Florida is the nation’s leading state when it comes to condominium and homeowners association law. This is likely because the state has historically had more incorporated neighborhoods than anywhere else, and therefore a lot more time to learn from experience. Those experiences get incorporated into legislature for homeowner protections, but also in some cases for developer protection, as may be equitable to both parties during development of a residential community.
Most states have continued to develop their association law based on trends seen in Florida’s legislative changes, and as such association law country-wide has many similarities. However, every state has their own statute when it comes to condo or HOA governance. Since Florida’s statute tends to be the most comprehensive, discussion of Florida associations and developer turnover within Florida are at the core of this guidebook.
Readers outside of Florida will invariably still find the information provided extremely useful. Developer turnovers and the preparations required are the same beast, regardless of state statute, but understanding the requirements and obligations of the developer per each state’s statute will be critical.
It must be stressed that the author of this guidebook is not an attorney, not an accountant, and not an engineer. As such, all information provided for in this guide is based on qualifications of personal industry experience, understanding, and knowledge, and may therefore be subject to certain errors, omissions, or inaccuracy.
Association governance, state statute, and a community’s governing documents are all very much driven by legal requirements and opinions, which should be provided by an attorney licensed in your state. Legal counsel should always be consulted before making any decisions, or taking any actions, such as those described or suggested in this guide.
Furthermore, though reference to state statute is intentionally left vague and ambiguous throughout the narrative, what references do exist, or may be perceived to exist, are based on current statute at the time of this writing. Regular legislative changes provide for constant updates and changes to statute, providing all the more reason why legal counsel should be consulted for any interpretation of your governing documents or state law.
Nothing provided for in this guide, stated or implied, is intended to represent any interpretation of, or practice of, state law or association documents, and should therefore not be construed as such, or relied on as such.
This guidebook is intended to be no more than just that—A GUIDE. Please use the information and suggestions included only to guide your actions, your plans, and your decisions throughout your turnover process, or for any other educational purpose.
