Residents of this Florida condo pushed to sell for $1M a unit — rather than pay to meet state’s safety code

Around 140 condo owners in a West Palm Beach, Florida, building are facing a gut-wrenching decision: sell their units or face steep charges thanks to the state’s updated safety regulations.

Paul Moreno, board president of the La Fontana condo building, nestled on the Intracoastal Waterway, says new laws passed after the Surfside tragedy in 2021 means his 10-story building is subject to mandatory inspections and potential repairs. He adds that special assessment fees to unit owners would follow, which many cannot afford.

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“Those are not doable for a lot of these people,” Moreno said of the fees to WPTV News in a story published June 17.

Thankfully for residents of La Fontana, they may have an escape route.

Sell or face repairs?

The new safety laws passed after the Surfside collapse, which killed 98 people, created an affordability crisis for condominium owners, which has led to some buildings in prime locations being sold to developers.

“They are being affected by the new condo laws and assessments,” Paul Lykins, a real estate agent in Palm Beach County, told WPTV News. “Developers are coming in and waving bags of money at them.”

That may be the fate of La Fontana. Moreno says he’s working with Serhant, the real estate company run by broker Ryan Serhant of Bravo TV and Netflix fame, to sell the building for around $200 million. He assumes it would end up in the hands of developers.

“It’s our paradise,” Moreno lamented when describing the scenic property. “Maybe some people won’t be able to find something comparable, but they’re going to have their million-some-odd dollars.”

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Florida’s condo affordability crisis

The Surfside tragedy exposed holes in the way Florida regulates condo building maintenance, prompting lawmakers to quickly create new rules.

Key new rules include mandatory structural reviews, which required every three-story-plus condo at least 30 years old to undergo milestone inspections. After that, the buildings must undergo recurrent inspections every 10 years. In addition, condo associations were required to fully fund reserve accounts to cover major repairs.

These have resulted in significant assessment fees for condo owners — in some cases tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. An assessment represents an additional payment required of condo owners, and many condo owners struggle to afford these payments.

After several years of condo owners struggling, Florida lawmakers passed a new bill in June aimed at providing some relief for condo owners. Notably, it allows for a two-year pause in reserve contributions in order to prioritize any critical repairs identified during a milestone inspection.

For condo owners in buildings that don’t have major repairs to undertake, these measures may make remaining in their home a more affordable proposition. But for condo owners in buildings with critical and expensive repairs required, the costs might still be a challenge for owners.

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