It’s that time of the year. For the rest of the year, I’ll be reposting the 10 most read articles here on IAC.
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Public awareness is the first step on the road to justice for housing consumers.
Best wishes for a peaceful holiday season and happier, healthier neighborhoods in 2018.
AUGUST 15, 2017
Homeowners suing Poinciana’s developer left and right
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities
Updated 9:15 PM EDT
Regular readers of IAC know that Poinciana, a large master planned community in Central Florida, has been a hotbed of conflict and controversy for at least the past several years.
And that trend continues with the latest motion filed in Polk County circuit court.
AV Homes resists validating number of buildable lots in Poinciana
The motion involves an ongoing election dispute, for which the original complaint was filed with Florida’s Department of Professional and Business Regulation (DBPR), by homeowner Martin Negron. Negron complained that Poinciana’s developer, AV Homes, Inc. (also known as Avatar), illegally cast thousands of votes for undeveloped, unplatted lots, many of which are underwater or would otherwise be set aside for basic infrastructure and easements.
Negron’s legal complaint further contends that Poinciana’s HOA willingly accepts, without verification or challenge, the developer’s calculation of voting ballots to which it is entitled.
In June, an Arbitrator from DBPR threw out the results of February 2017 elections for six of the nine Villages that make up master homeowners’ association known as Association of Poinciana Villages, or APV. The DBPR ordered a new election on August 1, 2017, stipulating that APV must secure from AV Homes documented proof (from County records) of the actual number of homes that could be built on vacant land still owned by the developer.
AV Homes appealed the Arbitrator’s decision, but that decision was upheld in July.
However, when the election took place on August 1st, AV Homes once again cast with thousands of ballots for unbuilt homesites, in seeming defiance of the DBPR order. Of course, AV Homes won all Village elections, and continues to maintain control of the association by way voting in its chosen leaders.
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