Having a property management company has many advantages. The most obvious being they hand the marketing and renting of the property, screening the tenants and overseeing the maintenance. One big point, most everyone misses, is the knowledge and continuous education required in handling such business matters.
One area that can get an uninformed manager in trouble, is the area of property management and real estate laws.
Right now, there is bill working its way toward being a law, which deals with homeowner, cooperative and condominium association documents. This bill, known as CS/CS/CS/HB 203, Residential Properties, deals with the handling, delivery and time frames of estoppel certificates.
Most laypeople don’t even know the definition of an estoppel certificate. An estoppel certificate is basically a legal document that tells the financial debt owed to an association (homeowners’, cooperative or condominium) by a parcel owner or unit owner.
With most everyone using the internet to conduct business, if passed, the process to deliver an estoppel certificate is being update. Below, if you are interested, is the bill (in the terms it was written for passage):
•Provides for the ability to request and deliver estoppel certificates through electronic means;
•Reduces the period of time in which an association must respond to an estoppel certificate request;
•Specifies the required content, effective periods, and approved delivery methods for estoppel certificates;
•Requires the designation of a person or entity for receipt of estoppel certificate requests;
•Establishes fee caps for the preparation and delivery of an estoppel certificate;
•Waives the right of an association to collect moneys owed in excess of the amount stated in an estoppel certificate from any person who in good faith relies on such certificate; and
•Provides that cooperative associations are subject to the same requirements regarding the issuance of estoppel certificates as homeowner and condominium associations.
At FPM Properties and First Place Management, we keep up with current laws; know our state congressmen, congresswomen and representatives; and regularly travel to Tallahassee to lobby and express our concerns in our industry.
Should you have questions regarding this bill or any other relating to property management or real estate laws, don’t hesitate to contact us!