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Owners Bill of Rights vs. Caveat Emptor

Stew Richland

When the United States Constitution was written and submitted for ratification, many delegates refused to sign the document until a Bill of Rights was added to it.  These delegates, having experienced the unreasonable decisions made by the British government on the colonies, and still suffering from the ravages of the Revolutionary War. wanted to ensure that  the injustices imposed by the Colonial policies of Great Britain would never be repeated.  This led to the birth of the first ten Amendments to our Constitution, commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights.  Simply stated the majority will not take away the rights of the minority. 

When Century Village was first organized there were no associations per say and the residents of each building were basically  free agents exercising the right of eminent domain on their own condo and not interfering with the interests of those other condo owners that lived in their building. 

Red Button’s message of “Come on Down,” live the good life, bask in the warmth of Florida, you deserve to retire in comfort, live in Century Village where you will find your “fountain of youth,” and so the message became a reality for hundreds of new residents.

As with every community that experiences rapid growth, this expansion brings with it unforeseen issues that have to be addressed and resolved.  West Palm Recreational Facility commonly referred to as WPRF was responsible for all the amenities in the Village.  WPRF’s budget required that all residents pay fees to maintain the facilities.  When some owners rebelled and refused to pay, and so some residents were denied the use of the recreational facilities.  In response, associations chose to incorporate.  Every building has a certificate of incorporation filed with the state of Florida.  Thus, the state of Florida established a set of standards and rules of operation by which every Association must adhere to.  In addition, each association drew up their own by-laws, that list the rules and regulations that each Condo owner must accept when purchasing a unit.  Other layers of administration were added when the United Civil Organization was formed and the Millennium Agreement was promulgated to resolve disputes between Century Village and WPRF. 

The reasons why condo owners decided to serve their fellow unit owners run the gamut  from a genuine desire of commitment to ensure that their Association runs efficiently, to those who were cajoled into accepting positions because many unit owners displayed a lack of interest or were “snow birds”  and could not make the commitments that were required.

Living in a Condo community means shared responsibility for managing the affairs of the Association.  However, like governments around the world, some Associations are led by hard working unselfish outstanding volunteers that accept  their responsibilities. On the other hand, there are Associations that may have started with good intentions but for a plethora of reasons, began to disintegrate into rule by fiat, dictatorship and soon earned the title, “Condo Nazis.”  There develops an air of casual superiority on the part of many presidents of associations. They overstep their authority, they marginalize the opinions of others, they tend to bully some of the older residents, and manipulate the annual association elections.  We know that elections have consequences.  Who do you blame for the disintegration of these troubled associations.  The new unit owner who has not read the association bylaws and thus becomes victims of their own ignorance.  Snow birds who have decided that their Condo is just a vacation residence, but their life really is some place and divorces themselves from Association business. There is plenty of finger pointing but this does not solve the problem.

To my readers: this is the first installment dealing with the issues here in Century Village.  My goal is to educate and encourage positive change here in the Village. I welcome any and all comments.