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A reckoning is coming for Florida's condo owners as buildings face millions in repairs

After five decades working as a teacher and school administrator, Janet Stone envisioned a relaxing retirement in her condo overlooking Florida’s Atlantic coast.

Instead, she’s gone back to work teaching preschoolers with disabilities and living with her son in Las Vegas to pay off a $100,000 bill from her condo association — her portion of a multimillion-dollar project to replace the 53-year-old building’s deteriorating concrete.

“I shouldn’t say it, but it really sucks to work every day and not have a cent and have to wonder, ‘Can I afford groceries this week?’” said Stone, who purchased her condo in Ormond Beach, Florida, for $400,000 in 2021. “Every penny I make goes towards that concrete restoration.”

Across Florida, aging condo buildings are facing rising expenses and millions of dollars in structural repairs to comply with new regulations following the collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium, which killed 98 people in 2021. While new building requirements are intended to prevent a similar tragedy, the costs are pushing some condo owners to the brink financially and jeopardizing one of the last bastions of relatively affordable housing along Florida’s coastline.“We’ve got to get these buildings back in shape, but for those that are renters and for those that are owners on fixed incomes it means they may have to find other housing,” said Florida House Rep. Vicki Lopez, who helped craft the legislation and whose Miami district includes more than 600 condo associations. “We already have an affordable housing crisis in Florida, so this perfect storm has arrived at a very difficult time.”

In Florida, like across the country, the soaring cost of housing has become a major pressure point on household finances. Home prices in Florida have increased 67% since 2020 and homeowners insurance was up 42% last year. In the vast majority of Florida counties, the median-income household can’t afford the median-priced home, according to NBC News’ Homebuyers Index .

Older condominium buildings have provided an alternative for those who have been unable to afford a single-family home or are looking for a lower-maintenance alternative. The buildings are often home to retirees — some of whom have lived there for decades — along with single-income households and renters.

But now, affording to live in even those buildings is becoming out of reach for some. Under legislation passed by the Florida state Legislature following the Champlain Towers collapse, condo buildings over three stories and older than 30 years must pass a structural inspection by the end of the year. That requirement applies to roughly 900,000 condo units across the state. It also requires condo associations to keep a minimum amount in their reserves to fund future repairs, requiring many buildings to increase their monthly association dues.

In Miami, residents at the Palm Bay Yacht Club, where two-bedroom units have sold this year for between $400,000 and $500,000, are having to pay $140,000 each toward a special assessment for a range of building improvements. Owners at the Surfside condos in Daytona Beach, where a two-bedroom unit is currently listed for $415,000, have paid between $50,000 and $60,000 in assessments to have their building’s concrete repaired and windows replaced. In Orlando, owners at the Regency Gardens, where two-bedroom units are listed for around $160,000, were told they would have to pay $22,000 each for building upgrades, but residents have recently removed the board and are working to lower the price tag.

In the worst cases, residents are being told they have to evacuate their buildings because of structural deficiencies found during inspections, said Greg Batista, a professional engineer who has worked in Florida for more than 20 years.

He said he’s currently working on a building in Miami Beach that residents may have to vacate because of safety concerns, and he recently worked on a 20-story condo building in Hollywood, Florida, where the three-story parking garage had to be vacated until the structure can be repaired.

Stone purchased her condo at the Surfside Club in Ormond Beach to be closer to her daughter and grandchild. As a widow, she hoped living in a condo would provide a greater sense of community, less maintenance, and an added layer of security compared to a single-family home.

Within a year, she was notified that she owed a $100,000 special assessment to the condo association for concrete restoration, new windows and an increase in the association’s reserves. Stone said she had used most of her retirement savings for the down payment on the condo and didn’t have the money for the assessment. Condo owners unable to pay an assessment can be foreclosed on by their condo association.

She considered selling, but the assessment was driving down property values in the building. A unit similar to the one Stone paid $400,000 for in 2021 is currently listed for $335,000 after multiple price reductions.

Her only option, she said, was to go back to work. She reapplied to the school in Las Vegas where she had been working before she retired and is now teaching 3- to 5-year-olds with autism, she said.

“I am exhausted every single day,” Stone said. “I come home and promptly fall asleep and get up and do it the next day.”

She said her entire paycheck is going toward the condo assessment, which she estimates will be paid off after two years of working full time. After that, she plans to move back into her Florida condo, but in the meantime, she’s been living with her adult son.

“This was supposed to be the time when I was really going to retire and be close to my daughter and my granddaughter and enjoy life,” said Stone. “That didn’t happen.”

The rising costs of owning a condo have been driving up the number of units on the market and pushing down prices, said realtors. Statewide, the number of condos on the market has increased 23% over the past six months while prices are down 4.5%, according to an NBC News analysis of data from Redfin. In Volusia County, where Stone’s building is located, condo inventory is up 28% over the past six months and sale prices are down 9%.

“All the realtors are talking about how long their listings have been sitting, how things aren’t moving, and that there’s not enough buyers,” said Krista Goodrich, a realtor in the Daytona Beach area who also manages vacation rentals. “Condos are being hit the worst because the people that are buying, they’ve seen what happens when the hurricanes come, they’ve seen what happens when the condos aren’t built properly, and so they’re hesitant to buy a condo on the beach.”

While some buildings will need little or no work, Florida building engineers, real estate lawyers and realtors say many are now having to pay the price for years of lax maintenance, subpar building standards before the 1990s, and the effects of Florida’s saltwater on the concrete and rebar that holds the structures together.

“When you put the maintenance on a second tier and you don’t do simple but very important things, such as painting the building, that has a very bad effect on the long-term longevity of a building,” said Batista. “But a lot of people, they’d rather put nice carpet in the lobby as opposed to taking care of real issues.”

For developers, the cost pressure on condo owners is providing an opportunity because many older properties dominate prime oceanfront real estate. In some cases, the value of the land may exceed the value of the building once the cost of bringing it up to code is factored in. If enough owners are unable or unwilling to pay for the necessary repairs, developers can attempt to buy up the building and redevelop the property.

“These properties are in very desirable locations. If you build a new project on them, in many cases luxury condos, it could fetch $3,000 to $5,000 a square foot,” said Joseph Hernandez. “That is a tremendous development opportunity.”

Developer Edgardo Defortuna, whose firm Fortune International Group has developed some of South Florida’s most high-profile luxury buildings, said his firm is eyeing several older condo buildings in prime waterfront locations in Miami Beach and downtown Miami that could be torn down and replaced with luxury high-rises. But he said it can be difficult to convince enough owners to sell even at above-market prices.

“I think that many people have yet to really face the music or understand that it is better to sell than to stay around and fund those really large improvements and reserves that you need to in order to comply with the law,” Defortuna said.

Jeremy Maurice, who was the condo board president at Stone’s building when the repairs were approved, said he felt the board had little choice but to fund the repairs and blamed the cost on a lack of proper maintenance to the building’s concrete over the decades.

“If you don’t do anything, this building will become worthless and you’re going to have to sell to a developer and it’ll be knocked down,” said Maurice, who said he had to use some of his retirement savings to pay for the work. “So there’s no choice, really. You have to do the work. And that’s a hard pill to swallow. I don’t think anyone is jumping for joy. But that’s what happens when prior boards don’t do their job.”

But the decision ended up pitting the building’s owners against each other, with some owners saying the work was unnecessary.

“It was extremely toxic. That is an understatement,” Maurice said. “I don’t talk to some people there today. I’ll be polite, but I won’t talk with them anymore because they treated me so badly. They cussed at me at meetings, sent anonymous emails, just nasty, nasty stuff.”

At the Palm Bay Yacht Club, condo owners were told they would need to pay for a $33 million construction project, prompting a group of residents to sue the condo board , the building management company and the firms hired to complete the work. The lawsuit alleges the owners are being overcharged for the project, citing exaggerated measurements and items outside the scope of structural repairs such as cosmetic and amenity improvements. It also claims the condo association has previously mishandled funds.

Steve Davis, a lawyer representing the defendants, denied the allegations and said the work was legally required under the 40-year recertification needed for buildings in Miami-Dade County and that owners were charged for only the necessary work that was done. He said the Palm Bay board did everything possible to help the unit owners.

Among those suing is Cristian Murray, who bought his condo in 2016 and had recently retired after working as a health care administrator at the University of Miami for 20 years. Now, he’s planning to go back to work to pay off the $140,000 special assessment.

To make the payment, he took out a 20-year loan on which he’s paying $1,000 a month on top of the $3,000 a month he owes toward his mortgage and other condo association fees.

“Pardon my language, but we’re screwed,” Murray said. “These guys ruined my early retirement plan.”

Lopez, who helped craft the legislation, said she is looking for ways to provide relief to condo owners once Florida’s Legislature reconvenes next year. She said she’s collecting data to understand the full impact of the legislation to determine what adjustments may be needed.

Stone would like to see the state Legislature give buildings and condo owners more time to comply with the regulations so they would be able to spread out the costs. While she thinks the requirements will be a good thing in the long run, she doesn’t foresee being able to recover the money she’s had to spend on her condo.

“I’m going to be there until I die because I’m not going to recoup that money before I die,” she said. “If I could ever recoup my money, I would probably look at selling and getting a single-family home again. But I don’t see that happening, not in my lifetime.”

Shannon Pettypiece is senior policy reporter for NBC News.

Bayfront Miami condo tower embroiled in legal battle over major assessment

10 unit owners are suing the association and property management firm

• Katherine Kallergis

A bayfront Miami condominium in need of repairs is in a legal fight pitting unit owners against the condo association.

The 27-story, 235-unit Palm Bay Yacht Club made headlines last week over a proposed $46 million special assessment to fund repairs required for the property’s 40-year recertification. A group of 10 unit owners filed a lawsuit in October against the Palm Bay Yacht Club Condo Association, affiliates of the property management firm AKAM and other companies, alleging fraud and negligence.

The tower at 780 Northeast 69th Street was constructed in 1982 on a waterfront lot that includes a pool, sports courts and a parking lot.

In the lawsuit, unit owners allege that AKAM and the association knowingly made false statements about the scope of the project by including additional repairs beyond those required by the 40-year recertification, said attorney Jane Muir, who represents the 10 unit owners. The lawsuit alleges each unit owner would owe more than $175,000 for the repairs. It claims that AKAM is double-dipping and inflating the cost of the project, which AKAM denies.

An amended complaint, filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in December, alleges that engineers hired by the plaintiffs found errors that had a combined cost of more than $11 million. It claims that the defendants “mismanaged, misappropriated, or facilitated the misappropriation of association funds.”

“Absent court intervention, defendants will encumber the residents with insurmountable debt, risking foreclosure and bankruptcy for many individual residents and for the association,” the lawsuit states.

Unit owners are seeking an injunction against the association, with the goal of having a receiver appointed to take over the association, according to Muir. An evidentiary hearing that began on Monday was postponed to later this week, said representatives for both sides.

“No matter what these 10 unit owners think, the work has to be done. It’s only limited as to what can or cannot be done,” said attorney Jonathan Bloom of Bloom & Freeling, who represents AKAM. “Don’t people want to go to bed safe?”

The dispute is also playing out in the court of public opinion, with the unit owners appearing on local TV news fighting the size of the assessment and how money allegedly has been handled.

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Increased scrutiny of the physical conditions of condo buildings in the 20 months since the deadly Surfside condo collapse has led many associations across South Florida to impose multimillion-dollar special assessments or increase homeowners association fees to pay for life and safety repairs. 

Palm Bay Yacht Club’s association estimated that the recertification — which is required by law in Miami-Dade County — will cost about $33 million, and that the cost to replace the windows and doors with storm impact windows and doors is $15.7 million. The building has received unsafe structure violations from the city of Miami.

Amid the legal battle, the board voted on Saturday to approve a loan to fund the $33 million recertification project. The association approved replacing the railings, but did not approve the impact windows and doors, according to a spokesperson for AKAM. The spokesperson declined to disclose the loan amount.

According to a letter sent to unit owners, an engineering firm found that the balcony railing system “reached its end of useful life,” and the railings no longer comply with the city’s building code.

“My clients do agree that the recertification must be achieved, and they also believe that some repairs must be done,” Muir said. “The problem is the scope of the project.”

Greg Main-Baillie, who leads the new condo restoration division at Colliers, said he expects more associations will face similar lawsuits in the wake of the Surfside collapse, as many condo owners don’t understand what it takes to maintain older structures. Main-Baillie compared an aging building to a person in need of surgery.

“Until you actually get into the area of infection, you really don’t understand how bad it is,” said Main-Baillie, who is not involved in Palm Bay Yacht Club. “In the buildings that haven’t maintained themselves, the cancer is going to spread.”

The letter the association sent to owners suggests the same, imploring owners to “properly repair and protect our investment.”

“We feel bad that unit owners are going to incur expenses,” Bloom told The Real Deal . “[But] when you buy a condominium, you take the good, bad and the ugly.”

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A reckoning is coming for Florida's condo owners as buildings face millions in repairs

After five decades working as a teacher and school administrator, Janet Stone envisioned a relaxing retirement in her condo overlooking Florida’s Atlantic coast.

Instead, she’s gone back to work teaching preschoolers with disabilities and living with her son in Las Vegas to pay off a $100,000 bill from her condo association — her portion of a multimillion-dollar project to replace the 53-year-old building’s deteriorating concrete.

“I shouldn’t say it, but it really sucks to work every day and not have a cent and have to wonder, ‘Can I afford groceries this week?’” said Stone, who purchased her condo in Ormond Beach, Florida, for $400,000 in 2021. “Every penny I make goes towards that concrete restoration.”

Across Florida, aging condo buildings are facing rising expenses and millions of dollars in structural repairs to comply with new regulations following the collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium, which killed 98 people in 2021. While new building requirements are intended to prevent a similar tragedy, the costs are pushing some condo owners to the brink financially and jeopardizing one of the last bastions of relatively affordable housing along Florida’s coastline.“We’ve got to get these buildings back in shape, but for those that are renters and for those that are owners on fixed incomes it means they may have to find other housing,” said Florida House Rep. Vicki Lopez, who helped craft the legislation and whose Miami district includes more than 600 condo associations. “We already have an affordable housing crisis in Florida, so this perfect storm has arrived at a very difficult time.”

In Florida, like across the country, the soaring cost of housing has become a major pressure point on household finances. Home prices in Florida have increased 67% since 2020 and homeowners insurance was up 42% last year. In the vast majority of Florida counties, the median-income household can’t afford the median-priced home, according to NBC News’ Homebuyers Index .

Older condominium buildings have provided an alternative for those who have been unable to afford a single-family home or are looking for a lower-maintenance alternative. The buildings are often home to retirees — some of whom have lived there for decades — along with single-income households and renters.

But now, affording to live in even those buildings is becoming out of reach for some. Under legislation passed by the Florida state Legislature following the Champlain Towers collapse, condo buildings over three stories and older than 30 years must pass a structural inspection by the end of the year. That requirement applies to roughly 900,000 condo units across the state. It also requires condo associations to keep a minimum amount in their reserves to fund future repairs, requiring many buildings to increase their monthly association dues.

In Miami, residents at the Palm Bay Yacht Club, where two-bedroom units have sold this year for between $400,000 and $500,000, are having to pay $140,000 each toward a special assessment for a range of building improvements. Owners at the Surfside condos in Daytona Beach, where a two-bedroom unit is currently listed for $415,000, have paid between $50,000 and $60,000 in assessments to have their building’s concrete repaired and windows replaced. In Orlando, owners at the Regency Gardens, where two-bedroom units are listed for around $160,000, were told they would have to pay $22,000 each for building upgrades, but residents have recently removed the board and are working to lower the price tag.

In the worst cases, residents are being told they have to evacuate their buildings because of structural deficiencies found during inspections, said Greg Batista, a professional engineer who has worked in Florida for more than 20 years.

He said he’s currently working on a building in Miami Beach that residents may have to vacate because of safety concerns, and he recently worked on a 20-story condo building in Hollywood, Florida, where the three-story parking garage had to be vacated until the structure can be repaired.

Stone purchased her condo at the Surfside Club in Ormond Beach to be closer to her daughter and grandchild. As a widow, she hoped living in a condo would provide a greater sense of community, less maintenance, and an added layer of security compared to a single-family home.

Within a year, she was notified that she owed a $100,000 special assessment to the condo association for concrete restoration, new windows and an increase in the association’s reserves. Stone said she had used most of her retirement savings for the down payment on the condo and didn’t have the money for the assessment. Condo owners unable to pay an assessment can be foreclosed on by their condo association.

She considered selling, but the assessment was driving down property values in the building. A unit similar to the one Stone paid $400,000 for in 2021 is currently listed for $335,000 after multiple price reductions.

Her only option, she said, was to go back to work. She reapplied to the school in Las Vegas where she had been working before she retired and is now teaching 3- to 5-year-olds with autism, she said.

“I am exhausted every single day,” Stone said. “I come home and promptly fall asleep and get up and do it the next day.”

She said her entire paycheck is going toward the condo assessment, which she estimates will be paid off after two years of working full time. After that, she plans to move back into her Florida condo, but in the meantime, she’s been living with her adult son.

“This was supposed to be the time when I was really going to retire and be close to my daughter and my granddaughter and enjoy life,” said Stone. “That didn’t happen.”

The rising costs of owning a condo have been driving up the number of units on the market and pushing down prices, said realtors. Statewide, the number of condos on the market has increased 23% over the past six months while prices are down 4.5%, according to an NBC News analysis of data from Redfin. In Volusia County, where Stone’s building is located, condo inventory is up 28% over the past six months and sale prices are down 9%.

“All the realtors are talking about how long their listings have been sitting, how things aren’t moving, and that there’s not enough buyers,” said Krista Goodrich, a realtor in the Daytona Beach area who also manages vacation rentals. “Condos are being hit the worst because the people that are buying, they’ve seen what happens when the hurricanes come, they’ve seen what happens when the condos aren’t built properly, and so they’re hesitant to buy a condo on the beach.”

While some buildings will need little or no work, Florida building engineers, real estate lawyers and realtors say many are now having to pay the price for years of lax maintenance, subpar building standards before the 1990s, and the effects of Florida’s saltwater on the concrete and rebar that holds the structures together.

“When you put the maintenance on a second tier and you don’t do simple but very important things, such as painting the building, that has a very bad effect on the long-term longevity of a building,” said Batista. “But a lot of people, they’d rather put nice carpet in the lobby as opposed to taking care of real issues.”

For developers, the cost pressure on condo owners is providing an opportunity because many older properties dominate prime oceanfront real estate. In some cases, the value of the land may exceed the value of the building once the cost of bringing it up to code is factored in. If enough owners are unable or unwilling to pay for the necessary repairs, developers can attempt to buy up the building and redevelop the property.

“These properties are in very desirable locations. If you build a new project on them, in many cases luxury condos, it could fetch $3,000 to $5,000 a square foot,” said Joseph Hernandez. “That is a tremendous development opportunity.”

Developer Edgardo Defortuna, whose firm Fortune International Group has developed some of South Florida’s most high-profile luxury buildings, said his firm is eyeing several older condo buildings in prime waterfront locations in Miami Beach and downtown Miami that could be torn down and replaced with luxury high-rises. But he said it can be difficult to convince enough owners to sell even at above-market prices.

“I think that many people have yet to really face the music or understand that it is better to sell than to stay around and fund those really large improvements and reserves that you need to in order to comply with the law,” Defortuna said.

Jeremy Maurice, who was the condo board president at Stone’s building when the repairs were approved, said he felt the board had little choice but to fund the repairs and blamed the cost on a lack of proper maintenance to the building’s concrete over the decades.

“If you don’t do anything, this building will become worthless and you’re going to have to sell to a developer and it’ll be knocked down,” said Maurice, who said he had to use some of his retirement savings to pay for the work. “So there’s no choice, really. You have to do the work. And that’s a hard pill to swallow. I don’t think anyone is jumping for joy. But that’s what happens when prior boards don’t do their job.”

But the decision ended up pitting the building’s owners against each other, with some owners saying the work was unnecessary.

“It was extremely toxic. That is an understatement,” Maurice said. “I don’t talk to some people there today. I’ll be polite, but I won’t talk with them anymore because they treated me so badly. They cussed at me at meetings, sent anonymous emails, just nasty, nasty stuff.”

At the Palm Bay Yacht Club, condo owners were told they would need to pay for a $33 million construction project, prompting a group of residents to sue the condo board , the building management company and the firms hired to complete the work. The lawsuit alleges the owners are being overcharged for the project, citing exaggerated measurements and items outside the scope of structural repairs such as cosmetic and amenity improvements. It also claims the condo association has previously mishandled funds.

Steve Davis, a lawyer representing the defendants, denied the allegations and said the work was legally required under the 40-year recertification needed for buildings in Miami-Dade County and that owners were charged for only the necessary work that was done. He said the Palm Bay board did everything possible to help the unit owners.

Among those suing is Cristian Murray, who bought his condo in 2016 and had recently retired after working as a health care administrator at the University of Miami for 20 years. Now, he’s planning to go back to work to pay off the $140,000 special assessment.

To make the payment, he took out a 20-year loan on which he’s paying $1,000 a month on top of the $3,000 a month he owes toward his mortgage and other condo association fees.

“Pardon my language, but we’re screwed,” Murray said. “These guys ruined my early retirement plan.”

Lopez, who helped craft the legislation, said she is looking for ways to provide relief to condo owners once Florida’s Legislature reconvenes next year. She said she’s collecting data to understand the full impact of the legislation to determine what adjustments may be needed.

Stone would like to see the state Legislature give buildings and condo owners more time to comply with the regulations so they would be able to spread out the costs. While she thinks the requirements will be a good thing in the long run, she doesn’t foresee being able to recover the money she’s had to spend on her condo.

“I’m going to be there until I die because I’m not going to recoup that money before I die,” she said. “If I could ever recoup my money, I would probably look at selling and getting a single-family home again. But I don’t see that happening, not in my lifetime.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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Miami Condo Residents Upset Over 40-Year Recertification Cost

Neighbors at the palm bay yacht club are looking at a monthly increase of up to $5,000, by jamie guirola • published february 8, 2023 • updated on february 9, 2023 at 5:19 am.

Residents at a Miami condominium are upset over their building's 40-year recertification and what they say they will have to pay.

There will be a vote soon on whether to approve a plan that could cost residents at Palm Bay Yacht Club Condominium an extra $200,000 in homeowners association fees.

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"We have a lot of issues, many but the main issue is about the money," said homeowner Borja de la Pazza.

Palm Bay is in its 40-year recertification process.

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"Which is gonna bring many people into foreclosure, and this is really, really sad for this community," de la Pazza said.

Homeowners are upset about what they call an excessive assessment by the board of directors and management company. The recertification would include installing hurricane impact windows, the demolition of some areas, remodeling and overall general improvements.

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The bill is a $200,000 lump sum, or to pay over 20 years an additional $1,300 a month for recertification and pay an extra $3,500 per month for impact windows.

Aline Tom just moved here less than a year ago. Residents like Tom who are against the plan said they found an estimate that’s about half of what's being proposed, which could make the difference in who stays and who leaves.

"Select residents of Palm Bay Yacht Club have made a series of false and misleading statements in regards to proposed plans addressing the recertification program," a statement from the attorney of AKRAM Property Management read in part. "We look forward to clarifying the misinformation and resolving the ongoing litigation."

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Surfside collapse law means Fla. condo owners face high costs

( NewsNation ) — Florida condominium owners are having to foot hefty bills for structural repairs because of laws connected to the 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside that killed 98 people.

While residents support changes being made to prevent similar tragedies, some of those living in the more than 900,000 condominium units in Florida say rising costs have made it hard for them to stay in the area.

Under SB 4-D, which was signed into law in May 2022 , condo buildings over 30 years old must pass a structural integrity inspection by the end of this year. Units near bodies of saltwater, like Champlain Towers, will have to do so if they’re more than 25 years old.

Condominium associations are required to keep funds in their reserves for maintenance and repairs needed to bring them up to code, meaning many are upping monthly association dues, according to NBC News .

Residents concerned over costs

Condominium owners have been charged “special assessment fees” for a wide range of building improvements.

NBC News reported two-bedroom units at Miami’s Palm Bay Yacht Club sold this year for between $400,000 and $500,000, with $140,000 each toward a special assessment for a range of building improvements. One retiree who spoke to NBC had to return to work teaching preschoolers with disabilities and moved in with her son in Las Vegas, Nevada, to pay off a $100,000 bill from her condo association.

The outlet notes this is happening at a time when housing costs have spiked in Florida by more than 67%  since 2020. The NBC News’ Homebuyers Index shows that most median-income households in Florida counties can’t afford the median-priced homes. Homeowners insurance increased by 42% last year as well, NBC wrote.

It’s not just the new state laws that contribute to these high association fees. The Miami Herald wrote that spiraling insurance also plays a part. Hurricanes in the state and lawsuits drove up insurance costs, which companies passed along to customers, Bill Hughes, an expert at the University of Florida, told the newspaper.

Some condominium owners are asking for more time to comply with state lawmakers’ regulations. NBC writes that this way, they would be able to spread out the costs.

Champlain Towers South collapse fallout

Federal officials said last year an investigation into one of the deadliest building failures in United States history is expected to be finished by 2025.

The probe led by the National Institute of Standards & Technology is looking into two dozen scenarios that might explain how the 12-story building collapsed.

In June 2022, a judge approved an over $1 billion settlement for victims of the collapse. Much of that money went to those who lost family members. There was $96 million set aside for owners who lost one of the 136 units in the building, and $100 million earmarked for legal fees.

Settlement money came from 37 sources who did not admit to any wrongdoing. These include insurance companies, engineering firms and a luxury condominium next door.

Dubai-based DAMAC International ended up buying property at the site of the collapse and now wants to start sales of a 52-unit condo project later this year, per The Real Deal .

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.

• Real Estate

Towering uncertainty: 2 million Floridians live in condos subject to reinspection laws

• Robyn A. Friedman, Florida Trend

This story originally appeared in Florida Trend Magazine .

Sonja Przulj loves her two-bedroom, two-bath condominium in Miami, located on the 21st floor of the 27-story Palm Bay Yacht Club, with spectacular views of Biscayne Bay, downtown Miami and South Beach. She paid $285,000 for the corner unit in September 2021 after renting in the building for years.

Przulj, 39, purchased at the height of the pandemic, when she was working nonstop as a nurse. “It seemed like it was meant to be,” she says. “But the thrill was very short-lived.”

That’s because less than a year later, Przulj, who lives in the condo with her husband, Jean Pablo Vialle, and their five-year-old son, was hit with a $145,000 special assessment by the condo association to pay for repairs in the aging building.

“It’s an earth-shattering number,” she says. And one she can’t afford to pay.

Built in 1982 at the height of South Florida’s high-rise condo building boom, the Palm Bay Yacht Club has not worn the years well, according to inspection reports from engineers hired by the condo management company. Facing its 40-year inspection, the tower’s list of issues is reported to include cracks, crumbling concrete and separation of the stucco layers. Needed repairs include remediation or replacement of expansion joints, waterproofing and drainage, and window repairs, records show. The condo also needs its tennis court replaced and its pool and jacuzzi repaired. The total cost assessed to residents of the 235-unit building is estimated at $33 million.

Przulj says that she’ll have to pay the special assessment back in four quarterly payments over a year unless the condo association is able to obtain a bank loan to help finance the necessary repairs and improvement projects. In that case, it would be payable over 20 years, she says. Last year, she became one of a group of 10 Palm Bay Yacht Club residents who filed suit against the condo association, the property management firm and a number of contractors alleging that the state of the building is being exaggerated, that they are being overcharged and that the association mismanaged past upkeep and financial responsibility over the building. “There is no way myself, or probably half the building, can come up with that money,” Przulj says. “I risked it all by buying this unit, and I have nowhere to go with my family.”

Attorneys for those being sued have called the allegations false, saying the repairs are mandated by law and the condition of the tower is dire. It has been the subject of numerous hearings in front of Miami-Dade County’s unsafe structures committee. “It defies logic to allege that the association and board of directors are deliberately acting in bad faith to put themselves in more debt than is necessary,” defense attorneys wrote in one filing. The case is in mediation, but in April, Judge Thomas J. Rebull ruled that it would not be in the public interest “in light of the Surfside Condominium collapse” to further delay concrete restoration on the tower, including installing shoring to the condominium’s parking garage.

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The dispute pitting residents against each other is a scenario likely to be playing out again in Florida as state laws go into effect requiring older condos three stories and taller to be reinspected at earlier intervals and for condo associations to be more diligent in funding reserves for on-going maintenance and repairs. The June 2021 collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South, killing 98 people in Surfside, laid bare safety concerns about Florida’s older condo towers — the earliest ones now reaching past 50 years of age. Scores of other high-rises were built 40 years ago during a building boom in South Florida, an era when insufficient building codes and lax inspections were the subject of repeated grand jury investigations.

Before the collapse in Surfside, condo buildings in Florida weren’t required to be inspected by a licensed architect or engineer after being occupied, with the exception of those in Miami-Dade and Broward counties which had enacted their own, stricter local ordinances. Champlain Towers South’s 40-year inspection, as required under Miami-Dade’s recertification program, was underway but repairs had not been made at the time it collapsed. When state lawmakers first responded to the disaster nearly a year later, the state began requiring all condominium buildings of at least three stories or higher to undergo a “milestone inspection” after 30 years, and every 25 years if they were within three miles of a coastline.

The buildings then would be required to be inspected at 10-year intervals going forward. Condo associations also were required to ensure they had sufficient cash on hand for future structural repairs and could no longer waive or underfund reserves. The 2022 law caused such upheaval that this spring lawmakers and the governor pushed the requirement for coastal buildings back to 30 and are leaving it to local governments to decide if a 25-year inspection is “justified by local environmental conditions” including proximity to seawater.

The scale of who might be affected by the reinspections and ensuing costs is massive, according to legal and engineering experts. When the Florida Bar produced its report on the Surfside collapse, it cited figures from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation saying there are more than 912,000 condominium units (out of some 1.5 million total units) in Florida at least 30 years old. Calculated using U.S. Census formulas, the state pegs the number of people living in condo units 30 years and older at upwards of 2 million.

But the uncertainty faced by those now living in older buildings with expensive repairs remains as some associations come to realize past boards never funded the reserves needed to maintain aging buildings, and now the state gives them no option. “I’m very proud of how quickly my boards have leapt into action,” says Donna DiMaggio Berger, a partner at Becker & Poliakoff in Fort Lauderdale who is board certified in condominium and planned development law. “But some are now being threatened with recall by unit owners who want to throw a monkey wrench into the maintenance and repair process because they don’t want to pay assessments. That is the type of craziness going on now.”

With so many unit owners unable to pay special assessments, some boards are seeking loans to help cover the cost of repairs — loans that are collateralized by the association’s receivables from residents’ payments on assessments, says Telese Zuberer, an attorney with Icard Merrill in Sarasota who represents homeowner and condo associations. Others expect the payments to be made on relatively short payment schedules, like Przulj could be required to do.

Unit owners opting to sell when facing a special assessment may find it difficult or impossible to find a buyer willing to assume that obligation. But some developers are capitalizing on the situation by attempting to buy out entire towers.

Edgardo Defortuna, president and CEO of Fortune International Group in Miami, is among a group of South Florida developers who target older condo towers — particularly those in prime locations or on the waterfront — for redevelopment, buying out entire towers of homeowners, dissolving the condo association and tearing the towers down. Defortuna says that due to the scarcity of land in South Florida, the projects make sense, especially when condo owners are paid well above market rates to vacate the units. “You can make an offer for all the units in the building that is above the market price of each individual unit,” he says. “Then you can terminate the condominium, knock it down and build a new tower.”

Defortuna says Fortune has completed three condominium terminations to date and has plans to acquire additional properties. Fortune typically offers owners up to twice the market value of their units, he says, and the firm’s brokerage arm helps them find a new place to live.

“If you spend $100,000 redecorating your unit and change your bathrooms and kitchen, a buyer might be willing to pay $100,000 extra because this unit is better than the rest,” he says. “But if you’re special assessed for $100,000 to pay for fixing columns and filling cracks to make sure the building won’t fall down, a buyer coming in will see you have the same old unit as before and won’t pay any more for it. You’re not adding any value to your unit other than making the building sound structurally.”

While much of the initial impact of the post-Surfside reforms is being felt in South Florida, where most of the state’s earliest condo towers were built, the ramifications of the new inspection and reserve laws eventually will be felt statewide. Bilzin Sumberg Partner Joseph Hernandez, who represents developers in condo terminations and redevelopment, says there’s no way to sugarcoat that many condo-dwelling Floridians are living in homes not built to last.

“That’s a cold hard reality,” Hernandez says. “They all have a variety of functional obsolescence issues — poor engineering (or) they are starting to degrade because they are by the water. The value of the units continues to decline. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out when you have increasing costs and a decreasing value of the unit. … There may be some special cases out there where the building over their history, they may have made some changes and stayed ahead of it. But the majority of them have reached the point where it is only getting worse.”

Berger, the condominium association attorney, says the new law is the final cap on an era where a coastal residence is attainable for most buyers. “Developers marketed condominiums and cooperatives as your little slice of affordable paradise where you could live on the ocean and enjoy those views,” Berger says. “But it seems like only the very wealthy are going to be able to afford to live in older coastal buildings. Still, if Florida ends up with the safest housing stock in the country, that is a very positive thing.”

The prospect of a $145,000 special assessment and the ensuing court fight have soured Palm Bay Yacht Club resident Przulj on condo life. “I love this building, and everyone who comes here sees how special it is,” she says. “But living in a condo feels like you’re never in control. I don’t know if this was such a smart move.”

Florida’s new condo inspection law

• Applies to buildings at least three stories tall.
• For buildings less than 30 years old, the milestone inspection must be completed by Dec. 31 of the year in which the building reaches 30 years of age and every 10 years thereafter.
• Buildings for which a certificate of occupancy was issued on or before July 1, 1992, must have their initial milestone inspection by Dec. 31, 2024.
• If justified by local environmental conditions, including proximity to seawater, local enforcement agencies responsible for enforcing the milestone inspection requirements can opt to require a 25-year inspection.

No Easy Out

While some condo tower boards are seeking loans to help cover the costs of needed repairs, it’s not a slam-dunk solution for all. Governing documents sometimes don’t give condo boards the authority to take out a loan. “In other cases, the windstorm deductible the association has chosen (to make the coverage affordable) is too high to make the association a feasible borrower for most banks,” points out Donna DiMaggio Berger, a partner at Becker & Poliakoff in Fort Lauderdale who specializes in condominium and planned development law. “It’s a perfect storm with the state doing little currently to sort it out.”

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Watch CBS News

Owners asked to pay $175,000 each toward Miami condo 40-year recertification

By CBS Miami Team

Updated on: February 7, 2023 / 7:06 PM EST / CBS Miami

MIAMI - A shocking assessment for one condominium in Miami this week.

Owners are being asked to pay $175,000 each towards their 40-year recertification. This is a story we have been hearing more and more across South Florida.

Residents say something isn't adding up and they are putting the blame on their homeowners' association.

"I'm in shock in disbelief," said Christian Murray.

Murray has lived in the Palm Bay Yacht Club condos since 2016. Now he and many other residents are worried if they'd be able to keep their homes.

Background The building needs its 40 year recertification, meaning, an engineer needs to come and see if the building needs structural and electrical repairs. It's not uncommon that some areas need to be fixed.

When the property managers brought in their engineer, they claimed the building needed $46 million dollars in repairs.

"We'd have to pay nearly $200 thousand in repairs," said Murray. "That's insane."

Murray says the entire building itself is worth around $50 million.

So residents hired a different engineer to do the same assessment, and they were told the building needed around $23 million in repairs, a far cry from the initial $46 million.

"Asking for $46 million is really extraordinary," said attorney Jane Muir.

Muir was hired by the residents to fight against the property managers.

The Problem Upon further investigation, Muir said the initial engineer largely inflated the cost of repairs. Residents believe the property manager, called AKAM, is not only inflating numbers but also wants to hire their sister company, Project Management Group, to do the repairs.

"It's going to ruin their lives, people are going to lose their homes," said resident Sonia Przulji. "I cannot afford this. I've cried myself to sleep wondering what I'd do."

"I want the truth," said resident Margarita Genova-Cordova. "This is not right."

CBS4 reached out to the AKAM attorneys and they've agreed to speak with us.    

The CBS Miami team is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on CBSMiami.com.

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Paradise Lost: Sky-high insurance premiums, required reserve funds and major repairs have some condo associations and owners in dire financial straits

(WSVN) - As we continue our series on South Florida’s housing crisis, tonight we focus on condos. Some of the estimated 3.5 million Floridians living in condo units face a perfect storm of financial problems, with no easy fix. 7’s Karen Hensel has this special assignment report, “Paradise Lost.”

The Palm Bay Yacht Club in Miami and Palm Lakes in Margate could not be any more different. One is 27 stories, the other just four. One overlooks Biscayne Bay, the other is west of the Turnpike.

But what both condominiums have in common is financial strain set in motion by the condo collapse in Surfside more than two years ago.

Robert Norris, president, Palm Bay Yacht Club: “I knew right then, you know, our lives were all changing immediately, because our building was built at the same time that the Champlain was built.”

Robert Norris is the Palm Bay Yacht Club Board president.

Robert Norris: “We’re looking at a $33 million project for our 40-year recertification. So all of the board members felt the pressure.”

That project includes everything from concrete demolition and restoration to redoing balconies.

And those repairs come at a cost. The average assessment is around $140,000 per unit owner.

Robert Norris: “I can’t even begin to explain the number of nights that I couldn’t sleep because I knew that there would be people in this building that might not be able to afford it.”

And in Margate, some owners in the Palm Lakes Condominium can’t afford it.

Bonnie Underwood, condo unit owner: “You know, I’m kind of old to be homeless.”

Bonnie Underwood and the other residents are facing nearly $2,000 a year more in maintenance fees next year.

Bonnie Underwood: “It’s absolutely killing me, and I don’t think I’m the only one here in this association who’s feeling this, because the buildings are emptying out.”

Efi Barakakos, condo unit owner: “It’s tragic. People do not know what to do. They’re trying to sell their units, but where are they going to go? It’s very difficult.”

The reason for that difficulty is a state law passed after the Surfside collapse . It requires condo associations to collect reserve money for costly future major repairs like structural work.

Efi Barakakos: “We’re on fixed incomes here, and it’s very difficult for people to afford 100% reserves. We’re a four-story building, which is considered low-rise. We’re 11 miles away from the ocean. We can’t compare it to Surfside at all.”

David Podein, attorney, Haber Law: “I think it is a dire situation on the horizon.”

Condo law attorneys David Podein and Jonathan Goldstein are sounding the alarm.

David Podein: “Between skyrocketing insurance costs, the huge capital needs for the structural repairs and the mandatory reserve funding, we felt that there is this confluence of factors that could create a ‘zombie condo.'”

“Zombie condos” are large buildings that are mostly empty because many of the owners couldn’t afford to live there anymore.

Robert Norris: “I would think a lot of buildings in South Florida, that they’re just not to be able to do it. It’s going to be an Armageddon of some sort.”

Robert feels fortunate his association found financing for their $33 million project, which would allow unit owners to pay the assessment over time.

Still, he says, their insurance situation is a challenge.

Robert Norris: “We can’t get full insurance value for this building. This building is valued at $100 million. We’re only insured up to $20 million, and our insurance went up 60%.”

According to the Insurance Information Institute, associations have seen premium increases as high as 500%. Some are calling on state lawmakers to fix these complex condo problems. “Paradise Lost” continues Thursday at 10 p.m. with a look at tenants who say landlords are taking advantage of them in a tight rental market.

Karen Hensel, 7News.

“The Condominium Special Assessment Program is designed to provide funding assistance to help condominium owners in Miami-Dade County pay for special assessment requirements that arise from rehabilitation and repairs due to applicable building integrity recertification requirements.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION: miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser1689262443911730

Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Palm Bay Yacht Club Condos For Sale

Thinking of selling?

Building summary.

Community: Miami Design District

Views: Bay and City

Year Built: 1982

Status: Immediate Occupancy

Bedrooms: 1 & 2

Residence Size: 828-4342 sq. ft.

Pet Friendly: No

Walk Score: 72 (Very Walkable)

Total Residences: 235

Number of Stories: 27

Price Range: $385,000 - $449,000

Condo Assoc. Phone: Contact Us

Lifestyle Pictures of Palm Bay Yacht Club Condos

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Palm Bay Yacht Club Condos - Miami Bayfront Luxury Condos

Palm Bay Yacht Club Condos, an intimate bayfront enclave of just sixty-six (66) well-appointed residences. Modernist architecture reflects a sophisticated attitude enhanced by cutting-edge technology. Set on 175 feet of direct bay frontage, Palm Bay YAcht Club makes the most of expansive water and garden views. Directly on the sparkling waters of Biscayne Bay, Palm Bay YAcht Club is located in the Upper East Side just minutes from downtown Miami, the Brickell financial district, and the Miami Design District.

Palm Bay Yacht Club Condos - Building Amenities

• Elegant lobby featuring cascading water
• 175 feet of breathtaking bay frontage
• 40-foot-long swimming pool with gleaming ocean glass pebbles embedded in the sides
• Pool deck adorned with natural keystone-like pebbles
• Fitness center
• Four lighted tennis courts
• 24 hour security

To see which residences are currently available for sale, click the green "Condos for Sale" or contact the Miami Condo Lifestyle team at (305) 479-0433 for up to the minute information. Join us in Paradise, live life with a view and enjoy the Miami Condo Lifestyle!

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Palm Bay Condominium Not in the Same Boat With its Neighbors

Apr. 02, 2023

Letter to the Editor

As a member of the board of Palm Bay Condominium, the smaller building sandwiched between Palm Bay Yacht Club and Palm Bay Towers, I was disappointed by your article, “Palm Bay’s Triple Trouble,” which was a deeply inaccurate portrayal of our community.

It’s not surprising the article was misleading. Reporter Samantha Morell relied solely on accusations by a few individuals involved in a lawsuit against their condo associations, and gave those association boards no opportunity to respond. Instead, it tarred the three independent boards with the same accusatory brush.

Some facts about Palm Bay Condo: As the minority member of the committee managing the marina, we did not control the events leading to its condemnation in 2019. But we are playing a central role in the solution – in August, the owners in PBC and Palm Bay Towers (PBT) voted overwhelmingly to partner with Yacht Management of South Florida to restore and operate the marina. The article failed to note that major step forward.

Palm Bay Condominium is NOT facing special assessments in the tens of millions, like our neighbors, to obtain recertification, because we have diligently maintained our building. And unlike many South Florida condos, we can finance the necessary repairs so any assessment can be paid over a decade or more.

The article also inaccurately stated we have the same management company as Palm Bay Yacht Club; we replaced them in January – as fact-checking would have found.

Your principal source, Thomas Marrazza, filed a lawsuit against PBT that was later extended to PBC. The sum demanded is comparable to the special assessment he complains about – yet it would do nothing to bring the buildings or marina up to code – it would only enrich the plaintiffs. Meanwhile, the litigation is obstructing mortgage applications by prospective buyers.

Your second quoted source, Tim Hogle, was actually president of PBT and principally responsible for the decisions described in the lawsuit as leading to the condemnation of the marina. Without apparent irony, he joined the lawsuit after residents of his condominium ousted him from the board.

The article also references the opinions of Charles Culpepper, an engineer. Mr. Culpepper was previously hired by Mr. Hogle when the latter attempted to prevent PBC from replacing its sea wall. Mr. Culpepper testified, incredibly, that two men in a rowboat could repair a decades-old, cracked sea wall. His testimony was rejected in its entirety. It was revealed that he was disciplined for failing to report to the engineering licensing board that he had pleaded nolo contendere to a felony charge.

Your photo credits reveal your third source was Annabella Buchelli. She and her husband are the only PBC owners to have joined the Marrazza lawsuit, out of 70+ units, so I would suggest her opinion alone is not representative. When she finished tied for last in the 2022 board elections, the owners made clear they wanted a board that would maintain the building and protect the value of owners’ units – including from lawsuit monetary demands that far exceed any assessment facing PBC.

We don’t know the plaintiffs’ goals, but Ms. Buchelli recently shared an article entitled “Why Condo Redevelopment Holds the Key to Florida Real Estate Investment.” As a board, we would evaluate and share any opportunity, but we won’t allow our community’s future to be forced by a self-serving few. 

We appreciate The Biscayne Times’ commitment to local coverage, but please report responsibly, rather than painting your neighbors into a pre-existing narrative. 

Andrew Sherry, Board Secretary

Palm Bay Condominium Association

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Sneak peek: The Boca Raton resort to unveil new $120 million Beach Club in December

The beach club closed april 8 and is scheduled to re-open december 20. reservations will be available beginning in december..

The Boca Raton , two years ahead of its centennial anniversary, will debut its new $120 million Beach Club this December.

The resort, made up of five hotels, has been a staple of Boca Raton since 1926. The property sprawls across East Camino Real and South Federal Highway, facing Lake Boca and the Atlantic Ocean.

"We are partnering with top designers and leading industry minds to create intriguing new offerings that will inspire," Daniel A. Hostettler, president and CEO of The Boca Raton, said. "The new Beach Club will reflect the very best in design, dining, and experience — at the only beachfront resort in Boca Raton."

The Beach Club closed April 8 and is scheduled to re-open Dec. 20. Reservations will be available beginning in December.

A $120 million investment at The Boca Raton: What will it include?

The Beach Club redesign will include new restaurants, a cocktail lounge and café, a new fitness facility, oceanside event spaces and a transformation of guest rooms and suites overlooking a half-mile stretch of private beach along the Atlantic.

Beach Club's popular Marisol, a Mediterranean restaurant, will have a newly designed indoor-outdoor setting where breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served. A new sand-side restaurant, Onda, will spotlight a new culinarian each winter, starting with "classic island flavors" during its opening season. And, just beyond Beach Club's entrance, Living Room will feature world-class mixologists in an outdoor terrace overlooking the seascape. During the day, Living Room will serve as a café, offering house-made pastries, light bites and gourmet coffee.

The poolside White Bar will offer creative cocktails and an extensive wine list. And, nearby, also outside, Ocean Market will have quick gourmet bites and ice cream for guests.

The redesigned Beach Club will have 210 guest rooms and suites, with amenities including a wet bar with a water filtration system. The renovated hotel will have triple the amount of suites it had before closing in April.

How much does it cost to stay at The Boca Raton?

A night at The Boca Raton varies in price, depending on the room type and time of year one is booking. In December, a one-night stay ranges from $480 to $1,004. Some stays, though, require a minimum booking of two nights.

A stay at Beach Club starts at $1,038 for the "Guestroom King + sofabed," in December. The room includes a king bed, a sofa bed, a complimentary minibar, a tub, shower, a sitting area and a fully-windowed wall with sliders and a railing to make a virtual balcony.

Festive rates at Beach Club start at $1,900. The cheapest starting rates can be found in July and August at $799. And the most expensive, aside from festive rates, can be found February through May, ranging from $1,020 to $1,090.

"Beach Club has long been recognized as one of the most coveted beachside resort destinations in South Florida, and this evolution is poised to captivate a whole new category of discerning travelers while appealing to our legacy guests," Hostettler said.

The Boca Raton: A luxury since 1926

The Boca Raton started off as a 100-room inn designed and brought to life by none other than city planner and architect Addison Mizner in February 1926. It was called the Ritz-Carlton Cloister Inn.

About a year later, it became the Boca Raton Club after the Mizner Development Corporation fell deeply in debt and financier Clarence H. Geist purchased the 16,000-acre property for $71,500. Architectural firm Schultze and Weaver planned a new hotel, with Mizner's design in mind, according to The Boca Raton. Construction began in late 1928 and opened January 1930, nearly doubled in size.

It was used by the U.S. Army as barracks during World War II, and after the war, it became the Boca Hotel and Club. In 2009, its Beach Club underwent a $150 million renovation, three years after the cloister and tower rooms were redesigned in 2006. From May 2009 to July 2021, the property was managed by by Hilton under the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand. It became The Boca Raton in July 2021.

Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at  [email protected]  and follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at  @jasminefernandz . Help support our work.  Subscribe today .

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Palm Bay Yacht Club - 780 NE 69th St El Portal, FL 33138

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