Legal Updates

Updated 10/19/2024

10/19/24 LITIGATION UPDATE from Bill Neal, HOA President

Our attorney has filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgement on
our behalf. It is a motion for a partial judgement because this is only
one part, but a very important part, of our complaint.
The motion argues that it is clear that the park owners must
increase everyone’s rent by the same percentage during each 12-
month period. If the motion is granted, it would mean that the park
owners practice of the past several years of having a different rent
increase percentage for each lease renewal month is wrong.
Previously, the park owners made a Motion for Summary Judgement
that included arguments that their month-by-month rent increase
practice was allowed and proper. It is important to note that our
previous judge, Judge Belanger, has already ruled against this part of
the park owner’s motion.
We will keep you informed as our case develops. Remember, I am
most certainly not an attorney, and don’t pretend to be. I do try to
be accurate when I provide updates on our very complex litigation,
and I apologize if I inadvertently say something that may be misleading.

9/2/24 – As we all know, there have been grave concerns about the unfair and arbitrary “home inspections” conducted by the Wynne’s. Please review and share the following with your GV friends and neighbors.

Your Golf Village HOA has made arrangements with Attorney Rob Rydzewski to represent our residents who believe they have been unfairly treated by unreasonable home inspections conducted by the Wynne Building Corporation, the park owners. Please contact Rob ASAP if you are being threatened with eviction because of what you consider to be a baseless inspection result. If you believe you have been treated unfairly and harshly during your inspection please call him. Also, if you have already spent time and money to avoid eviction by “correcting” what you believe to be an unreasonable inspection demand, please contact Rob.
This will not be a free service but it will be as reasonable as possible, and it costs nothing to call him. Everyone needs to push back on unreasonable and unjustified inspections. Many of our friends and neighbors are being intimidated, frightened, and insulted by the park management. We believe that much of what they tell you to justify their actions is not true. The only way to stop it is to stand up for your rights with legal representation.
Rob’s contact information:
Rob Rydzewski
Treasure Coast Legal
[email protected]
772-283-2626
100 SW Albany Avenue
Stuart, FL 34994

UPDATES FROM THE DISPUTE COMMITTEE

4/25/24 – Things have been happening in our litigation over rent issues against the Wynne Building Corporation, the park owners. When involved in a legal action there are, of course, some things that shouldn’t be discussed and some things that should. Within these limits, as always, your HOA will do everything they can to keep you informed as we move through this process.

First and foremost, we have changed attorneys. Our new attorney is Jacob Ensor, an attorney with Ross Earle Bonan Ensor & Carrigan, P.A. with offices in Stuart and Vero Beach. Meeting with our attorney now requires only a short trip as opposed to a three-and-a-half-hour journey to Cape Coral. We believe this change will result in a number of positive changes. Paperwork has been filed with the court and the change of attorneys has been approved by Judge Levin. Jacob has filed a Motion for Case Management meeting with Judge Levin. This, hopefully, will get things moving and back on track.

The other significant event is that Spanish Lakes 1 has decided to no longer participate as a co-plaintiff, and are dropping out of the lawsuit. I’m sure everyone wants to know why they have made this decision, but it is not up to us to explain their reasoning, which is their own.

It is extremely important that everyone understands that Country Club Village and Golf Village remain united and committed to see this through to the finish. We are convinced that we will ultimately win, and in so doing, right some wrongs that have affected everyone who lives here. Please remember, our beef is with the folks who own the park, and not the people who work here.

Please plan to attend the members meeting at 7 PM on May 2nd where further information and discussion will take place.

2/18/24 – Just to let you all know, we’re still in “waiting mode.” We check the Court website regularly (as you can via the link we’ve provided} and will update you as soon as there is something to report.

1/19/24 – Our case has been assigned to Judge Steven Levin secondary to the retirement of Judge Belanger. You can review the case docket online by clicking on the link under the Reference Documents & Links tab. If you have trouble with the link, please contact us at [email protected].

11/20 – The following is a summary prepared by HOA President, Bill Neal.

LITIGATION SUMMARY

As Of November 9, 2023

(This summary is based on my understanding of events and should not be considered to be a professional legal opinion. To illustrate “summary”, on November 11, 2023 we have 815 litigation emails and 903 litigation files consisting of thousands of pages of documents, spread sheets, data bases, photos, filings, summaries, etc.)

All court documents related to our case can be found at:

https://courtcasesearch.stlucieclerk.gov/BenchmarkWebExternal/Home.aspx/Search

Our case number is: 2022CA001626

August 31, 2022                      Complaint filed in 19th Circuit Court by three Spanish Lakes parks: Country Club, Golf Village, and Spanish Lakes 1

October 10, 2022                    Wynne‘s filed motion to dismiss

December 2, 2022                  Judge’s hearing on motions held at 19th Circuit Court        

January 17, 2023                     Amended complaint was filed by the three parks

January 27, 2023                     Amended complaint answered by Wynne‘s

February 21, 2023                   We responded to the Wynne’s answer

May 19, 2023                           Wynne’s motion for summary judgement

July 26, 2023                             We responded to the Wynne’s motion for summary

judgement

August 18, 2023                      Judge’s hearing on Wynne motion to dismiss

August 29, 2023                      Judge’s written order on the hearing

September 13, 2023               Wynne motion to overturn judge’s order

September 29, 2023               Our response to overturn motion

November 1, 2023                  Wynne’s replied to our response

Currently                                    Waiting for the judge to make a ruling.

DISPUTE NEWS

9/5/23 Who is to blame for problems in Golf Village?

It is not the Golf Village HOA. We are not the kind of HOA that has complete control over the community. We cannot make or enforce rules and regulations. If the HOA had control, we would be living in paradise.

It is not Golf Village employees. Paid employees are told in no uncertain terms what they may do, must do, and cannot do by the Wynne Building Corporation. Please, do not yell at, and take your frustration out on, any park employees. They are not to blame.

The blame for everything you find repugnant – from outrageously unreasonable home inspections to the disgusting state of Wynne owned properties to attempts to shift costs to homeowners – lies solely and completely with the owners of the Wynne Building Corporation. That is where your anger should be directed.

8/29/23 – The court hearing was held as scheduled on 8/18/23. We appreciate all the support shown and the impressive in-person attendance. Click here to see HOA President, Bill Neal’s report on the event.

8/7/23 – Once again we are facing questionable “inspection” practices by the park owners. Click here for details. If you happen to know when one of these unfinished houses were placed on their lot, please let the Board know. We know they’ve been there way too long, but it would help to have more specific information.

8/3/23 – Many of you have expressed concern about the changes in trash removal services. We have reached out to The Wynne Building Corporation regarding the recent changes to trash collection fees. It has been over 5 days without a response. Here is what we have to say about that. Click here to read a clear statement about the situation and why the changes are in violation of our prospectus.

8/3/23 – We have received the rent increase notices for November. The rent increase process is unfair . . . Click here to see details

6/22/23 – On Thursday, June 15th there was a meeting with the Wynne’s and the 3 HOA Presidents. Click here to see the details.

SENATE BILL 1378

4/7/23 – As shared at the General Membership Meeting on April 6th, a bill has been introduced in the Florida Senate that is much like HB 751 in the House of Representatives. While there are a few differences, the main points are consistent, and like HB 751, passage of the bill would be of great benefit to Florida mobile homeowners. At the meeting we presented a letter addressed to Senator Joe Gruters, chairperson for the Florida Senate Regulated Industries Committee, and asked attendees to sign to urge him to support the bill. These signed letters will be sent to Senator Gruter. We will also email the other committee members, Kathleen Passidomo, Senate President, and our Senator, Jennifer Grall, requesting their support for the bill. The letter can be downloaded by clicking SB 1378 Letter. You can sign it and drop it at the Grille on Monday or Tuesday or let a Board member know and we’ll arrange to get it from you. You could also sign and send it directly to Senator Gruters. His email is on the letter. The full text of SB 1378 can be accessed under Reference Documents.

As we said with HB 751, these are the very same issues that we have been litigating! Passage of SB 1378 will provide us with protections and options for resolving disputes with park owners. Again – make no mistake, there are LOTS of Florida voters living in mobile home parks. We have power at the voting booth!

FLORIDA RURAL LEGAL SERVICES

5/10/25 – Apologies to all for not posting the FRLS brochure before now. Click here to see it. It has also been added to the Reference Documents page as has the URL for the FRLS website. Click here to get to the website. As stated at the last meeting, lawyers are available to help low income and vulnerable Florida residents. The criteria for “low income” is not specified, but if hiring a lawyer privately is beyond your means, then a call to FRLS makes sense.

3/10/23 – Florida Rural Legal Services is holding two meetings important to all of us. Click here to see their flyer. The first is on Thursday March 16 at 5:30 PM at the Riverwalk Center, 600 North Indian River Drive, Fort Pierce. The subject of this meeting is Mobile Home Rental Rights. This is where your questions regarding inappropriate eviction notices, failure of the landlord to maintain the property, park safety issues, retaliation, and a generally hostile relationship with the park owners can be answered.

We encourage you to attend and urge carpooling. People from other parks will be attending also. Because of the number of people expected and the nature of the issues, we hope and expect to have media coverage. It is very important that we have a good idea of how many folks plan to attend, so please email your HOA at [email protected] ASAP with a headcount if you plan to attend. A large expected turnout will help attract media attention!

HOUSE BILL 751

3/4/23 – At the March meeting, information about House Bill 751 was presented. The full text of HB 751 can be accessed under the Reference Documents tab, but the key points are as follows:

These are the very same issues that we have been litigating! Passage of HB 751 will provide all Florida mobile homeowners in communities such as ours with critical protections and options for resolving disputes with park owners. And make no mistake, in the state of Florida there are LOTS of voting citizens living in mobile home parks. We have power at the voting booth!

To show our governmental representatives how important passage of HB 751 is to us, we have developed letters to Senator Erin Grall, and Representative Dana Trabulsy, confirming the importance of HB 751 and urging them to support passage of the bill. We are asking every SLGV resident to sign the two letters and either mail them in or get them to a Board member to send. Click on the following links to download and print copies of the letters or contact a Board member to get copies to you: Letter to Senator Grall; Letter to Representative Dana Trabulsy

3/6/23 – Florida Rural Legal Services will be holding informational meetings in March and April regarding the rights of mobile homeowners. CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION

2/9/23 – BE SURE TO WATCH! Spanish Lakes Golf Village will be featured on ABC Channel 25 WPBF tonight, 2/9/23, at 5:30PM.

2/8/23 – EVICTION NOTICE RESPONSE

As we shared with you on 1/31/23, a phenomenal number of eviction notices had been received by Golf Village homeowners. People are still getting intent to evict notices, not for failure to pay their lot rent or for blatant disregard for rules clearly outlined in the Lease and Prospectus. Rather, these notices are for the appearance/maintenance of park homes. In some cases, homeowners deem the notice legitimate and have addressed or are in the process of addressing areas cited, and yet they continue to receive threatening notices.  In other cases, the homeowner finds the listed demands to be arbitrary and unjust, or has been unable to comply for any number of reasons, and doesn’t know what to do.

We are concerned about petty and trivial complaints as well as harassment, intimidation, and unreasonable threatening notices, especially after corrections have already been made.

Regardless of your situation, there are some things you can do to better protect yourself and either demonstrate compliance or validate your objection to what has been cited.

It is very important that you do certain things if you get a “Notice of Intent to Proceed for Eviction” delivered either by hand, certified mail, or both.

If you believe you have an urgent situation that must be addressed to avoid dire consequences, or that you have been unfairly targeted, notify us immediately.

Hang tough. We believe we will prevail.

1/31/23 – We’ve been advised that a huge number of eviction notices have been or will soon be given to Golf Village residents. This is very concerning. There are significant issues with the validity of these notices, with the timetable for completion, with the number of threats, with the timing, and with the onerous penalties threatened. If you have received an eviction notice it is imperative that you provide a copy to us, along with any extenuating circumstances. Please bring it to the HOA meeting Thursday evening. If you can’t make it to the meeting, contact a Board member to arrange for dropping it off.  

The HOA meeting Thursday evening, 2/2 at 7pm, is an important meeting where a lot of information will be discussed. If at all possible, plan to be there! Please share this information with any friends or neighbors who aren’t on our distribution list.

We have been in contact with our lawyer about the matter. He requests copies of every notice so that he can proceed with appropriate action on behalf of all of us.

1/26/23 – We understand that notices to remove window AC units continue to be handed out. WE URGE ANYONE WHO RECEIVES SUCH A NOTICE TO SUBMIT COMPLAINTS to PARK MANAGEMENT, the DBPR (Division of Business and Professional Regulation) and to the BBB (Better Business Bureau). Links to agency websites and forms to download can be found under the REFERENCE DOCUMENTS tab. (Please be sure to copy in the HOA and let us know if you need help navigating the complaint process). While each homeowner must decide how they will handle their situation, we do not believe that having a window AC unit is a violation of the prospectus, and neither does our attorney. He advises not to remove and further believes that no Florida judge in his right mind would enforce an eviction request because of this. There is no specific rule in this park that says you cannot have a window air conditioner. Further, the Wynne Building Corporate attorney pledged per email 12/6/22 that no eviction action regarding removal of AC units would be taken for up to six months (Click here to see the response to our communication of 11/30/22).

1/9/23 – Our very reasonable proposal to settle the lawsuit against the park owners is presented below. Your board and dispute committee members have spent hundreds of hours getting to this point. We believe we have asked for nothing that is not reasonable and/or guaranteed by law. We are certainly willing to accept a reasonable settlement offer but intend to fight to the bitter end if need be and forced to.

Golf Village Proposal to Settle

  1. Rent increase for rent renewal dates between November 2021 and October 2022 to be reduced to zero.
  2. Rent increase for rent renewal dates between November 2022 and October 2023 to be set at 7.5%, the maximum allowable increase per the prospectus, and which is less than the 8.5% annual CPI for July 2022.
    Rents in effect in October 2021 are to be the basis for this increase.
  3. All rents collected in excess of agreements 1 and 2 are to be immediately refunded, with reasonable interest, by check to each unit owner. The refund check is to be accompanied by a letter stating the amount of the new reduced rent, the date the new reduced rent will take effect, and how future rent increases will be determined.
  4. Future rent increases are to be established each year on an annual basis and will be the same percentage increase for all owners with rent renewal dates between November of that year and October of the following year. The rent increase will be no more than the July CPI for that year and will be less than or equal to the 7.5% maximum specified in the prospectus. All unit owners with renewal dates between November of that year and October of the following year will receive a written notice of the same percentage rent increase for all renewal months at least 90 days before November 15 of the rent increase year. Each unit owner will also receive a second written notice of their rent increase at least 90 days before their actual rent renewal date. This provision
    will continue what, historically, was the practice in effect for approximately 40 years, until it was deviated from in the fall of 2021.
  5. All legal fees and other costs pertinent to this litigation that have been incurred by the Spanish Lakes-Golf Village Homeowners Association and its officers are to reimbursed immediately by check.
  6. Improvements in physical and aesthetic maintenance practices that have been made since May 4, 2022 are to continue on a permanent basis.
  7. Meetings scheduled every six months between Wynne Building Corporation and Spanish Lakes-Golf Village Homeowners Association representatives to discuss matters of mutual interest, and to resolve any future issues that may occur between the two parties, are to be held. Meetings may also be held with ten days’ notice at any other time if either party believes such meeting to be necessary and urgent. The meetings are to be conducted with mutual respect for the concerns and rights of each party, and with the commitment of each party to honor their responsibilities as specified in Florida Statute 723 and the Spanish Lakes Golf Village prospectus.

11/30/2022 – WINDOW A/C UNITS

IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED A NOTICE ABOUT YOUR WINDOW A/C UNIT PLEASE FORWARD IT TO YOUR HOA. THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN SENT TO GOLF VILLAGE MANAGEMENT:

As a result of the on-going inspections you are currently conducting in Golf Village, we have been made aware that some homeowners have been told to remove their window air-conditioning units. The published Golf Village Policies and Regulations do not prohibit an owner from installing window mounted air-conditioning equipment. Some folks have also informed us that they have been told this is a “new rule”.

2018 Florida Statutes Chapter 723.037: Lot rental increases; reduction in services or utilities; change in rules and regulations; mediation.

(1) A park owner shall give written notice to each affected mobile home owner and the board of directors of the homeowners’ association, if one has been formed, at least 90 days before any increase in lot rental amount or reduction in services or utilities provided by the park owner or change in rules and regulations. The notice shall identify all other affected homeowners, which may be by lot number, name, group, or phase. If the affected homeowners are not identified by name, the park owner shall make the names and addresses available upon request. The home owner’s right to the 90-day notice may not be waived or precluded by a home owner, or the homeowners’ committee, in an agreement with the park owner.

Spanish Lakes Golf Village Prospectus, Section XI, Policies and Regulations, sub-paragraph B:

The park owner shall give written notice to each mobile home owner and the board of directors of the homeowner’s association, if one has been formed, at least ninety (90) days prior to any changes in the policies and regulations.

Since such notice, required by both Florida statute and the prospectus, has not been given, please refrain from attempting to enforce this “rule” until such time that it may be properly implemented. We also request that you contact everyone who has received a notice to remove their window mounted air-conditioning units and inform them the notice has been rescinded and that they do not need to remove their units at this time.

1/9/23 – The results of the hearing are outlined in the minutes of the January General Membership Meeting on 1/5/23. Go to the Minutes tab to review the latest dispute status.

11/30/22 – The hearing on the Wynne motion to dismiss or sever our lawsuit is scheduled for December 2, 2022. We’ll keep you posted!

11/5/22 – Here is an update regarding the fire suppression system issue. While we were told that the system had been fixed and we could use the stove, we have found no evidence to validate that the system has indeed been fixed and inspected per regulation. We have reached out to the Wynne Building Corporation requesting clarification and evidence of the required inspection. We are awaiting their response.

10/20/22 – As discussed at the General Meeting, sometime in July a sign was placed in the kitchen prohibiting use of the stove. We were told it was due to a non-functioning fire suppression system in the hood, and parts had been ordered. On 9/20 the system had still not been repaired, apparently due to inability to get the replacement parts. Bill and Chuck identified the sensors that needed to be replaced, ordered the part and presented it to park management for installation. Park management would not accept the part. On 9/29 Chuck was questioned by a WBC “Operations Manager” who would not give his name about his purchasing the part. Chuck explained the situation and our intent to assist in getting the stove back in use, and the problem presented by not having a stove. With no resolution, Chuck contacted the company that had tagged the hood, He was told that in March they had advised WBC of numerous fire safety problems in the kitchen, all of which could be remedied at a cost of $1,300. However, the WBC then cancelled the contract with the fire safety company and no repairs were made. At the time of our meeting, the fire suppression system still had not been repaired and use of the stove was still prohibited. But we have good news – THE SYSTEM HAS BEEN FIXED AND WE NOW HAVE USE OF THE STOVE! HURRAH!!!

10/20/22 – Wynne Response to Our Legal Action

The Wynne attorney has responded to our complaint this week, as they were required to. Their response was almost exactly as anticipated by our attorney in that they filed a “Motion to Dismiss or in the Alternative, Motion to Sever”. If you recall, our attorneys took weeks to draft the complaint to guard against such a response, so we feel we are in good shape. Our good friend Bob Heslop, president of the HOA at Country Club Village and a partner in the lawsuit, wrote the following, which I believe is an accurate assessment of their motion and motives.

“Attorney Bobo’s motion is much more than a frivolous delaying tactic it is a clear attempt to suppress valuable evidence. In his introduction he states that there are numerous factual issues relating to community maintenance which differ significantly between the three communities.

The individual issues are not in themselves allegations. They are simply the evidence which supports the claims that the Defendant, Wynne Building Corporation has flagrantly violated Florida State Statute 723, and thereby have violated the rights of homeowners as stated in 15 counts of our complaint.

Allowing joiner is not only judicially expeditious, serving the courts economic use of valuable time, it allows for the court to fully understand the breadth and depth of the flagrant violations of the law and the impact of those illegal actions on the total number of homeowners represented by these HOA boards.

The Defendant has clearly demonstrated disdain for the law and for the rights of residents. They have bullied and threatened residents while trying to undermine the HOA’s by sending letters to all residents asking them to side with management and against the HOA’s. This motion is simply one more attempt to discredit the HOA’s, which in itself is a violation.

To dismiss or sever this complaint would be to deprive thousands of damaged residents from presenting factual, authenticated evidence which supports allegations of illegal rent increases, failure to maintain communities and absolute disregard for properly promulgated park rules. If seeking justice is the aim of our judiciary, I would think that they would want to hear all pertinent evidence.

PRIOR UPDATES

7/14/22 – We’ve been advised by our attorney, Robert Burandt, that he is finishing the complaint and will be filing it shortly. We’ll share news with you as it comes. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who is copying us in on concerns being filed with park management. Remember to document and take pictures if you have a dispute over a notice you receive from park management.

6/28/22 – FROM BILL NEAL, HOA PRESIDENT – Good news! We have signed a Civil Litigation Retainer, an agreement to litigate, with our attorney. It is in the mail with our retainer check. Thank you, to all of you who have worked and participated to get us this far. A special thank you to all who have contributed to our legal fund. Donations are still needed and appreciated – it is likely we will have additional expenses in the future. It is extremely unfortunate we have been forced to do this. I don’t need to tell you that we can’t tell what the future holds, but I firmly believe we will prevail. Florida Statutes and our prospectus clearly state that we are right. We will keep you up to date on what’s happening as we go through the legal process. Again, thank you, hang tough, and keep in touch.

6/26/22 – On June 24th the Dispute Committees from Spanish Lakes Golf Village, Spanish Lakes Country Club, and Spanish Lakes One jointly and formally authorized and paid the retainer for Attorney Robert Burandt to go forward with litigation against the Wynne Building Corp. We will keep you updated as events unfold.

6/5/22 – We have a few important updates to share: There will be a Special Meeting for ALL Homeowners on Thursday, June 9th at 7pm. By now you’ve probably received the Wynne letter asking you to sign a form withdrawing support from the Dispute Committee (Click here to see the letter and their response form). We’ve prepared a response, summarizing why the dispute happened and why it continues (Click here to see or download our response letter and the insert we prepared) that you can send back to the Wynne’s with the unsigned form if that’s what you choose to do. We distributed the response letter throughout the park on Monday. At the meeting we’ll discuss the Wynne letter and ways we can best respond going forward. Please try to attend, even if you were at the June 2nd meeting. Meanwhile, spread the word or, better yet, bring a neighbor or two!!!

Also, we’re happy to say that park management has rescinded their edict to stop Food Bank distribution in our community. It seems they heard about our plan to picket in front of the Wynne offices. The prospect made them reconsider their ill-advised decision! Many thanks to Rich Zwack for bringing this to a positive resolution. Anyone able to lend a hand with the Neighbors-Helping-Neighbors monthly distribution, please contact Rich Zwack at 518-495-8799

5/22/22 – On May 18th members of the Dispute Committee met with representatives of the Wynne Building Corp. as follow-up to our recent mediation. We went over the list of issues that were in our dispute statement. As you have probably seen, since our mediation there has been a flurry of activity on the part of the park owners. This is in direct response to our taking action regarding the condition of the park. For example, after years of neglect, the Wynne owned houses across from the clubhouse have been cleaned up. We are now seeing trees being trimmed, lights repaired, and swimming pool repairs are in process. We now have our Woodshop back! We are of course happy to see these efforts, however we haven’t lost sight of the fact that it took legal action by park residents to bring about change. While some of the basic obligations the owners have to maintain our community, as listed in the prospectus, have now been undertaken, there are other concerns that remain unresolved. Primarily among these is the recent rent increases. Unfortunately, we were not able to resolve this issue in a manner that would be fair to all park residents, so it’s important that we continue the fight for fair treatment for everyone.

All of that said, we are concerned about the next Wynne initiative. Apparently, sometime in the next few days residents of the 3 parks that have taken legal action will be receiving a letter from the Wynne’s. We asked to see the letter prior to it being sent, but that request was denied. While we don’t know exactly what it says, we do know that it is an appeal to homeowners to turn away from our efforts to resolve the issue in a fair and equitable manner, and to accept whatever the Wynne’s want to do. In the unlikely event that they put forward a genuinely equitable plan to reduce rents and make them uniform on an annual basis, and to reimburse all those who were not given a 90-day notice as required by Florida statute, then we’ll be behind it 100%. More likely, the letter will only be an effort to justify why the Wynne Building Corp. deserves the high rent increases. It is our understanding that included with the letter there will be a form for homeowners to sign and return, pledging our allegiance to the Wynne’s and nullifying our support for the Dispute Committee and its efforts.

We urge everyone to approach this situation with caution and fully examine any requests for our support, as you did when the Dispute Committee came to you with the Statement of Dispute. Let’s consider both short- and long-term consequences before we sign anything. After receipt of the Wynne’s letter, we will schedule a meeting for all Golf Village residents so we can discuss, together, these very important issues. We ask that you refrain from signing their document until this meeting takes place, and only then, after thoughtful discussion, make your informed decision.

5/15/22 – As everyone who attended the General Membership meeting on 5/5 knows, we had our mediation session as scheduled. Please go to the General Membership Meeting Minutes tab to see our report in the minutes of the meeting.

4/3/22 – We have finally been given a new mediation date of May 4th at 10AM. It will be a Zoom meeting; however, the Dispute Committee plans to go to Attorney Burandt’s office in Cape Coral so that we can readily consult with him during the meeting. We are very anxious to complete this process so that we all know where we stand. We will report to you at the HOA meeting on May 5th.

3/19/22 – Our previously scheduled mediation date of March 21st has been postponed at the request of the mediator. We are awaiting information about a new date. We’ll keep you posted.

2/13/22 – We wanted to let everyone know that things are starting to move along. We have a mediation date scheduled for March 21st. However, there is still work to be done. While we have now met our goal for the minimum number of signatures, which is great news, about 180 homes have not reported yet. We’re enjoying a 60% signing rate, but we should get another 100 to 110 signatures. It is very important to get these additional signatures as back-up in case a few signatures get “tossed” by the Wynne Corporation for one reason or another. For those canvassers not yet reporting, please get me your returns ASAP. Many, many, profound thanks to all those who are helping.

1/11/22 – A message from Bill Neal, HOA President

Greetings SLGV friends and neighbors! I hope you all had a great holiday season and my thanks to everyone who helped with our victory over the tax pass-through. Unfortunately, we still have a lot of work to do because the Wynne Corporation has moved on to new ventures such as: “rescinding” the notice of the annual lot rent increase, replacing it with a higher rent on a monthly basis, illegally taking money from the bank accounts of some residents, and increasing rent without 90 days notice. And, of course, the ongoing maintenance issues in every area of the park must be corrected.

Your Home Owners Association is committed to doing whatever is necessary to correct all of these issues. We want a community that is maintained and looks inviting, that we can be proud to live in, that has reasonable rent policies, and above all shows respect for our residents. We understand our responsibilities under the Prospectus and expect the Wynne Corporation to fulfill their part of the contract, which they have sadly failed to do.

In order to deal with these issues through our attorney, we need to have a new Statement of Dispute(click here to download) signed by 51% of Golf Village homeowners. To those of you who helped with the earlier effort, I hope you will again help us. To those of you who weren’t part of the prior canvassing team, I hope you’ll lend a hand now. It is a big project, but with enough help we can get it done quickly and efficiently. We will be at the clubhouse in the card room at 9 AM this Thursday to pass out the necessary materials. I hope to see you all there, but please let me know by email if you will be able to help. If you can’t make it to the meeting, let me know so we can get your materials to you some other way.

Thank you!

Bill Neal, HOA President

12/10 – As you all know, the Wynne Building Corp. rescinded their plan to pass-on 50% of their property taxes. As we said before, that is good news and represents a “win” for park residents. However, in that letter it also stated that the 3.5 % lot rental % was being rescinded in favor of using “the U.S. Government C.P.I. index as specified in the lease and prospectus.” On November 16th, renewal letters were sent out stating that effective March 15, 2022, the lot rent increase would be 6.2%. While we recognize that 6.2% is within the Prospectus and Lease guidelines, we question the appropriateness of changing the increase in this manner, at this time. That said, this has led us to the unfortunate necessity of resuming our dispute efforts and continuing to mediation after all. We will keep you posted as things progress.

11/23 – Most of you will have received your letter from the Wynne Building Corp. regarding the rescinding of the property tax pass-on. Unfortunately the letter still leaves many questions such as how will the new CPI rent increase be calculated and implemented. We trust things will become clear before January rents are due. If you’ve already paid the dual fees for November or December, you might want to wait a bit to see about your refund. Of course, you can contact the corporate office with any questions.

11/20 – Yesterday Attorney Burandt’s office sent us an email with an attached letter from the Wynne Building Corp. The letter is a copy of what we all should be receiving shortly from park ownership. The letter does still leave some questions, but answers others. While it is not clear what adjustment will be made to our lot rental increase this year, we do know it will follow the lease and prospectus and be based on the CPI rate. While the CPI rate varies month to month, the annual rate for 2021 was 4.26 as of the end of October. We’ll have to wait to see exactly how the Wynne Corp. calculated the increased lot rental rate. All that said, as Bill mentioned at the November 5th meeting, we will still plan to address the other issues of concern with park ownership. Click here to see the letter.

11/6 – We have some great news for you! On Tuesday we received a letter stating, “Wynne Building Corporation has decided not to pass on the real estate taxes as a separate charge.” We were told that residents will be receiving letters from Wynne Building Corporation concerning the change. We were asked for confirmation that this would resolve the dispute between Wynne Building Corp. and the Spanish Lakes parks, and that we agree there is no need to proceed to mediation. Our response was that as the tax pass-on was our primary concern, we in Golf Village agree that we need not continue to mediation. We did, however, note that other issues such as park maintenance still need to be addressed, so we would like to meet with Wynne Corp. representatives to discuss the concerns and work on resolutions. This outcome would not have been possible without the support of so many Golf Village residents and the hard work of HOA member volunteers. It is so heartening to see what can happen when people work together. Thank you all!

9/3 – Property Tax Assessment Dispute: By now, all homeowners will have received a letter from the Wynne Building Corp. outlining their plan to “pass through” 50% of their property taxes to residents of Spanish Lakes Golf Village.  This is in addition to a 3.5% annual increase in lot rents. For Golf Village, the tax portion comes to $34.35 monthly. Assuming a base lot rent of $449, the overall increase comes to $499 monthly – which is an 11.2% increase! While the % of increase works out to be lower with higher rents, even a base lot rent of $700 becomes $759 monthly, which is an 8.4% increase and is still excessive.

As members were advised via email at the beginning of August, our HOA was approached by other Spanish Lakes communities facing the same situation to explore ways to work together to mitigate these excessive increases. With approval of our membership, we joined with Spanish Lakes One and Country Club communities, and have collectively retained an attorney specializing in these kinds of disputes in mobile home communities. The 3 communities combined represent 3000 homeowners, giving us strength in numbers.

A tremendous amount of work has gone into this effort and there is still more to be done. We need to obtain signatures on the “Statement of Dispute” form which lists the basis for the dispute and empowers park representatives and the lawyer to “mediate, arbitrate, litigate and if necessary, appeal any adverse judgment.”  The Dispute Committee will be working hard to contact homeowners to review and sign the form, i.e. in person, by mail, email, by signing at the September 10th general membership meeting or at special signing sessions we’ll hold if needed.

DON’T WAIT! To sign by email, click here on STATEMENT OF DISPUTE FORM to download and sign it, scan it and email it back to Rich Zwack at [email protected]. (For Lot # you can just put your address).

Remember, while the HOA, as part of our mission statement, has undertaken this effort and associated significant costs, our success in mitigating the impact of these increases will benefit ALL homeowners. We’ve received offers of donations to the cause and need both financial support and hands-on assistance to complete necessary tasks.

HELP, HELP, HELP! VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!!!

A “Dispute Committee” has been formed to tackle the immense task of obtaining the homeowner signatures needed to continue our efforts to fight the excessive tax/rent increases levied by the Wynne Corp. starting in November 2021. This is a classic case of many hands making the burden lighter, and a little help from a lot of people will make a huge difference. As this is time sensitive, please let us know ASAP if you can lend a hand. To volunteer, call or email Richard Zwack at 518-495-8799, [email protected], or Bill Neal at 860-982-1238, [email protected].