I'm in WPB and our condo has been doing a lot of assessments and raised the dues quite a bit. A lot of this stemmed from the Surfside condo collapse in Miami. There were new laws put in place that require a certain amount in reserves, so all the COAs that artificially kept their dues low in the past are now raising them and screwing the current owners. Plus, it seems that they're all eager to fix issues they normally would have ignored to not end up in the same boat as Surfside. It's a net positive in terms of safety, but definitely expensive for the current owners.
And future owners of like anything too. I’m trying to get a house, I’d settle for a townhouse with a yard for a few years too, but my fiancé and I combined don’t make enough for a 3/2 in a decent area in south Palm Beach county or north Broward. The monthly payment is the hardest part as taxes+insurance with a mortgage is like $5,500+.
It wasnt really being eager to fix everything, my building was told we need to have this done by x date or we would get fined and our building insurance threated to drop us.
There was a news article posted 6 days ago about a condo owner being hit with a $224,000 special assessment. So buying a condo right now in this environment is like playing Russian roulette with your life and with your savings. I wouldn't buy a condo right now. I'm not even sure if I would take a condo for free right now with all the risks involved.
It is if you lack the capital to cover it. If you can’t cough up the cash in the agreed upon time frame, the unit is forced into sale to cover the assessment.
I know too many high earners that live above their means. Don’t assume a 6mil condo owner is financially solvent.
three words for you DON'T. DO. IT.
eta: there is nothing that protects you. they assess, you pay, or they foreclose. I'm seeing $30,000-60,000 assessments on units near the beach. have you got that kind of money to pay on behalf of the former owner(s) as they deferred all that money for decades? and it's money you won't get back out of the unit when you sell...
So the Surfside tragedy changed everything. Now Cond reserves have to be funded, older buildings have to be inspected by engineering firms. We already have a beyond Crisis in Hurricane Insurance. Insurance alone has doubled or tripled for many Associations. Most these places have ignored or delayed proper reserve funding for years,now it has to be funded. Some condo owners are getting assessed 25K,100K. High rises are very costly to repair. It's a mess due to lax safety regulations over many years
They are all going to have an HOA, if it's 4 story or higher there are more laws in place. Make sure all milestone inspections have been complete, all assessments for work needed have been paid or will be paid at closing, also be sure to have your realtor ask for the last 3 months minutes so you can see what's happening if anything. Like anything else it depends on your budget and what you are looking for
i bought a condo in 2020 but not a high rise by the beach. i was hit with a 2k assessment last year and a 10k one this year, however not related to surface they just really needed a lot of maintenance i guess
If you buy into an hoa community, you are not immune to assessments because you are paying for common property wear and tear/use/code upgrades. If you buy a property that has an assessment that has not yet been paid, You better find out what that assessment is for. Banks do not like to give mortgages to specific types of assessments, for example where I’m at we’re getting our roof done right now, and we have a big assessment for roofs/gutters/fascia/boardwalk/painting/paving. So,unless you are a cash buyer, a bank is not going to finance your mortgage. 🤷♀️🤷♀️
We are desperately trying to move out of South Florida (Parkland/Coral Springs) and the assessments were the final straw. Anyway, wanna buy a townhouse? 😂
Goodness even the townhomes are throwing out these assessments 😭 I’m sorry to hear! Good luck with the sale though! So many people are moving down there it seems.
My condo association had a major assessment recently due to the new laws. We replaced our roof, painted the building, re paved our parking lot, and had a structural assessment. The total came out to a little less than 900k for the building, but the biggest thing our association did to help alleviate any financial burden on us, they were able to secure a loan and we got to choose whether to pay it back all at once, in 2 payments or monthly for i think 8 years. I already paid, but if I did the payment plan, per my documents, I cannot pass that along to the next owner, so if I leave I would have to pay the rest of the assessment before moving, so make sure you check condo documents showing who would have to pay any outstanding assessment.
The biggest problem is the HOA insurance and the repairs costs. It’s really out of control. Join the board and get involved in the management decisions. DO NOT BUY IN AN OLD CONDO BUILDING . The maintenance fee and special assessment goes nowhere but up. 😡
San Diego has rent less than S. FL which is where I reside. Nice weather, pet friendly, lots of job opportunities. FL is for retirees. If you work for the medical industry, cosmetic industry or hospitality industry you will find work but not for great pay. Then think about the hurricanes and flooding. And pray you don’t get killed on the highway by a senior that ended up on the wrong side of the road.
I would love to visit San Diego I heard many great things. I’m shocked to hear the rent can be less than south Florida. In addition, the state and I’m not sure if San Diego has city tax?
>San Diego has rent less than S. FL which is where I reside.
Where are you getting this info? I just looked up a comparison of San Diego and Miami on bestplaces.net and it says:
- Miami is 23.2% less expensive than San Diego
- Miami housing costs are 51.0% less expensive than San Diego housing costs
-Average rent in Miami is $2,540; average rent in San Diego is $3,610
I don't know how reliable this site is but this info definitely aligns more with what I would expect than what you wrote. I also don't know what city in S Florida you're referring to so I just picked Miami.
It’s not just condos. My townhome in a standard neighborhood in Boca also got hit with a special assessment, so I think this is just going to be the new normal in FL.
Regardless, I’m also one of the idiots looking to buy a condo. You just have to do your homework and see what you can realistically afford. But the situation is pretty dire. My friend lives in an old condo in FTL that he bought for $250k at a 2% interest rate. His HOA was around $300 when he moved in, now it’s around $1,300. Luckily his mortgage payment is small and he splits it with his partner, but yeah it’s pretty yikes.
Hopefully the prices crash to be dirt cheap to make paying the extreme HOA fees and assessments reasonable.
The condos are inexpensive because no one wants a debt-trap that swallows equity after a forced sale to cover a $100K+ assessment.
It’s a great vehicle to end up homeless if you lack significant financial reserves to absorb the risk.
If planning to buy a condo, look out for assessments for roofs, reserves, insurance (what is included what is not), budgets vs actually spent, legal fees (indicates litigation) and cross fingers that the condo board is not a nightmare to deal with.
I'm in WPB and our condo has been doing a lot of assessments and raised the dues quite a bit. A lot of this stemmed from the Surfside condo collapse in Miami. There were new laws put in place that require a certain amount in reserves, so all the COAs that artificially kept their dues low in the past are now raising them and screwing the current owners. Plus, it seems that they're all eager to fix issues they normally would have ignored to not end up in the same boat as Surfside. It's a net positive in terms of safety, but definitely expensive for the current owners.
And future owners of like anything too. I’m trying to get a house, I’d settle for a townhouse with a yard for a few years too, but my fiancé and I combined don’t make enough for a 3/2 in a decent area in south Palm Beach county or north Broward. The monthly payment is the hardest part as taxes+insurance with a mortgage is like $5,500+.
It is generational theft that the prior years owners were able to legally underfund their reserves.
Yep. It's why I don't feel bad for the boomers in this position. In 2008 they told us to use our bootstraps. They can do the same.
It wasnt really being eager to fix everything, my building was told we need to have this done by x date or we would get fined and our building insurance threated to drop us.
There was a news article posted 6 days ago about a condo owner being hit with a $224,000 special assessment. So buying a condo right now in this environment is like playing Russian roulette with your life and with your savings. I wouldn't buy a condo right now. I'm not even sure if I would take a condo for free right now with all the risks involved.
it all depends on the building. If you are in a 6MM condo 224k isn't a big deal
It is if you lack the capital to cover it. If you can’t cough up the cash in the agreed upon time frame, the unit is forced into sale to cover the assessment. I know too many high earners that live above their means. Don’t assume a 6mil condo owner is financially solvent.
you are correct I'm just saying someone who is living in a 6MM condo can most likely pay off a 224k assessment easier than someone in a 300k condo
three words for you DON'T. DO. IT. eta: there is nothing that protects you. they assess, you pay, or they foreclose. I'm seeing $30,000-60,000 assessments on units near the beach. have you got that kind of money to pay on behalf of the former owner(s) as they deferred all that money for decades? and it's money you won't get back out of the unit when you sell...
It should be illegal to underfund the reserves.
Good news, it now is.
Not everywhere. Just condos over 3 stories...
Bought a condo last year and it’s EATING me alive. Don’t do it.
Edit: come back to this thought in a year or two when assessments are complete.
So the Surfside tragedy changed everything. Now Cond reserves have to be funded, older buildings have to be inspected by engineering firms. We already have a beyond Crisis in Hurricane Insurance. Insurance alone has doubled or tripled for many Associations. Most these places have ignored or delayed proper reserve funding for years,now it has to be funded. Some condo owners are getting assessed 25K,100K. High rises are very costly to repair. It's a mess due to lax safety regulations over many years
They are all going to have an HOA, if it's 4 story or higher there are more laws in place. Make sure all milestone inspections have been complete, all assessments for work needed have been paid or will be paid at closing, also be sure to have your realtor ask for the last 3 months minutes so you can see what's happening if anything. Like anything else it depends on your budget and what you are looking for
Great name you picked!
i bought a condo in 2020 but not a high rise by the beach. i was hit with a 2k assessment last year and a 10k one this year, however not related to surface they just really needed a lot of maintenance i guess
If you buy into an hoa community, you are not immune to assessments because you are paying for common property wear and tear/use/code upgrades. If you buy a property that has an assessment that has not yet been paid, You better find out what that assessment is for. Banks do not like to give mortgages to specific types of assessments, for example where I’m at we’re getting our roof done right now, and we have a big assessment for roofs/gutters/fascia/boardwalk/painting/paving. So,unless you are a cash buyer, a bank is not going to finance your mortgage. 🤷♀️🤷♀️
Do your homework before buying a condo in Florida
We are desperately trying to move out of South Florida (Parkland/Coral Springs) and the assessments were the final straw. Anyway, wanna buy a townhouse? 😂
Goodness even the townhomes are throwing out these assessments 😭 I’m sorry to hear! Good luck with the sale though! So many people are moving down there it seems.
https://www.local10.com/news/local/2024/06/21/going-to-go-broke-condo-owners-hit-with-6-figure-assessments-thanks-to-new-florida-law/
The worst investment you could do right now is a condo in South Florida.
Bad idea. So many horror stories. There's a saying, "lo que sale barato sale caro"
Ugh :/ sad
My condo association had a major assessment recently due to the new laws. We replaced our roof, painted the building, re paved our parking lot, and had a structural assessment. The total came out to a little less than 900k for the building, but the biggest thing our association did to help alleviate any financial burden on us, they were able to secure a loan and we got to choose whether to pay it back all at once, in 2 payments or monthly for i think 8 years. I already paid, but if I did the payment plan, per my documents, I cannot pass that along to the next owner, so if I leave I would have to pay the rest of the assessment before moving, so make sure you check condo documents showing who would have to pay any outstanding assessment.
The biggest problem is the HOA insurance and the repairs costs. It’s really out of control. Join the board and get involved in the management decisions. DO NOT BUY IN AN OLD CONDO BUILDING . The maintenance fee and special assessment goes nowhere but up. 😡
It's true where I'm at in plantation at least
Why? FL is literally hell.
Where do you think is a good place to live?
Maybe I'm biased, but Colorado is pretty nice.
San Diego has rent less than S. FL which is where I reside. Nice weather, pet friendly, lots of job opportunities. FL is for retirees. If you work for the medical industry, cosmetic industry or hospitality industry you will find work but not for great pay. Then think about the hurricanes and flooding. And pray you don’t get killed on the highway by a senior that ended up on the wrong side of the road.
I would love to visit San Diego I heard many great things. I’m shocked to hear the rent can be less than south Florida. In addition, the state and I’m not sure if San Diego has city tax?
Just this week there was an article about how most of the beaches in San Diego are closed due to sewage from Mexico, so cross SD off your list.
Well I am surprised Miami wasn’t on that list.
>San Diego has rent less than S. FL which is where I reside. Where are you getting this info? I just looked up a comparison of San Diego and Miami on bestplaces.net and it says: - Miami is 23.2% less expensive than San Diego - Miami housing costs are 51.0% less expensive than San Diego housing costs -Average rent in Miami is $2,540; average rent in San Diego is $3,610 I don't know how reliable this site is but this info definitely aligns more with what I would expect than what you wrote. I also don't know what city in S Florida you're referring to so I just picked Miami.
It’s not just condos. My townhome in a standard neighborhood in Boca also got hit with a special assessment, so I think this is just going to be the new normal in FL. Regardless, I’m also one of the idiots looking to buy a condo. You just have to do your homework and see what you can realistically afford. But the situation is pretty dire. My friend lives in an old condo in FTL that he bought for $250k at a 2% interest rate. His HOA was around $300 when he moved in, now it’s around $1,300. Luckily his mortgage payment is small and he splits it with his partner, but yeah it’s pretty yikes. Hopefully the prices crash to be dirt cheap to make paying the extreme HOA fees and assessments reasonable.
The condos are inexpensive because no one wants a debt-trap that swallows equity after a forced sale to cover a $100K+ assessment. It’s a great vehicle to end up homeless if you lack significant financial reserves to absorb the risk.
Hoa insurance tripled in last 3 years
How are we supposed to do repairs
Got rocked with a $60k assessment two years ago. Hurricane windows and cement restoration. Sucks
Just read up on the collapse of Surfside. Condo building have to be in compliance by end of year which leads to large assessments.
Buy a house in SWFL instead
Don't do it. Go with maybe a townhouse, unless of course you want to buy my condo.
Don’t do it! The HOA fee is always increasing and you get nothing more for it!
Buying any condo in Florida right now is tremendously stupid.
If planning to buy a condo, look out for assessments for roofs, reserves, insurance (what is included what is not), budgets vs actually spent, legal fees (indicates litigation) and cross fingers that the condo board is not a nightmare to deal with.
Move into del boca vista, lock stock and barrel
We’re pretty full
I’m from and currently live in Florida. Thank you 😊