Is ex-husband on the hook?

Q:My ex-wife and I are both from Michigan, where we purchased our fulltime residence, which has subsequently been sold as part of our divorce. A few years before the divorce, she decided to purchase a condominium unit in Sarasota. She used her own money to help buy it, but did obtain a mortgage to fund the balance. My name is not on the deed. However, even though I was not listed as an owner, the title company that handled the purchase required that I "join" the mortgage, but insisted that I would not be personally responsible to repay the loan. The unit is now in foreclosure, and I just got served here in Michigan as a defendant in the lawsuit. Should I worry about this? Am I personally responsible? -- T.B., via email

A:Under Florida's constitution, if only one spouse owns real property, the other spouse can still have a legal interest in it if the property is considered "homestead property." The definition of homestead status is complicated, but generally factors include whether the property is considered the official residence of the husband or wife, and whether a homestead exemption for property taxes has been secured. As a rule, one person cannot have more than one official "residence." In your case, it does not appear that your ex-wife's unit was homestead property. The lender might have relied on a recorded affidavit to that effect, or recited your wife's residential address in Michigan on the deed, but instead chose to require a spousal joinder from you as if the property had homestead status. A joinder is an acknowledgement from the person signing it that the person knows of the existence of the document and that the person's rights are subject to that document.

Because the unit is in foreclosure, you were no doubt named as a party defendant to ensure that you could not claim an interest that would be superior to that of the bank. Generally, if you are not an actual party to the mortgage, you cannot be held personally liable. That said, it is still a pain to be named as a defendant in a lawsuit, and you may wish to seek legal counsel to clarify your interest in the property, if any, and to make sure you are adequately protected from liability that you never agreed to assume.

Ignoring the rules

Q:In our condominium building, owners and renters alike ignore the rules. We tried to implement a system of violation fines, but our association attorney advised us that we cannot legally do that. Once some folks saw people ignoring one rule, they started to ignore other rules. We essentially have no rules anymore. What can we do? Could we vote to incorporate the rules into the bylaws or something that would enable better enforcement? -- M.B.K., Sarasota

A:Many associations struggle with the enforcement of their community's rules. I am not sure why the association's attorney advised that the association cannot legally impose fines for rule violations. Perhaps the attorney was telling you that your condominium documents do not provide for the levying of fines.

Section 718.303(3), Florida Statutes, provides that a condominium association may levy reasonable fines against a unit for failure of the unit owner or its occupant, licensee, or invitee to comply with reasonable rules of the association, but only if the fining authority is provided for in the declaration of condominium or association bylaws. If your declaration and bylaws are silent on the subject of fines, those documents can be amended by appropriate vote to provide fining authority. The law and administrative rules are quite specific for levying fines, including for the conduct of fine hearings, and no fine can exceed $100 per violation (for a maximum of $1,000 for a continuing violation). No fine can become a lien against a unit, so collection can be difficult.

Your rules should be reviewed to make sure that they have been properly adopted and enforced. Restrictions contained in the recorded documents, rather than in board-made "house rules," are more easily enforced, so document amendment proposals may be in order.

Tamela Wiseman is a board- certified real estate attorney and serves as of counsel to the firm Becker & Poliakoff, P.A. E-mail: twiseman@becker-poliakoff.com.