Post by Admin on May 8, 2017 10:05:02 GMT -5
Legislature passed an increase in costs passed to Owners in
BILL SB 398
FS720.30851
That the time required to produce a certificate is reduced to 10 business days, a reasonable cap is established for estoppel certificate fees and that such fees be tiered; the amount of the fee depends on whether or not the owner is current in fees ($250), delinquent in fees (add $150), expedited (+$100) or if the sale is a bulk purchase (+varies).
This is a windfall bonus for management companies who push a button for the closing agent in assisted property sales. Note that SLohA does not get any part of the estoppel fee. It is just another freebie for the management company.
OWNERS: You do not have to have an estoppel certificate unless you, a financing institution or your Buyer wants one. Most owner-owner sales in SLohA do not request estoppel certificates.
That being said, if I was a Buyer (assisted sale or not), I would require an estoppel certificate or letter to assure there are no lurking, undisclosed fees that I might be responsible for. At the very least, I would require the Seller to disclose this information, in writing, before closing. This is very easy in SLohA as there is no provision for fining owners and thus, no fining fees and, assessment payments are on the website and easy to validate.
OWNERS!! The Association MUST have adopted the authority to charge its members an estoppel-that has not changed!
Effective July 1, 2017
"SH all" means "MUST"
No fee can be charged if SLohA is late to produce the certificate (beyond 10 days). No additional fee can be charged for an amended certificate.
The Board should publish this BOD resolution or provision in the Management Contract on its website. Alternately, a member could request it during the sales process in order to present to the closing agent. Absent the adopted authority to collect an estoppel fee, SLohA cannot lawfully charge members a fee via its Management company.
BILL SB 398
FS720.30851
That the time required to produce a certificate is reduced to 10 business days, a reasonable cap is established for estoppel certificate fees and that such fees be tiered; the amount of the fee depends on whether or not the owner is current in fees ($250), delinquent in fees (add $150), expedited (+$100) or if the sale is a bulk purchase (+varies).
This is a windfall bonus for management companies who push a button for the closing agent in assisted property sales. Note that SLohA does not get any part of the estoppel fee. It is just another freebie for the management company.
OWNERS: You do not have to have an estoppel certificate unless you, a financing institution or your Buyer wants one. Most owner-owner sales in SLohA do not request estoppel certificates.
That being said, if I was a Buyer (assisted sale or not), I would require an estoppel certificate or letter to assure there are no lurking, undisclosed fees that I might be responsible for. At the very least, I would require the Seller to disclose this information, in writing, before closing. This is very easy in SLohA as there is no provision for fining owners and thus, no fining fees and, assessment payments are on the website and easy to validate.
OWNERS!! The Association MUST have adopted the authority to charge its members an estoppel-that has not changed!
(8) The authority to charge a fee for the preparation and delivery of the estoppel certificate sH all be established by a written resolution adopted by the board or provided by a written management, bookkeeping, or maintenance contract and is payable upon the preparation of the certificate.
"SH all" means "MUST"
No fee can be charged if SLohA is late to produce the certificate (beyond 10 days). No additional fee can be charged for an amended certificate.
The Board should publish this BOD resolution or provision in the Management Contract on its website. Alternately, a member could request it during the sales process in order to present to the closing agent. Absent the adopted authority to collect an estoppel fee, SLohA cannot lawfully charge members a fee via its Management company.