TAMPA — The tough
housing market has been especially hard for condo owners.
Many are pressed with soaring HOA dues and assessment fees,
and the perils of living in paradise are taking a toll on
Rufina Cappelli.
Cappelli has lived in
her St. Petersburg condo for 28 years, but this month, she’s
grappling with a new reality — the skyrocketing cost of her
HOA dues.
“It was $376 for years,” said Cappelli. “Then, suddenly in
October, they said it was going up 43 percent. What worries
me is that I won’t have a roof over my head.”
It’s a challenge that condo owners are facing across
Florida.
A new state law is making sure condominiums across the state
are more resilient after the Surfside condominium collapse,
but complying with the legislation is pricing many condo
owners out of their homes. |
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Right now, many
buildings across the state are going through a very
stringent inspection process to determine if there are any
structural deficiencies.
However, many condo owners are unable to pay for the large
assessment fees to cover the cost of repairs. In many cases,
the repairs needed to improve the structural integrity of
the building are long overdue.
“The Florida condos have allowed their reserves to get very
low, and this condo is kicking the can down the road,” said
Cappelli.
Condominium associations must have sufficient reserve money
available to cover the cost of any structural repairs. The
law also prohibits waiver of funding for certain structural
reserves.
These new mandates from Florida legislators are prompting
many condo owners to sell their properties before the
assessment fees are due.
“People are competing to sell their properties,” said Sara
Taylor, a real estate consultant in Clearwater. “We’re
seeing price reductions to entice buyers to come in, and
we’re seeing people who just can’t afford it having to list
their condos and find another place to move.”