Homeowners who want beautiful beach views and warm weather often move to South Florida. But because of new state laws, condos must have enough cash on hand to cover any big repairs, and buildings three stories or higher must be inspected. This is making more condo owners sell their homes.
That’s what’s happening to the owners of Springbrook Gardens, a Fort Lauderdale building with 18 units that was built in the 1940s. People who lived in the building had to leave in September because the base was breaking apart. People who own the building now have to sell it because they can’t afford to fix it up.
A resident and building owner named Warren Sackler says it’s a terrible situation.
“We did not have $4.5 million to pay for it,” he told CBS News Miami. “It makes no one happy.” All 18 people would love to live here, but they can’t because they have so much debt.
Something that can’t happen
The 18 people who live in Springbrook Gardens can’t pay the $4.5 million bill that is needed to fix the problems with the base. That’s hundreds of thousands of dollars for each person. So instead of making repairs, the people who live in the building have decided to sell and not come back.
Not only Springbrook Gardens is having this problem. Because of new rules in Florida, condo living is getting more and more expensive, and many owners are having to leave their homes.
Jeff Chenore is a Florida real estate agent who has been in the game for 30 years and says things are about to break.
“We’re constantly getting phone calls from owners asking ‘What should I do, what can I do, how should I approach this?'” he told CBS Miami.
A $14 million offer was made to the owners of Springbrook Gardens to buy the building, but the tenants feel that amount is too low. The building will probably be torn down to make room for a new condo building after it sells. But the people who own it have to hope that it sells for enough money so that they can move on and find similar housing somewhere else.
In general, though, Florida’s new rules scare a lot of building owners. Chenore said, “There’s a lot of condominiums that are currently for sale, and a lot of them just simply can’t sell.”
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When the cost of fixes and rules becomes too high
After 98 people died when the Champlain Towers condo building in Surfside collapsed in 2021, Florida’s condo rules have been changed to try to stop another tragedy like that from happening. By the end of 2024, every three-story building that was 30 years old (or 25 years old if it was near saltwater) in the state had to be inspected for structural stability. After that, there must be a follow-up check every 10 years.
GD&C Law says that the necessary cash reserves must also be enough to cover the expected cost of replacing the following things:
- The roof
- Walls that hold weight
- Floors
- The basics
- Fire prevention and fireproofing
- Circuits and wiring
- Painting and sealing off water
- See more:
- Getting plumbing
The problem is that condo owners have to pay extra fees to cover these cash reserve needs, and a lot of them can’t afford them.
The problem is made worse by the fact that condo insurance rates are going up in Florida.
Statistics from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation showed that the average cost of commercial condo association insurance to cover common areas like roofs and irrigation systems had more than doubled in the last two years by September 2024. Condo owners who can’t afford to keep up with these price hikes are getting hit hard.
It’s no surprise that the number of condos for sale in Florida is going up. Florida Realtors say that the number of new condos and townhouses for sale rose by 5.5% year-over-year in November 2024. That trend might keep going as more and more apartment dwellers are priced out of owning their own homes.
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