. Augustine and graduated from Flagler College. I have been in banking for 27 years and 8 years with CNLBank as a Commercial Relationship Manager. My husband Mike and I have four children between us, Molly, Caitlin, Will and Colin with the two girls at FSU. Go Noles! Personal stuff, like hobbies & other organizations you are involved & other things that make you super cool I serve on the board of The Women’s Center of Jacksonville which provides a 24-hour rape crisis hotline and support, breast cancer support and counseling for women. It is such a worthwhile organization and very humbling to be involved with. I love yoga, writing, life coaching, college football, raising our boys and our 2 boxer dogs. What do you want to accomplish by serving on the board? To see our chapter grow to the next level and become a seasoned chapter which is recognized as THE organization to be involved in the property management and association world in North Florida. How is this board service helping you achieve your own personal goals? Serving on the board helps me grow as a person and step out of my comfort zone. It is a means to give back and strive to make a difference. Where would you like to see the chapter in 5 years? 500 members and a well-oiled machine!
Donna Clawson Tr e a s u r e r
My career background expands over 30 years of experience in management , real estate & construction. I have worked for companies that performed sandblasting/painting in the Oil Industry and sold PVC pipe and electrical wiring among other products for various electrical manufacturers to companies that included GE Electric & Westinghouse. I managed within a family business over an 18 year span. When I moved to Florida, I worked with investors on real estate projects that included buying land, building residential homes and selling/renting properties and have maintained a real estate license since 2004.
I moved to the Fleming Island area to work as an onsite CAM for Cobblestone at Eagle Harbor. I was a member of the local Garden Club and held the position: Head of Finance & Fund Raising. I took Arborist Classes and found the information even now to be useful in my present career. I was a member of a Boat Club that worked hand in hand with the local Shriners on many projects and fund raisers. I have organized events that included Christmas “Tours of Homes” & parades for the local schools. I joined the CAI to obtain education, information & to network within the Industry. My Goal would be to see our Northeast Florida Chapter become more recognizable in the surrounding communities and a place the board members know they can turn to for answers, education and a knowledgeable group of vendors/business partners to work with. 7
BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Leslie F Pragasam S e c r et a r y Educational background, where you grew up, info about family (spouse, kids), employer & job title, length of employment at current job Leslie F. Pragasam – I received a BA in Biology from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA. I grew up in Covington, GA, which is a suburb of Atlanta & moved to Jacksonville in late 1999. I am the Sales Manager/Biologist for Aquatic Systems & have been employed here since 2008. My husband, Previn, & I reside in the Arlington area with our 6 year old son, Elijah. Every time we visit the Atlanta area the Varsity is a must stop! Whaddya have?! Personal stuff, like hobbies & other organizations you are involved & other things that make you super cool I have been involved in my HOA since developer turnover in 2010 & have been either President or Secretary ever since. I am also on our ARB committee & Neighborhood Watch committee & am also the JSO Liaison for our neighborhood. My husband & I are both photographers. I enjoy nature & architectural photography but have dabbled a bit in wedding & family photography as well. What do you want to accomplish by serving on the board? I would like to see our chapter grow enough to become the most recognizable chapter in our area & the hippest organization in which everyone wants to be involved. How is this board service helping you achieve your own personal goals? I think being on the CAI board, as well as within my neighborhood, has helped me to overcome my shyness somewhat. I am still terrified of public speaking though! Where would you like to see the chapter in 5 years? I would like to see our chapter’s membership grow to over 500 members within 5 years. I would like to see an increased membership from our surrounding areas, like Flagler & Nassau counties, maybe even SE Georgia.
Check us out online at
www.JaxMetroCAI.com
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VACATION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
prohibit local governments from regulating other aspects and Investors generally argue that the vacation rental market treating them differently than other residential properties. Some results in an economic benefit through job creation, increased tax of the areas that are likely open for home-rule regulation include: noise, parking, signage, and registration. However, one area that revenue, and increased consumer traffic to local businesses. Opponents argue that vacation rentals have a negative impact on is of particular controversy and has already spurred litigation is whether local governments have the authority to regulate the parking, noise, garbage collection, and the residential character number of guests that are permitted to simultaneously occupy a of certain neighborhoods generally. Community associations in vacation rental. particular are often troubled by the lack of concern that shortterm renters have for the community’s common areas, such as Whether the Legislature has finally reached an clubhouses, recreation rooms, and swimming pools. In addition, appropriate regulatory balance regarding vacation rentals is a other interested parties argue that the lack of regulation of matter of perspective. However, what is certain is that local vacation rentals creates an unfair business advantage over governments will continue to be challenged with lawsuits as they traditional transient lodging establishments (hotels), which are pass ordinances that affect the vacation rental industry. Vacation subject to higher regulatory standards. In response to the rental lawsuits not only challenge the particular ordinances at competing interests, Florida lawmakers have struggled to strike issue but also raise foundational governmental policy concerns, an appropriate regulatory balance. Further, Florida lawmakers such as how much authority lawmakers in Tallahassee should have struggled to determine whether any regulation of vacation have to regulate matters that may have a different impact rentals should be enacted by the state or be reserved to local depending on geographic location within the state. What may be governing bodies. of particular interest in the community association context is Prior to 2011, local governments (counties and cities) whether a vacation rental company might attempt to challenge were free to regulate vacation rentals and some even prohibited rental restrictions in a community association’s governing them altogether in residential neighborhoods. However, in 2011 document as an impermissible “local law, ordinance, or the Florida Legislature passed House Bill 883 which precluded regulation” under the new law. Given the economic incentives, local governments from “regulating, restricting, or prohibiting” such a challenge would appear to be inevitable. vacation rentals, thereby preempting vacation rental regulation. Although HB 883 prevented local governments from regulating vacation rentals, the law contained a “grandfather” clause which allowed any local governments’ regulations adopted on or before June 1, 2011 to remain in effect. However, even with the grandfather clause, local governments were hesitant to revisit any prior regulations for fear of invalidating them. After enacting HB 883 and preempting local regulation, the Florida Legislature did not appear to specifically address any of the competing interests discussed above through further lawmaking. To be fair, the apparent intent of HB 883 was to delegate the state’s regulatory authority to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (“DBPR”), an administrative agency with which many community associations are familiar. However, after being delegated that authority, the DBPR did not actually promulgate any regulations pertaining to vacation rentals, which left them largely unregulated. A cynical-thoughplausible view is that this was the intent all along. Fairly recently, the Florida Legislature revisited the issue of vacation rentals. House Bill 307 and its companion Senate Bill 356 made their way through various committees and the former was ultimately passed and approved by the governor on June 13, 2014, with an effective date of July 1, 2014. In apparent effort to strike a balance among the various interested parties, the intended effect of SB 356 was to restore some authority of local governments to regulate certain aspects of vacation rentals (often called “home rule”) while not allowing them to prohibit them altogether. While local governments may not prohibit or regulate the duration or frequency of vacation rentals, the new law does not
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CHAPTER ANNOUNCEMENTS Welcome aboard Stephanie Peluyera, the chapter’s new Marketing Assistant! Stephanie will be working alongside Brittany, our Chapter Executive Director. She will assist the Board and our committees in creating eyecatching marketing pieces for upcoming events.
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Is Your Community Prepared for Pool Season? How to Properly Test Your Emergency Pool Phone
As the weather warms up and your residents
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: In some instances for phones
anxiously await the official opening of your community
that are programmed to call direct to 911, a fee may be
pool, you must ask yourself, “Are we prepared for
charged for initiating a phone call for non-emergency
EVERYTHING that the season could bring?” The
purposes if the authority in jurisdiction deems the non-
anticipation of summer fun and outdoor relaxation is not
emergency calls occur too frequently. Kings III
typically accompanied by initial thoughts of potential
recommends, where applicable, to utilize automatic self-
emergency situations that may arise at your community,
testing equipment in conjunction with periodic manual
but with the increased liability exposure, you’ll want to
tests.
make sure that your properties are covered. It is important to test your pool phone equipment
Testing your emergency pool phone equipment regularly helps to ensure that your property is adequately
regularly throughout the year and certainly to do so prior prepared to aid residents when it matters most, during to opening weekend. Testing your phone is easy and
an emergency. When seconds count, you want to make
can be done in a matter of minutes.
certain that your community and your business are
Testing Your Phone: Initiate a call from your emergency pool phone. Tell the answering operator you are performing a test and ask if they can hear you well. Ask the operator if they can identify your location. For ADA compliance, the most important requirement is that the emergency operator answering the call must be able to determine the exact location of the caller without the caller telling them. If the operator cannot, the phone is not ADA compliant*. If your phone does not work, contact an emergency pool phone specialist as soon as possible to assess the problem and provide a customized solution. If you are a Kings III customer, full maintenance is likely
protected. For questions, concerns or help with your pool phone testing, contact Candy Harrison at 407-738-0694 or charrison@kingsiii.com. More Pool Phone FAQs here. *If the building facility or parking lot was built or renovated after July 1994, any phone(s) installed must meet ADA requirements. Complete ADA regulations may be found at the U.S. Department of Justice website, www.usdoj.gov
Founded in 1989, Kings III Emergency Communications is the nation's only full service provider of emergency communication solutions. With headquarters in Coppell, Texas, Kings III has been delivering peace of mind to its customers nationwide for more than 20 years. The company has installed over 75,000 emergency phones throughout the United States and Canada and provides maintenance and monitoring services for more than 37,000 phones. Kings III is fully integrated; not only engineering and manufacturing emergency phones, but also providing one-stop-shop solutions that include installation, maintenance, and 24/7 emergency monitoring. Additional information is available by visiting www.kingsiii.com.
included in your service package, so please do not hesitate to call. 11
Don’t Deplete Your Association’s Financial Resources Associations are sometimes faced with unexpected repairs that are necessary but were not planned for during the budgeting process. Loans to the association provide individual unit owners a comfortable monthly payment and allow associations to complete projects immediately, without depleting association reserves. Here are some important standard terms, loan features and benefits with association loans.
Collateral
Types of Loans
association’s
The bank should require an assignment of the accounts receivable of the community association.
Typical receivables consist of special assessments and monthly maintenance fees.
The bank also may lend money based solely on the operating budget.
Line of Credit Term Loan
Underwriting the Loan
Insurance Premium Financing
Many factors are reviewed before approving an association’s loan request:
Reasons for a Loan
Financial condition of the
Concrete Restoration
association
Major Improvements
Operating budget
AC Repayment
Balance sheet and income
Elevator Renovations/
statement
Reserve accounts
Repair
Window and Door
Delinquency rate
Replacement
Community documents Board minutes regarding the loan process are reviewed to ensure all legal conditions are met
Terms
For special assessment financing, the term of the loan usually is Number of rentals matched to the term of the collection of the special assessment.
Payments are monthly or quarterly, and generally do not
Unit value, age of the complex, and management stability
exceed a five-year period.
During construction and large repair projects, interest-only payments may be permitted until the project is completed, followed by regular installment payments to reduce the principal.
A line of credit or a draw loan also may be used whereby the client pays interest only on the funds drawn out. Simple interest installment loans also are made to finance hazard and flood insurance premiums.
Interest Rates
Not all banks cater to community associations. It is important to find a bank that specializes in the needs of community associations and has experience meeting their financial goals. Banks vary on loan terms such as interest rates, repayment terms and closing costs. Working with an experienced bank loan officer will ease the loan process and benefit your associations.
For more information, regarding loans to your association, please contact Georgia Miller with BB&T Association Services, Relationship Manager at 904-520-4266.
Interest rates vary depending on several factors including: Dollar amount of the loan Repayment term
All loans subject to credit approval. BB&T, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender.
Financial status of the association Amount of deposits at the bank 12
Our 2015 Chapter Board of Directors Cindy Craft Dunlop | President Edward Ronsman, Esq. | President-Elect Donna Clawson | Treasurer Leslie Pragasam | Secretary Mitchell Mattocks, LCAM, CMCA速, AMS速 | Director Brittany Lamoureux | Executive Director If you would like to be involved in one of our various committees contact our Executive Director at caijaxmetrochapter@gmail.com to be put in contact with the committee chairperson.
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UPCOMING CHAPTER EVENTS CHAPTER MEETINGS 11:30am | Maggiano’s Little Italy | 10367 Mid Town Parkway MAY 14th
JULY 9TH
on Legislative Sessi
Severe Weather
Recap
& Flooding
MCAI Presented By: J n Committee Legislative Actio
Presented By: Mike Buresh from Fox 30 New s
SOCIAL EVENTS JUNE 3rd Sweet Pete’s follow More details to
SEPTEMBER 10TH Insurance & Banking More details to follow
CONNECT WITH US TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH CHAPTER HAPPENINGS AND EVENTS
SEPTEMBER Ice Plant Bar More details to fo llow
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