Specializing in Condominium Repaints
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SPRAY POLYURETHANE FOAM The Granada House Lubavitch Educational Center Solo Lofts Las-Olas The Groves Pompano Beach, FL • Nov. 2006 North Miami, FL • May 2007 Fort Lauderdale, FL • April 2007 Kendall, FL • May ‘07–June ‘07 • 16,000 SF 16-story • 7-Story building • New construction • 12 apartment buildings Condominium • Job completed in 15 days • 7 days to finish project • 100,000 SF • Project was done in less than 2 weeks • Tear down old roof—Foamed & Miami-Dade County Roof Project Coated directly to concrete. • 85,000 SF Community Health of South Dade, Inc. Tore old roof down to concrete, foam it, and coat it. SPF Systems was awarded with 3 more roof projects by Miami-Dade County for 2008. We Specialize in: Condominiums • Commercial • Industrial • One Monolithic Seal • Strongest Insulation Value Available • Cut Your Electric Bill by • The Only Roofing System that Pays for Over 30% Itself in Under 5 Years SPF Systems is a direct-certified applicator of BASF and will provide you with a 20-year renewable warranty. Over 50 Million Since Square Feet of Buildings 1982 Reroofed Since 1982 SPF Systems, LLC State License CCC1328390 augustcontents volume 22 number 8 2008 on the cover: design by Chris Ragan 6 14 58 features in every issue www.FLCAJ.com Makeover! 6 News, Information, and Lifestyle 24/7 4 Journal Notes—Letter from the Editor Web-Based Data Hosting: New Technologies 12 CondoJobs—Lisa Pinder 10 Advance Facilities Asset Management Management Matters—Marcy L. Kravit, CMCA, AMS, PCAM Oceanwalk’s Keith Ginsburg: 20 14 A “Supernatural” Manager 26 Legal Issues—Gary A. Poliakoff, J.D. “Special Needs” Financing: 30 Answers—Richard White 34 Understanding Your Community Is the Key Welcome Aboard! New Staff 42 Products & Services Member Orientation Tips 38 65 Community Gardener It’s Project Time… Do You 50 Know Where Your Engineer Is? 66 Meeting Notices Older Elevators: 70 Community Finances—Jeffrey L. Ducker, C.P.A. 54 New Requirements 82 Florida Law—Michael J. Gelfand, Esq. The Lido of Pinellas 58 Condominium Association 85 Manager Profile The Fig Whitefly: A New 86 Relations—Betsy Barbieux 74 Danger in South Florida Regenesis Digest—Richard Thompson Pipe Restoration: 89 78 ePipe Might Be the Answer 92 Florida Digest—News from Around the State Not All Reserve Studies 98 Are Created Equal 100 Advertisers’ Index FLCAJ Aug 2008 3 journalnotes Publisher Charlene Yarbrough Editor Terry McMurry Today, I’m thinking about what’s right Contributing Writers with the world. Yes, I know that sounds Marcy L. Kravit strange, given the most recent headlines on Jane Jarlenski Kathy Danforth the Drudge Report. I won’t go into those, but Megan McMurry permit me to give you some positive food Robert J. Spence Caleb Dunlap for thought. General Manager Jim McMurry Regardless of what you hear, you are Art Director Chris Ragan living in the most prosperous country in Graphic Designer Joey Phelps Production Coordinator Michael Hamline the history of the world. With very few Advertising Sales exceptions, most of you are doing better Phone: (866) 828-9267 or (800) 425-1314 economically than your parents did. The Email: [email protected] average life expectancy in the US today is Circulation/Accounting Gerry Puls 78.8 years, compared with 47 in 1900. And Phone: (866) 828-9267 Fax: (501) 280-9233 that’s just for starters! Editorial And for many of you, there are blessings Phone: (800) 443-3433 that will mean even more: Fax: (501) 280-9233 • Some of you just received good news CondoJobs Recruiting Service Director Lisa Pinder from your doctor. 1128 Royal Palm Beach Blvd., #223 • Some of you have a new grandbaby. Royal Palm Beach, Florida 33411 Phone: (561) 791-0426 • Some of you have lowered you cholesterol. Fax: (561) 791-0934 • Some of you have lost weight. Florida Community Association Journal • Some of you are retiring soon. is published monthly by Advantage Publishing Co., Inc. • All of you are probably eating better than 90 percent of the world today. 1000 Nix Road These things are cause for celebration. Yes, I know how expensive gas and food are. Little Rock, AR 72211-3235 Email: [email protected] I also know that there are some things we can change, and some we can’t. There is a Website: FLCAJ.com prayer, sometimes called the serenity prayer that goes: Copyrighted by Florida Community “God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to Association Journal. Reproductions of any part of this publication without written change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference.” permission of the publisher are prohibited. Some of the things you are able to change have to do with your community associ- Subscription Rates ation. And many of those have to do with your attitude as a leader. If you can maintain $18 for one year, $36 for three years. Single issues are $4 each plus postage. a positive view of your circumstances, you might have the ability to weather this eco- Back issues are available for $4 each nomic storm we seem to be entering. People always like dealing with optimistic people. plus postage. Reproductions of any part of this publication without the written In times of adversity, regardless of how severe and how long, there are always those consent of the publisher is prohibited. who come out on the other side a better, stronger person. When it’s all over, they look The publisher and editor(s) of this magazine back on the “hard times” and think of them as profitable. Those who let circumstances do not accept responsibility for the content of any advertisement, including statements dictate their attitude and their direction view those times as a hardship. It’s not a flip of made by advertisers herein, or for the the coin, it is a decision. And each of us gets to make it everyday. opinions expressed by authors of by-lined articles. The intent of this publication is to provide general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations. Appropriate legal, financial or engineering advice or other expert assistance should always be sought from professionals. Postage paid at Little Editor Rock, AR and additional offices (permit #1085). Postmaster Send address changes to: Florida Community Association Journal 1000 Nix Road Little Rock, AR 72211-3235 4 Aug 2008 FLCAJ $1,000,000 Windstorm Insurance Deductible Does your Condominium Association have one? Probably! After the hurricane disasters of 2004 and 2005 Insurance Companies Forced Massive Deductibles on Condominium Associations. • 5% deductibles are now standard. A $20,000,000 complex will have to pay the first $1,000,000 of any hurricane loss. • Many Associations will find it impossible to pay these large deductibles. • Large uninsured deductibles will mean large assessments In an effort to alleviate problems such as these, the Florida Legislature has passed legislation allowing the formation of group self-insurance plans. Our association is now beginning the process of creating a solution to the large deductible/assessment problem we are facing. We need your help NOW! Please fax or Email me a brief letter advising that you support the efforts of the Association of Coastal Condominiums to develop a solution to the large hurricane deductible assessment problem. We need your help NOW! The Association of Coastal Condominiums Jim Alexander - Director 265 South Federal Highway, Suite 101 Deerfield Beach, FL 33441-4161 Call 877-433-9583 Fax 877-433-9582 www.coastal-condos.org www.FLCAJ.com Makeover! News, Information, and Lifestyle 24/7 ne of the benefits of publishing a magazine like Florida Community Association Journal is that we don’t have to depend on others to O make announcements for us. So, please allow us to use this space to make this announcement regarding the recent launch of our all-new website that sets the standard in online content for the community management industry. The purpose of this article is to both explain the philosophy behind its development and its use. We want to stress that the print version of FLCAJ is safe and well! We expect to continue publishing the Journal as long as there is an industry 6 Aug 2008 FLCAJ to support it. However, as we have progressed in ownership of the magazine, we have come to realize the unique position we are in. We have years and years of archives built up that answer many questions that managers and board members face in their normal day-to-day routines. Although we are told repeatedly that managers archive the information for later reference, the same can’t be said for many board members. The simple reason is that, while managers will serve in the industry for many years, board members serve for limited periods. They need the information while they are on the board, but not necessarily before or after that time period. When many board members begin their service, they usually are unfamiliar with many of the common procedures, methods, and legalities of administering a community. Even familiar terms might be like a foreign language. This is where the website can have immediate impact. In this major upgrade, we have included many resources, references, topical articles, links, etc., to informa- tion that both managers and board members use regularly. FLCAJ the Magazine; FLCAJ the Website As noted, FLCAJ will remain a print journal. To access most of the current month’s content, you must still read the print version. However, the website will offer a few selected articles from the current month’s issue, with the remainder of the content available approximately 30 days later.