Tampa Bay Times: Condo owners need protections from deep-pocket buyers/ Editorial

Published July 19

Florida should not allow billion-dollar real estate companies to bully condo owners into selling their homes, especially at unfair prices. But that’s exactly what’s happening around the state and in the Tampa Bay area thanks to a faulty law. Legislators have tried to mitigate the problem, but if they really care about property rights and fundamental fairness they have to do more.Lawmakers appeared well-intended in 2007 when they passed legislation that lowered the portion of condo owners needed to approve repairs or terminate a condo association from 100 percent to 80 percent. The idea was to ensure that condo associations could respond quickly to damage caused by hurricanes and other catastrophes, or disband if the complex was beyond repair. But there were unintended consequences — well-healed real estate companies saw an easily exploited loophole. The 80 percent threshold made it easier to take control of condo complexes, even ones never affected by storms, and then force any stragglers to sell at low prices.  Read more:
https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/condo-owners-need-protections-from-deep-pocket-buyers-editorial-20190719/