NEIGHBORS are at risk of losing their homes as monthly HOA fees skyrocket to more than $3,000 a month.
Unwilling to meet the sky-high prices, one man tried to sell up – only to receive an insultingly low offer.
One Florida Condo owner, Lorraine Roy, saw her HOA [homeowners association] fee more than triple over the years.
She now has to fork out $3,371 each month for her three-bedroom condo – where she has been for three decades.
She said: “This is way to high.”
The Winter Park Woods Condominiums Association, which owns Lorraine’s complex, explained to residents the reasons behind the price hike.
Firstly, the association owes the county a lot of money in fines over terms violations.
Next, insurance companies were demanding repairs that must be addressed or cover could be lost.
A new law, Senate Bill 4-D, was approved following the tragic collapse of a condo building in Surfside, South Florida, claiming the lives of 98 individuals in June 2021.
In order to avoid a similar disaster, the law requires associations to maintain proper reserves.
Lorraine did admit that the reserves in her association had been “underfunded”.
A large-scale research project into condos recently found there are 1.1million units that are more than 30 years old.
Under the new law, all three-storey condos of that age had to undergo an inspection by the end of 2024.
Another condo owner, Shane Costa, saw his HOA fee leap from $634 to more than $2,100 per month.
He then received an insultingly low offer of $70,000 from an investor offering to buy his one-bedroom condo.
Shane said: “I’m in a little bit better circumstance than most people right now.
“There’s people losing their homes.”
And, in another condominium complex at Altamonte Springs, one resident has brought a lawsuit against his own board.
Steve Fieldman expressed concern for residents who were forced to sell their units under duress after the disaster, feeling they had to accept lower prices than what they deemed fair.
Steve believes there should be “stronger laws to protect the people who they have their entire livelihood”.
Offering guidance to condominium owners grappling with steep HOA fees, Lorraine advised them to be well-informed about their board members, stay engaged, and attend association meetings whenever possible.
“Watch what they’re doing with your money and pay attention to who owns.”
