The HOA documents you must review
When you go under contract on an HOA property in Florida, you have 3 days to receive the HOA documents and 3 days after receipt to cancel for any reason. This is the Florida HOA rescission period. Use it.
The package typically includes:
- Declaration of Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs)
- Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws
- Current budget and financial statements
- Reserve study or reserve schedule
- Most recent 12 months of board meeting minutes
- Pending litigation disclosure
The reserve study: the most important document you'll skip
A reserve study estimates the cost and timing of major capital repairs — roof, pavement, elevators, pool equipment, structural components — and calculates how much the HOA should be setting aside annually to cover them. Florida now requires condo associations with 3+ stories to maintain fully-funded structural reserves following the Surfside collapse legislation.
Warning signs in a reserve study:
- Reserve funding below 70% of recommended level
- Multiple capital projects deferred or past due
- No reserve study performed in the last 3–5 years
- Structural reserves waived by member vote (no longer legal for condos after 2026)
Meeting minutes: what boards don't volunteer
Read the last 12–24 months of board meeting minutes. You're looking for:
- Discussion of any special assessment (the number, the reason, the timeline)
- References to legal disputes with unit owners or contractors
- Delinquency discussions (high delinquency rate = financially stressed HOA)
- References to structural reports, engineering reviews, or insurance issues
- Turnover in property management (frequent changes signal dysfunction)
Florida condo special assessments post-Surfside
The Surfside Champlain Towers South collapse in 2021 triggered sweeping changes to Florida condo law. Buildings 3+ stories must now have: structural integrity reserve studies every 10 years, milestone inspections at 30 years and every 10 years thereafter, and fully-funded reserves for structural components — no more waiving reserves by majority vote.
Condos built before 1990 that have chronically underfunded reserves are now facing the bill. Special assessments of $20,000–80,000 per unit are not unusual in affected buildings. If you're buying a Florida condo, the structural reserve status is the single most important financial question you can ask.
What to negotiate if you find problems
HOA issues are negotiable at the purchase contract level. If you discover: pending special assessment — negotiate for seller to pay or credit the amount. Underfunded reserves — request a price reduction reflecting the future assessment liability. Active litigation — carefully evaluate whether the risk is acceptable; some attorneys recommend avoiding condos with pending structural litigation entirely.
