Panama City Beach deals with Concord and AUM's ripping off residents!

Update:  The Concord Mgmt Reg Mgr has been instructed by the BOD to have Concord pay the bills directly, not via AUM.

Although NCC is not mentioned in the actual article you get a good idea of what the paper and the City think about how AUM (still our utility management firm) and Concord Management operate.  Take a look at the comment section and remember that there is a BOD meeting with this as one of the topics on Sat. Nov 10, 10 a.m., at the Woodlawn United Methodist Church, 219 N. Alf Coleman Rd. in PCB.
 

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PCB closes loophole on water charges

Article at: http://tinyurl.com/9okjm69

By Valerie Garman / The News Herald

Published: Tuesday, October 30, 2012 at 19:34 PM.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Panama City Beach Council has closed a loophole on an ordinance that allowed apartment complexes to overcharge residents for city utility services.

A city investigation into individual meter readings at Stone Harbor Apartments on Alf Coleman Road showed some residents were billed $9 to $10 per 1,000 gallons of water used, nearly three times the city rate.

The ordinance, which prevents the resale of city water and sewer services by any third party, was amended at the Oct. 11 council meeting, adding language to prohibit landlords from taking utility cost from vacant units or the common areas and distributing it among tenants.

“They weren’t breaking the law, but they weren’t following what we intended the ordinance to do,” Utilities Director Al Shortt said of the complex, which outsources billing to American Utility Management (AUM). Residents “were essentially paying for stuff that should have been absorbed by the community.”
Shortt said the complex, a Concord Management property, was allowing residents to pick up the bills for vacant units and also for the irrigation water in common areas.

The amended ordinance prohibits landlords from charging any more than the city would have charged the tenant, with the exception of an administrative charge not to exceed $3.

“Having the other tenants pay what is the landlord’s obligation, the landlord is making money,” said City Attorney Doug Sale, who provided clarification at the council meeting.

The amendment to the ordinance was prompted after Councilwoman Josie Strange received complaints from residents at Stone Harbor regarding utility bills.

Although the complex runs off one master meter, AUM sets up individual meters at each unit, allowing city officials to determine that many residents were being overcharged for their usage amount.

The city sent a notice of violation and cease-and-desist order to the complex in August, requesting documentation of the actual cost of operating the utility and also information from the third-party bill processor.

Shortt said Stone Harbor residents should see a reduction in their utility bills during the next billing cycle.

“They’re well aware of what they need to do,” Shortt said of AUM. “Now that the ordinance is in place, it should take care of those issues.”
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   Comments Section: 

Waterstone Suckz · (Bill Harris, Nautilus Cove Condo)

Actually Nick, Nautilus Cove has an interesting history with AUM. We also had high bills and in my own case I found in comparing my bills over a 15 month period that the bandits at AUM had charged me for extra usage for 7 months when I was not in residence in my condo.

That is really creative bookkeeping, there were other complaints at our 168 unit condo and Concord Management made a big deal of firing AUM and going from individual billing to just an increase in condo dues to cover water and sewer.

You would think all was well since AUM was gone wouldn't you? Well 3 weeks ago I found out that for the last 4 years we were using them in secret. Right, they were fired for providing bogus bills to Owners but they really were NOT fired.

Concord Management will have some explaining to do at the Nov 10th BOD meeting. AUM is without question going this time and Concord's management contract is up next year, they won't be far behind. We don't need theives like AUM or a third rate management firm like Concord! For details see: http://nautiluscondosrules.blogspot.com/.

The Board has asked Concord to provide info as to what fee we have been paying them in secret for the last 4 years, so far Concord has managed to not provide the info to us.

Bill Harris #708 at Nautilus Cove.Posting as Waterstone Suckz

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Nick Long

Finally, someone addressed this. Glad that Stone Harbor/Nautilus Cove is going to be paying their own bills now.

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Misc FYI: 27 pages of letters and email regarding the City taking action against AUM and Concord are at the bottom of the below referenced site, they would take up to much room to put them on top. The names and email addresses of those who complained about Stone Harbor are redacted. Direct link: http://aumsucks.blogspot.com/2012/10/posted-by-picasa.html

The Chickens Are Coming Home To Roost!

For 18 months, I have been opining about how it was a bad idea for us to have taken up foreclosures against unit Owners behind in their dues and having the units sold at auction (we bought 5 of 9 we filed on).

I have always said that we should wait and let the banks and mortgage companies finish their foreclosures (all 5 had been filed on) and collect from them as we already had liens on the units.

My calculations are that we would have to hold and rent out those units for between 18 and 20 months before we 'broke even'.  At the time of the  3/30/12 auction Juan Reyes owed $14,010.18 to the Assn. in past due dues.  We bought the unit at our auction for $200 and got title for it 7/16/12.

Today Deutsche Bank got their 'Final Judgment of Foreclosure' for the #705 unit, and one of the 5 that we 'own'.  So 'Our' condo is going up for sale again at 11 a.m. on Nov 28th.  We were able to rent it out for a few months but it is quite likely that we will not be able to collect a dime from Deutsche Bank as we stepped in front of them and in effect wiped out the years of unpaid dues that Reyes owed us ($14,010), we never even came close to recovering what was owed to us by Reyes.

Now we will incur additional legal costs in either contesting the sale or transferring the title quietly to Deutsche.  We got a worthless Certificate of Title on July 16th when Bay County issued it to us for winning the unit at auction for $200. 

In the coming auction Deutsche Bank will bid a minor amount on the condo and if there are other competing bids they will simply increase their bid all the way up to the $18o,244.50 owed.  They will in effect take back the unit and place it with a realtor to sell it for about 45% of what Reyes paid for it.  Our certificate was always worthless and subject to the claims of the first mortgage holder, the other 4 Certificates of Title are equally worthless.  We don't really own the units and we never did, the most we could do was rent it (them) out as long as we could, in this case just a few months.

If you want to keep up with the various auctions for foreclosure see:  https://www.bay.realforeclose.com/index.cfm

Top: is 'Final Judgement of Foreclosure page 1 of 4 pages, to view all 4 pages go to:  http://tinyurl.com/9xsrljd
Bottom: is our Certificate of Title

right click for larger image, then open in new window:

 

Misc: The units we now own and their original owners are-
506 - Grass
701 - Jarrett
401 - Thomas
702 - Ussery
705 - Reyes

Beware of that great deal at foreclosure auction

Oct 23, 2012

Here is a short blurb about a long article in the Orlando Sentinel of Sept 22nd. The situation is the same for us in a condo association as those in a HOA.  Two units here now belong to private parties who got them at auctions we initiated and of course we have 5 that NCC 'Owns', all 7 units really do not belong to those who purchased them at auction. 

NCC simply jumped in front of the banks/mortgage companies and got a quick and worthless deed to the units. We can't sell them and can only rent them out until we in turn lose them in foreclosures.   While we have 5 of them we are on the hook for taxes, insurance and upkeep to keep them in shape to rent out. We also do not get the $225 montly dues on our 'owned' 5 units.

"If the auctioned house was foreclosed on by a homeowners association, some buyers end up paying for the house only to have it later foreclosed on by one or more banks.

"We're seeing a ton of this in Orange County," said Orlando lawyer Justin Clark, who currently represents several buyers of homeowner-association foreclosures. "The banks can foreclose on these people, and they can foreclose very quickly."

But Clark said the websites fail to make it clear that homes foreclosed on by homeowner associations are going to be foreclosed upon again — next time by the banks."

See the long article at:  http://www.ccfj.net/HOAFLauctiondeal.html

Ever see this kitchen before?

No it isn't at Nautilus Cove, it is in Spring Lake Cove in Fruitland, Florida and it is a Concord Management apartment complex, but it isn't Nautilus Cove. 

What went on there landed Concord Management in Federal Court.  Want more photos and a look at a copy of the 9 page complaint, plus other cases where Concord gets sued?

Take a look at:  http://concordmanagementltd.blogspot.com/  the cases reported there are:
1) Fair Housing Continuum, Inc v. Concord Management, Ltd  (Discrimination against famlies in rentals) 
2) Raymona Tumer vs. Concord Management, Ltd. (Sept 2011 Racial Discrimination case)
3) Carmen Mims v. Concord Management Co, Inc   (Employee Age Discrimination)

Most Common Florida Condo Laws Used By Board Members

FLORIDA CONDO LAW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

The link below will take you to a site put up by a group of condo lawyers and it gives the 40 most important regulations that Boards should be aware of.   It is interesting reading for all Owners.
See:  http://tinyurl.com/8mrdo3k

NCC's 5 'Owned' units:

Q)   NCC now officially 'Owns' 5 units here - but do we actually 'Own' them?

A)   No, they are advertised on Craigslist to rent them out.
====================================

$795 / 2br - 2 Br, 2 B Condo For Temporary Home (Panama City Beach)

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Date: 2012-06-28, 11:57AM ED ^[Reply to: bcmht-3106404575@hous.craigslist.org

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Leasing today, 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo just down from the pool.

Note: The HOA is holding title to this unit, which is being foreclosed on by the bank, so the lease will be for six months and one day. The bank is required to honor the lease or buy the renter out of the lease if the foreclosure moves forward before the lease ends.

A $50 application fee per adult is required, and no pets will be accepted. There is a $500 deposit due at move in.

This is perfect temporary home in Nautilus Cove, 13700 Panama City Beach Parkway. (850) 235-1009.

First approved applicant(s) can move right in!

========================================================

We ended up with 5 units which are available on a temporary basis to rent out, as we can't sell them as all five have first mortgages on them from institutions that lent the money to the original buyers and those filings take precedence over our deeds. So those banks or mortgage companies will eventually come after us so they can take title and auction them off. We have them on a temporary basis and can and are renting them out.

I believe most are going in the area of $795-895 a month and those funds will be used to pay down the delinquencies owed. There are some problems with this and here are a few:
1) So we collect $795 a month in rent, however, that really is only $570 because we don't get the $225 in 'dues' as we own the units,
2) We have to pay taxes on them and in some manner we must be paying extra for insurance on them,
3) My back of the envelope calculations indicate that we need to retain and rent them out for between 18 and 20 months to 'break even',
4) When the first mortgage holders eventually wake up and come after us we will incur additional legal expenses of an unknown amount.
5) Our lawyer (Hess/Applebaum) have made over $20k in profit so far, they are the only ones who will actually make money on this course of action.
6) Obviously we are responsible for keeping the units up so they can be rented out, possibly painting, carpet cleaning, anything broken that needs to be replaced etc.

So we now have 5 units, so ask in 2 years and find out if we lost money or broke even.   Doing some rump calculations it looks like we will have to hold and rent them out for 18-20 months each to break even and that isn't taking into consideration any attorney fees we will have to pay when the first mortgage holder comes after us to get 'their' units back.

I can't see us actually coming out with any profit and I hope we don't get involved in filing any more foreclosure actions, leave such things to the banks and mortgage companies and we will collect from them when they sell the units, we had liens on all of them that had to be paid before any clear title could pass to new buyers.

===================================================
Misc: The units we now own and their original owners are-
506 - Grass
701 - Jarrett
401 - Thomas
702 - Ussery
705 - Reyes

A Lien for #105 and a Foreclosure on 1601 are filed this week-

On 10/18/12 Bank of America filed a 'lis pendens' (Notice of Foreclosure) on the #1601 unit of Mr. Josh Simmons who obtained 2 BofA loans on 2/8/07 ($135,920 and $33,980) for the purchase of his 3/2 unit for $169,900 on 2/8/07.  NCC had previously filed a lien on 1601 for past due association dues.

for larger image click on and open in new window

On 10/15/12 a lien was filed for $3,267.25 on  #105, the David Turner, unit for missed assessments going back to November 2011.

12/3/08 NCC had filed a lien for $1,383.00 for unpaid assessments from 2008.

The 4/3 unit was sold to Turner on 2/8/07 for $184,900.
  

 

Did you miss the groundbreaking ceremony?

Located just 2 blocks west of Nautilus Cove on the NW corner of Back Beach and Gulf Blvd we will have a brand new Harley Davidson bike store, just in time for the next Thunder Beach rally May 1-5, 2013. 

The store will be 38,000 Sq Ft on a 5 acre site and sell both new and used bikes, it will have a 6 bay service department and will have on site both a training course and training track.  The official groundbreaking took place Oct 12th.  Currently the nearest HD dealership is in Ft. Walton Bch.

 
See the full article at:  http://tinyurl.com/95ub76h

"The upside . . . is that a new Harley-Davidson store is set to open in time for the Thunder Beach Spring Rally, something that will have an incredible impact on the event. A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the 38,000-square-foot store planned at the corner of Back Beach Road and Gulf Boulevard."    (enter from Gulf Blvd)

Georgekopoulos at NCC

If you are interested in the $48 million dollar Ohio internet cafe,  gambling case, that involved 2 owners here at Nautilus Cove you can find that site at:  http://georgekopoulos.blogspot.com/ 

They purchased 5 condos at NCC and had 4 other properties in Bay County and one pricy condo in Pineallas County.  Shortly after their arrest in Ohio the units were listed for sale, those listings have since been withdrawn. 


The units they own here are: 
#502 (2/2) purchased by Ted G for $65,000 on 5/06/11
#205 (3/2) purchased by Ted G for $69,500 on 1/18/12
#106 (4/3) purchased by Ted G for $83,500 on 2/16/12
#210 (3/2) purchased by George G $73,000 on 5/6/11
#513 (2/2) purchased by Elite Enterprises (Pete G) for $65,000 on 3/20/12

Other Info FYI: 

Due to space limitations the below items have been moved to other locations on this site.
    
Owner's List - Sept 2012
http://nccownerslist.blogspot.com
'Nautilus News' of 10/5/12 and 8/18/12 minutes of the BOD meeting
http://tinyurl.com/66zdaor
Newsletters, incl 4th Quarter 2012  
http://nautiluscondosrules.blogspot.com/2011/09/blog-post.html

Stone Harbor, a Concord Managed property also in PCB

As poorly as Concord runs this place it has yet to get as bad as our ugly sister community Stone Harbor which is located about 2 miles from here.

They have the same builder and same layout as we have here at NCC.  Their tenants are section 8 and other welfare types and while you see about six evictions a year here they run a routine 5-6 a month.  Just so far this month they filed on: MATTHEW MALTAS, TONYA WARREN,  NICOLE PHILBROOK, RICK SNOOK,  and CRAIG KELLY. 

If you want to see more info on this 'sister' community you can take a look at:  http://stoneharborsucks.blogspot.com/.  Concord manages about 140 residential complexes and most of them look just like Nautilus Cove.

Problems with Concord Management? Try the BBB!

Below is a post from over a year ago.  Checking today on the BBB site shows that this 3rd rate management firm has dropped a bit in their rating.  It is now only a B+ which is far above what they deserve.  Not surprising is that 'Service' is their biggest source of complaints.  If you check individual properties managed by Concord some get an F rating (ie:  Heather Glenn Apts, Fort Walton Beach),

Reason for Rating:Factors that lowered Concord Management, LTD's rating include:
37 complaints filed against business
Sales Issues 1
Billing / Collection Issues 7
Problems with Product / Service 29
Complaints 37

 * * * Below is the 'old' post * * *
Since bouncing complaints up the food chain at Concord produces no results you might consider that Concord Management, LTD, is a BBB Accredited Business since 02/01/1997. They have an undeserved A- rating and you can complain to the BBB about many consumer issues with Concord.  Those renting from Concord will be best served by a BBB complaint, Owners might also give it a try.

Concord Management Customer Complaints Summary:
30 closed with BBB in last 3 years with 19 closed in last 12 months
Complaint Type
Advertising / Sales Issues 1
Billing / Collection Issues 7
Problems with Product / Service 22

The BBB is easy to contact to either file a complaint or look up their history of complaints. (online at:  http://orlando.bbb.org/)

Once filed your complaint will be forwarded to Concord within two business days. They will be asked to respond within 14 days, and if a response is not received, a second request will be made. You will be notified of the company's response when receivedt (or notified that we received no response). Complaints are usually closed within 30 calendar days.

Concord Management, LTD
(407) 741-8600 Fax: (407) 975-9109
PO Box 940729, Maitland, FL 32794-0729
Contact Information:
Mr. Ed Kleiman (President)
Mr. Michael S. Yonge (Executive Vice President)
Mr Andrew Frye (Director of Credit and Collections)

A Developer Board action of 2 years ago comes back to bite us in the rear

I noted on the Board newsletter that there is some discussion of whether or not Pelican Realty can have the usage of one of the offices in the clubhouse.
 

"The Board is looking into the use of a clubhouse office by Pelican Real Estate, and determining if it can be used at no charge. There is an ongoing discussion about charging for use of that office."

 As I wrote to the current 2 Owners on the Board: 
"That ship sailed 2 years and one day ago when Norman Knight, as President of the Nautilus Cove Condo Assn., signed off on the Shared Facilities Easement Agreement of Oct 4, 2010, which gave away prime office space to the Developer, who he represents on our Board. 

 

I will leave it to you to decide but as I see it they can have Pelican Realty or Al Qaeda in the office and we have nothing to say about it and it seems that we have no way to 'charge' them anything."

 

Also FYI:   on page 3 of the Shared Facilities Easement Agreement, at 2 Easement (a) below it provides in part: 

"Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the Developer hereby reserves the Office described in Section I(A)(8) hereof and depicted as the "Reserved Area" on Exhibit "B" attached hereto and incorporated herein, for the exclusive use of the Developer and its employees, agents, licensees, contractors or management company." 

Exhibit B of this Easement agreement shows clearly the office given away, even to having an arrow point to it on the plan. See the Bay County Records where the document is filed:
http://records2.baycoclerk.com/oncoreweb/showdetails.aspx?id=6618141&rn=80&pi=5&ref=search 

I reported this nonsense on my blog site and hoped that when 'Turnover' came in a few weeks that we could undo this. Didn't happen, the Board while having 2 Owners, remained under control of the Developer.   

Here is what I said at the time:

 10/23/2010

Old BOD Sweetheart Contracts can be overturned and voided by new BOD
 

FYI:  As you know the recent BOD made an end run to give Concord a 3 year management contract where prior contracts had been 1 year terms and they also gave away one of our offices to Nautilus Development Partners LLLP to use until Hell freezes over for free.

I have taken advice from an attorney at a major Florida Law firm with a Gulf Coast office and the opinion quoted to me was to the effect that both can be overturned when the Owners take over the Association.  I will omit details as I have frequent look ins from both Concord and the developer and I don't want to 'give away' how this change will be done.  It will of course require the hiring of an attorney.

All you need to know about Fines at NCC

The condo has a 3 member Fining Committee which is composed of Owners:
Mark Aldrich, #806
Len DiGiacomo #616 and
Jamie Weber #801.  To my knowledge no committee has ever taken up a case.

The establishment of this committee goes back to July of 2008, however the initial committee had 2 persons appointed who were not eligible to serve, one was the husband of an Owner, the other was on the BOD.

While hearing procedures vary widely between condominiums all Owners facing an association fine have common law 'due process rights' which include those below. Outside courts are reluctant to micro manage condo board/committee procedures unless these rights are violated.


• The nature of the alleged violations are clearly stated;
• If more than one violation is alleged, information regarding each violation is given;
• Citing the provisions of the governing documents or rules and regulations which are alleged to have been violated;
• Giving notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing where the matter will be considered; and
• A basic statement of due process rights is given, including the right of the accused party to present his or her own evidence, to review and challenge the association’s evidence, and the right to be represented by legal counsel.


NCC documents regarding the imposition of fines are found at: Declaration of Condominium, 'Fines' on p. 37 (see: http://nautiluscovedeclarationofcondo.blogspot.com) and comprehensive information on this topic is available in five articles on this topic, use direct click on link.

1) Property Usage Poses Challenge
http://www.becker-poliakoff.com/pubs/articles/adams/adams_2006_12_14.pdf
2) Follow Due Process to Levy Fine
http://www.becker-poliakoff.com/pubs/articles/adams/adams_2006_03_02.pdf
3) Hearing Needed to Levy Fines
http://www.becker-poliakoff.com/pubs/articles/adams/adams_2006_03_09.pdf
4) Court Best Association Option for Unpaid Fines
http://www.becker-poliakoff.com/pubs/articles/adams/adams_2006_03_16.pdf
5) Suspension of Use Rights Effective
http://www.becker-poliakoff.com/pubs/articles/adams/adams_2006_03_23.pdf

Are you interested in 'condo law'?

Here is a link to a column written in the Ft Lauderdale Sun-Sentinal. It has dozens of interesting questions and responses from a realty lawyer. Take a look at: http://www.condolaw.com/sun-sentinal-columns/

Below are 3 interesting questions, heavily edited for the limited space here.  The complete Q and A are on the above link and don't forget to click on for 'older questions' which are just as interesting:

Q: I attended a board meeting and wanted to speak about a certain issue. The board told me that they were not addressing that issue at the meeting and I did not have a right to speak.  Is that correct?

A: . . . The right to attend such meetings includes the right to speak at such meetings with reference to all designated agenda items. If the issue you wanted to speak about was not a designated agenda item, you do not have the right to speak.

Q: Several unit owners of a condominium want to get certain records from the association. . .we were not provided with any of the documents we requested. Are we entitled to damages?

A: The official records of the association are open to inspection by any association member or the authorized representative of such member at all reasonable times. . The right to inspect the records includes the right to make or obtain copies, at the reasonable expense, if any, of the unit owner. The failure of an association to provide the records within 10 working days after receipt of a written request creates a rebuttable presumption that the association willfully failed to comply with Florida law. A unit owner who is denied access to official records is entitled to the actual damages or minimum damages for the association’s willful failure to comply. Minimum damages are $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days, beginning on the 11th working day after receipt of the written request. . . .

Q: I am a unit owner . . . the board claims I violated the rules and regulations of the association and wants to fine me.

A:. . . A fine may not become a lien against a unit. A fine may be levied on the basis of each day of a continuing violation, with a single notice and opportunity for hearing. However, the fine may not exceed $100 per violation, or $1,000 in the aggregate. . . A fine or suspension may not be imposed unless the association first provides at least 14 days’ written notice and an opportunity for a hearing to the unit owner and, if applicable, its occupant, licensee, or invitee. The hearing must be held before a committee of other unit owners who are neither board members nor persons residing in a board member’s household. If the committee does not agree, the fine or suspension may not be imposed."

RE: Knology Service at NCC

 

Knology serves 13 markets in the Southeast and Midwest, offering over 200 channels of digital cable TV, including HD programming, local and long distance digital telephone service with the latest enhanced voice messaging features and high-speed Internet access that enables consumers to quickly download video, audio and graphic files using a cable modem.

Customers can choose from individual services or bundle all three together to maximize their savings onto a single bill.

　
Knology is offering a $150 credit to residents who are concerned about the satellite companies charging them a cancellation fee. If you end up dropping a service and have to pay a penalty you can get that $150 credit on your Knology account. Appointments generally take a week. The phone porting process with AT&T takes 5 business days.

Also it is possible now to have dual services, both a satellite dish connection and Knology. Since the other dish services have foreign channels available that Knology does not have some residents wanted to keep the dish service to access those channels. Knology has the splitters available so that this can be accomplished.

Division Headquarters: 235 W 15th St
Panama City, FL 32401-2230
(850) 215-6100 for new service contact:
Earnest.Eastham@knology.com
Web site:  http://www.knology.com/index.cfm

Misc Info:  As far back as the 12/20/09 AGM it was reported that the CAM Mrs Dobbins was talking to Knology about establishing service at the condo and buying out the MDU contract.  Comcast was also being contacted.  No interest by either.

#610 sells for 38% of original 2006 sale price!

On Aug. 15, 2012, Wm S. and Candace M. Powers of South Pittsburg, TN, purchased the 2nd Floor 3/2 foreclosed unit #610 from Bank of NY for $68,500. 

The unit had originally sold 11/21/06 for $178,200 to David R Ellingson. The sale price was $109,700 less than the original purchase price in 06. This sets a record low price at NCC, the previous record low was 40% of OSP.