Read full article: Florida condo safety guidelines are disrupting the real estate market, leading to surge in salesA Jacksonville woman was stabbed 39 times while she slept. Her husband is accused of paying his mistress to kill her
These changes, implemented in response to the 2021 Surfside condominium collapse that claimed 98 lives, have led to steep assessments for some communities and an increase in the number of condos listed for sale as owners seek to avoid costly maintenance fees.In 2022, Florida lawmakers unanimously passed legislation aimed at enhancing safety standards for condos to prevent another disaster.
Bill Hughes, who is the research director for the Kelley A. Bergstrom Real Estate Center at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business, explained that many condo owners have been paying less than the annual cost of living due to unrecognized asset deterioration. Now, they are forced to address these issues and save for future repairs, which may cause significant financial hardship for some.
“They have to core into your concrete, they have to break things open, so it’s more destructive, a lot higher cost, and a lot more expense,” he said. “When you get groups together, they have a really hard time agreeing, particularly if what they’re having to agree upon is to make a substantial payment. If this was your individual home and you needed a new roof, then, then you would put a new roof on, particularly before or after it starts leaking, but, you would repair that roof and that and that cost would face you as a homeowner.