ORLANDO, Fla. – Condo owners across Florida are calling on state Legislators for help after being inundated with fees.
Legislators passed a law earlier this year that requires condo boards to have fully funded reserves.
In May, News 6 reporter Treasure Roberts reported that residents of Regency Gardens Condominiums were worried they would either lose or have to sell their properties.
That worry came after residents received a notice revealing a shortfall of $19 million in the condominium association’s reserves.
Current state law mandates condo boards to fully fund reserves by Dec. 31 to cover maintenance, inspections and potential repairs. This follows the tragic collapse of the Surfside condos in 2021, which resulted in the death of dozens of people.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
Although this was intended for safety, the law has caused condo owners statewide to be hit with thousands of dollars in fees to fill the gap in reserves.
During a press conference Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was asked whether he would be willing to call a special session with legislators to modify this law.
“The Legislature has ideas about how to make this more sensible for people. I’m totally open to all that,” DeSantis said.
News 6 political analyst Jim Clark believes this issue rises to the level of calling a special session.
“People are losing their homes over this, people on fixed income, and there are hundreds of thousands of people like that who bought a condo years ago when they retired. They’re getting social security and maybe a pension, and all of a sudden, they’re being told to come up with a $100,000 or $200,000, and they cannot do it,” Clark said.
Bryan Pricher took over on the Regency Gardens Condominiums COA in May after residents voted to recall the previous board.
[WATCH NEWS 6′S PREVIOUS COVERAGE IN THE MEDIA PLAYER BELOW]
Over the past few months, he and the other board members have found a way to lessen the blow to condo owners.
“Since then, we gave new guidance to the company that did our structural integrity review, and the initial guidance was given to them was full replacement within two years. We went back to them and said, ‘Hey, we would love to revise this assessment,’” Pricher said.
He suggested replacing what needs to be replaced now for safety reasons, but push smaller repairs and maintenance down on the timeline to create a feasible budget.
“Before the final fully funded reserve balance was $19 million, and I just got the report back from the company. They did it, and they’re saying the fully funded reserves is actually $7 million, so it’s a very significant difference,” Pricher said.
The previous board proposed a revised budget that involved a special assessment due in two parts ranging from $11,000 - $22,000.
“That proposed budget is not even on the table anymore,” Pricher said.
Pricher said that with the new approach the COA is taking, residents should see at least a 60% reduction in the special assessment.
The board, however, is still working out the details.
“I think that anybody serving on a board of directors right now that’s had their structural integrity review done should take a look at the guidance given to that company that did their structural integrity review,” Pricher said. “...If they went into it with a guidance to replace everything in two years that’s gonna be significantly higher than replacing what needs to be replaced and you know maintaining and managing the other things as you go.”
Pricher still believes legislators should modify the state law.
“I understand that their intent is from a safety perspective. They’re looking at the Surfside collapse, and they understand there are some older buildings that need some structural repairs. They need somethings done to them in order to keep them safe for the residents, but there’s got to be a common-sense approach,” Pricher said. “Slapping a $100,000 assessment on families is not the right way to do it.”
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: