EXPIRE (from pg 1

However, as most people have come to realize, Associations have an important purpose and play an important meaningful role in our society. The Covenants and Restrictions which govern our communities protect our property values, help to preserve the scheme of development of these communities and often preclude others in a community from allowing their property to become a junkyard to the massive detriment of their neighbors. Lenders are also very interested in the existence and enforceability Covenants and Restrictions when they lend to homeowners money that is secured by a mortgage.

Despite the above, the MRTA may extinguish the use restrictions found on Plats and in Declarations which have been recorded for thirty years or more. Therefore, older Associations need to talk to their attorney about protecting and preserving the Covenants and Restrictions for their communities. As such, you may want to request that your Association attorney review your Association's Documents to determine whether and when the MRTA will take effect to extinguish your Covenants. Unfortunately, without researching the history of your individual documents, there is probably nothing that will automatically apprise the Association or the Association's counsel that Covenants and Restrictions on a particular Association's document will be extinguished.

To evaluate when an Association's documents will lapse under the MRTA, basically requires an investigation of those documents which establish the Covenants and Restrictions for the community and potentially, an updated title search of your community's documents. Understand, certain amendments to your documents may have extended the life of your documents. As such, investigating your Association's amendments in relation to the MRTA will also need to be reviewed. Clayton & McCulloh requests our older Associations to contact and ultimately, meet with us regarding this issue. Associations which have declarations that are only a few years old, quite frankly, should not need to worry about this problem yet. Conversely, older Associations (i.e., those with older declarations), need to deal with this topic as soon as possible. Remember that just because declarations should not lapse by virtue of the MRTA in less than 30 years does not mean that Associations do not need to commence taking action far in advance of this 30-year time period.

Under a new statute which became effective October 1, 1991 (i.e., §712.05(1). Florida Statutes) Homeowners' Associations have been given a legal method by which they may extend the duration of their Covenants upon obtaining membership approval and then recording an appropriate legal Notice in the Public Records. Unfortunately, as most Associations today realize, getting the requisite number of members out to vote, much less getting owners to vote in favor of a particular action can be extremely difficult. Therefore, Associations should not wait until the last minute to address this serious issue. Since "Homeowners Associations" itself is a defined term in Florida Statute, §617.301 (7), it is not clear whether Condominium Associations can take advantage of this process. Nevertheless, because of the serious negative consequences of Covenants being extinguished and becoming unenforceable under the MRTA, we are recommending at this time that Condominium Associations comply with the Notice provision as well.

see EXPIRE, pg 3

LATE BREAKING NEWS . . .

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Buy Clothes Tax Free

Attention Consumers! Hold off on buying any non-essential clothes until August. If you purchase clothing items during the week of August 15 - 21, 1998 in an amount of $50.00 or less, there will be no sales tax applied to the purchase. The term clothing is defined as "any article of wearing apparel, including footwear, intended to be worn on or about the human body." However, this does not apply to handkerchiefs, watchbands, jewelry, scarves, ties, headbands, belt buckles, umbrellas, or watches. The above stated week was reserved by the Florida Legislature to implement the new "Florida Residents' Tax Relief Act of 1998."

EXPIRE (from pg 2)

We recommend that our Associations start to deal with this issue probably as much as five years before the expiration of their declarations. As you may have experienced, often Associations cannot even get a quorum at their annual meeting despite the low quorum requirements now set forth in the Florida Statutes (e.g., 30% for Homeowner Associations). Generally, an Association's best chance to obtain a quorum and get a good owner turnout is at the annual meeting. Therefore, dealing with this problem well before your Association's Covenants are set to lapse, should give your Association sufficient time to:

1. Analyze your actual legal situation with respect to the MRTA;

2. Determine what level of owner involvement exists, what additional measures will be necessary to obtain Owner involvement (i.e., approvals) and to avoid the disastrous consequences of not addressing the matter;

3. Notify the Owners of the situation;

4. Educate the Owners about the need to cure the problem;

5. Allow time to schedule such annual meetings and/or special meetings as are needed to get the requisite approvals from the Owners; and

6. Have your attorneys prepare and process the proper paperwork to accomplish the goal intended by the Statute.

Unfortunately, Associations need to understand that each Association's recorded Plats and Covenants are different, and when they will lapse depends upon various factors, including matters such as when they were recorded and what amendments have been filed.

Therefore, your counsel may not automatically know when to contact you. As recited above, your counsel may want to do an up-to-date title search to determine and to properly evaluate when the MRTA will eliminate the enforceability of your Covenants. As such, please ensure that you deal with this matter and bring it to your attorney's attention in a timely manner.

CREATING (from pg 4)

may even want to include your association's attorney in the directory. However, we would suggest that you put a note next to the firm's name advising residents not to call the attorney on any association matters due to budget constraints.

• A complete listing of the Board of Directors, information on each Committee and their

see CREATING, pg 4

CREATING (from pg 3)

members, and other general information about the association.

• You might want to include residents' E-mail addresses.

After you have decided what information you want to print, send out a questionnaire asking people if they wish to be included. Perhaps, they would like their address published, but not their phone number. That item can simply not be published in the directory. However, do not publish a member's name that has specifically requested not to be included. Encourage your members to allow all of the requested information to be published in the directory. Remember, it is more difficult to find fault with a neighbor you know, than one you've never met.

You can help defray the cost of publishing the Membership Directory by soliciting advertising from both business owners within your community and local merchants. The possibilities of advertising are only limited to your imagination. Don't forget such businesses as your neighborhood Avon lady or the teen-ager who mows lawns on the weekend. Many times, smaller companies such as dry cleaners, hair salons, realtors, and carpet cleaners find it quite advantageous to advertise in an association newsletter. Many times when members have their property painted, remodeled, etc., the vendor places a sign in the yard as advertising. Make a note of these vendors and call and ask them to advertise in your newsletter.

Publish your directory in a binder if funds permits. If you do not have the funds, simply have three holes drilled on the left hand side and provide clips or "brass brads" to secure the directory for distribution. Another way to keep the expenses down is to publish one page per letter of the alphabet. You may have more pages in your directory, but updating the directory becomes much simpler. On a regular basis, send out only the page of the alphabet which reflects new owners or other information.

The Membership Directory can also be a great tool for reviewing your members' interests and involving them in the community by asking them to participate on certain committees. It also opens a line of communication between the members and the opportunity to exchange ideas and create and solidify relationships. In addition, a Membership Directory makes it easier for the Board to contact the members to attend meetings or get involved in a local community concern such as school redistricting. Don't forget to include the Membership Directory in your Welcoming Package (see Welcome to the Community: Tips for Creating a Welcoming Committee, Association Developments, Volume XI, First Quarter 1998).

A Membership Directory can create significant goodwill among your community. It is just one more way the Board of Directors can show the members that their dues are being placed to good use and that their Board cares about the community. And you can't place a price tag on that!

The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that

should not be based solely upon advertisements.

Before you decide, ask us to send you free written

information about our qualifications and experience.

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1065 Maitland Center Commons Blvd.

Maitland, FL 32751