Florida Condo Crisis: No One Wants Them, Not Even The Owners 

Do you know who is responsible for electric power wiring from the smart meters in the next building over to our building? Does the HOA responsible because it is outside our unit?

Over priced bathroom sized condo

@@pinschrunner You should probably check with your property manager or ask someone on your board. Or go to a board meeting and ask your question there.

@@OrlandoandBeyondwithKrista the board is dumber than a box of rocks. Nobody wants to serve because there is a lot of liability. And the MGMT company claims to still be "onboarding" after 9 months 😂🤡🤡🤡

@@pinschrunner all the more reason to attend the meetings!

Dumb lawsuit. There must've been a smoke smell when they toured the unit, unless they bought it sight unseen which is its own bit of stupidity. Like all homes, you will be affected by your neighbors. Always check out the neighbors and the neighborhood. The US is a buyer beware nation. It is always up to the buyer to make sure they are buying the right thing.

Read your contract before you sign

That's the least of a condo issues

This is why I’ve decided no condo, no co-op, and no HOA’s I’m just going to buy a home.

I agree. As I said before, I had two condos and when other people "handle" your money, it is very scary.

A co-op is as bad , worse in many ways than a condominium. Owners don't own their apartments but own a share of the property, then rent it back to from the co -op corporation. Much stricter rules and regulations. Avoid at all cost. Better to live in a van down by the river. ways , than a condominium . Owners of a co - op own a proportional percentage of the total property. The board of directors make the rules as they see fit. They are to be avoided at all costs.

Are you discussing a condo or a coop? The difference is the coop is jointly owned by the residents who have a say over who lives in the coop building. Condos are individual units that are managed by a board of owners (generally) who are elected by the homeowners. Condos don’t decide who is going to buy into the condo building unless the condo was built as a 55+ building or some other specific targeted market. And, in addition to the condo board, most condos also have a management company that oversees maintenance on the property.

Condo boards sound suspiciously like HOAs. No transparency and out-of-control. I guess they attract the same sort of people.

good

Florida is just to visit..although now I feel there's nothing to see. Kids are way grown and European trips are far more appealing now.. plus it's far too RED for me.

​@@christinepizzi6197if it's too red then you're too blue to be there.

@@sofieweb exactly.

But you still have to worry that your neighbors will pay the condo fees at a level that will allow the roof to be paid for when it’s needed… or the elevators..

@@user-bg9em7ch6k if they don't then they get evicted and their property is given to someone that can pay all the fees.

But we are talking about US condos here, built as cheaply as possible. Noise protection is NOT part of "code". In general you can hear mice coughing through the walls.

... and the ceilings tend to be worse than the walls.

I live in a brown stone. They are wonderful and pretty much soundproof.

With the corrupt hoa fees for homes we are almost in the same boat. Except you can still access your home since there is no elevator to break and hoa decides not to repair or can't because other owners did not pay the maintenance.

There are absolutely no reasons for trusting corrupt real estate practices. Payoffs are modis operandi.

Assessment Fee’s … I heard a sea wall needing to be replaced, $44k per unit

💯

Don't forget the condo board stealing HOA funds. That happens just like all services contracted out to their friends and family.

true, but that is because the maintenance is so costly. It can easily add several thousand dollars to your monthly condo fees for a couple years

too many people prefer living a delusion than actually paying for maintenance as needed regularly

@@geebrewer8186 A good way to put it: if $500/month preventative maintenance (hypothetical number per unit) for 5 years prevents a $200,000 accident (like a severe leak/flood or a roof collapse), it's still worth it. For the Surfside building, pretty much the whole thing collapsed and almost 100 people died, I'm sure in hindsight a lot of residents would not have minded higher fees if that kept the building safe.

​@@geebrewer8186that's usually due to bad planning. They're supposed to bake in maintenance costs into the HOA fees _before_ the maintenance work, so that when you need to do the maintenance you have enough money to pay out of pocket with some extra for incidentals. This is why choice of management company, accountant, and HOA board is important. And why you as a resident/owner need to keep an eye and ear out for what is going on. This is your life. It is where you live. Pay attention to what is happening around you.

One of the ways to avoid this is to find communities with long term residents. My place has people who have lived here for 40 years, including the HOA president. They care about the long-term maintenance of their homes.

It's usually not a giant fee. My HOA is like $300/month. Far less than rent. And some of those fees go towards maintenance and such, which is money I'd have to spend anyways. Just like a stand alone home, you have to remember that the mortgage payments give you principle in the property which you will likely get back when you sell. But rent money is gone forever.

Scam? You seem to be suggesting those "high" condo fees are padding someone's bank account? The reality could not be more different. Condo fees are set by the condo board made up of condo owners. The fees are based on the building or communities' annual budget. A portion goes to property taxes and insurance. Some thing non condo owner must pay as well. A portion goes to staff salaries or a property management firm. A portion goes to reserves to cover maintenance, repairs and projected expenses for elevatores and.other mechanical equipment, painting, landscaping, paving etc. Most of these expenses are all part home ownership. With few exceptions, condo ownership is a bargain compaired to purchasing and maintaining a comparable single family home located in the same neighborhood. They after offer more amenities, such as pool, playgrounds, fitness centers, tennis courts, and large party rooms.

Right, but sometimes this is all a person can afford to purchase.

Not true. You build equity. Not true with apartments.

If you want to go to where many well paid jobs are but without hours of commuting, you won't find detached homes on large plots there but multi story apartment buildings - so if you want to build equity rather than renting, you'll end up buying a slice of one of those. Depending on where you're going, this can be a good thing - I live in a 1907 building in a German inner city residential area. Most of the units are inhabited by the owners, we know each other and occasionally have a barbecue together - plus, it's been a much better investment than a house somewhere in the sticks would have been.

You build equity that you can’t with a rental. It is helpful for many seniors by eliminating yard and home maintenance costs that they may not physically be able to do but keeps their taxes low while building that equity.

Most of condo owners are not interested in being in the middle of nowhere.

I think it depends on many factors. Condos can be really different. I live in Wisconsin. The buildings for my condo complex are four units to a building. They are well built. I live in a first floor unit. I seldom hear anything from both my upstairs neighbor or the neighbor living next to me. It's the quietest place I've ever lived. It's the best of both worlds since I'm 60 and don't have to do any yardwork or anything like that. It's in a quiet suburban neighborhood of single family homes. I pay a mortgage and am building equity, unlike when I was renting.

50 meter pool with 8 lanes? Doubt it

Also you can get the top 3 Rd corner unit and if you are going to 55 and over , there is very little chance for noise. There is no chance it could be flooded or destroyed by a hurricane. Only thing you have to make sure the roof is ok . Yes I have the same size condo 800sg feet , 5 th floor in 6 story condo . Exactly same tax$ 160 per month , maintenance was 270 , now we have $400 because we need some reserves . And it's time to change the elevator but it's $ 100 per month . I would say best bet very nicely taken care of 3 story , 55+ ,with the honest president and board , plus fixed roof and ok elevators. It's also surprising how they are bashing the 55+ community. There is almost no chance for kids or loud music. But you may have an issue with laud TV.

@@arteynis7450 Allot of ifs ands sounds like your playing Russian roulette with possibility of homelessness in your old age. There is never a good reason to buy a condo never.... Unless you have so much money to burn you can just walk away.

​@@arteynis7450old people blare their tvs and music due to hearing deficiencies. Our next door neighbors are lower class English couple in their 70s and they blare their music with no regard for everyone else.

​@@cathylake9072 my sister in NPR is grateful she bought, she could never afford to rent. The HOA fee is outrageous, but the mortgage is very low. Cheaper than renting

We are retired. Moving from a house to a condo cut our yearly maintenance costs in half. Taxes and insurance is lower and makes up for the HOA fee. We are only 2 miles from our former house. I heard more noise from neighbors in their yards than I hear at the condo. I do not hear noises from other condos. We made the change to a condo because we have a 2nd home over 250 miles away and did not want to maintain 2 yards. However, when we have to sell the vacation property, I will be just fine full time in the condo. I love the ability to lock and leave and be gone for weeks.

That sounds fantastic. That must have been difficult to leave. Agreed that it's vital to be involved in the decision-making process.

I have a single family house for sale in maitland search in zillow for sale by owner (FSBO) 1074 hamlet dr Fl no realtor involved Welcome for tour HOA $52 /monthly

Paper thin walls... and constant partying. 😔

THAT IS WHAT I WAS JUST THINKING!

There was a difference?

I forgot to talk about being able to enjoy what your neighbors are cooking and smoking, too. 🙄

@@OrlandoandBeyondwithKrista lol

I was lucky, I guess. When I had my condo for 4 years, I think it was just 1 time I heard a very low sound from 1 of my 2 neighbors. The way the condo was built helped reduce noise through the walls, so that was great. It was more like a house to me.

@@DiFinni mine was old, very charming, but early 1970s. I’m sure newer (and/or more expensive) ones are better insulated from noise, too.

@@OrlandoandBeyondwithKrista I had an apartment for 10 years and I didn’t smell what my neighbors were cooking nor smoking.

That area is bombarded with illegals and crime way up

They’re still probably higher than pre Covid. They went up so much, drastically after Pandemic. It had to go down from there. Proves were outrageous . Pre and post Pandemic.

My luxury apartment is the opposite. I love it here😊. I don’t want a condo though.

😂

You lived in a very poorly built one then

​​@@GW-gz8jhexactly! Man do you Guys in the US also build condos with walls of wood and paper? Damn, acoustic isolation is onde of the easiest things to do. Dont understand How this is an issue.

@@Vdiago my grandparents are in one and I’ve never heard their neighbors. But it’s well built

Agreed. HOAs should be outlawed or heavily restricted and regulated.

They have large hurricanes every other year. Not gonna happen.

It already happened to us 2022 Ian

Yes, Ian was very strong and Michael was even stronger - BUT both of them came ashore in locations that were not major urban cities. Someday that will happen to Florida and the resulting economic problems will be terrible for the whole state, particularly for insurance.

Speaking of the insurance companies in Florida... From Bankrate: "Florida accounts for only 9 percent of the country’s home insurance claims but 79 percent of its home insurance lawsuits, many of them fraudulent."

oh God we're the only state that has bugs. LOL don't forget hurricanes that go into Louisiana Georgia Mississippi Alabama and up the East Coast. the rivers in the middle of the country overflowing flood whole towns. but where the hurricane capital😂

You have the right neighbors

In US they use shit and sticks to build buildings

​@@arktseytlin Yes, and the housing industry in America is constantly lobbying to erase building code regulations. Greedy sots.

I just came back from Switzerland. Loved it. Is it true no washing on Sundays?

Wow. Guess you lose your freedom with more regulation.

@@meezermom1027 Most regulations are written in blood. Without regulations you could lose appendages - or life.

That's crazy.

Terrible. I have a friend who pays $1200 a month plus 36k every other year for condo

@@laogia69$800 a month is crazy? Rent for a 1 bedroom in NYC is $5K. I’ve owned a condo in SC since 2010 and my HOA fees have went up from $330 - $500…that and my insurance and real estate taxes is all I pay(combined under $2K). What do I get for my HOA, all exterior maintenance, multiple pools, tennis courts, basketball courts, beach volleyball pit, pickleball court, hot tubs, gym, beach cabana with private parking, gated with security, 4 golf courses, grills, plus my Cable, internet and land line phone. The place is immaculate. My condo is in the top floor so almost no noise and since most people are in their 50’s not a lot of noise anyway. I’ve owned homes and do not want to do the maintenance.

@@DWilliam1 Good for you. I sold my condo and bought a house and love it. No HOA. I will never buy anything with HOA again.

800 a month HOA fees sounds like a lot, but you have to compare it, such as where is it located? Is it located in a very expensive beachside location? Do the fees go toward maintaining the pool plus a fancy exercise room, a place to park the car in a covered garage And more? I think you have to know more about what the fees go towards to see if it’s expensive or not

Random maintenance bills? No in Florida maintenance they’ve been deferring for decades needs to be brought up to date. And a lot of them have zero reserves. They need to fix that too. That’s why the comment charges are shooting up. And then of course there’s the expensive insurance which happens. The insurance companies have to pay $1 billion claim.

@@neilkurzman4907 was just trying to say it isnt the price of the condos. but all the extra costs and loss of freedom.

@@RealRainSounds_asmr They’re not extra cost they’re the same cost. You would have in a house, maintenance of the building and landscaping assuming you didn’t want to do it yourself and if you bought a place specifically because it has amenities you would need to pay for them just like you’d have to pay for if you put in your backyard.

This is so very true.

Very well said. The only reason I joined my subdivision HOA board at first was to handle the external affairs. We were battling a developer on a contingent t lot zoned one house per acre who wanted to build 4 story apartments, then later to stave off tyranny and keep the community participatory and not a boot on the neck

It’s really nice to hear of good fortune. My greatest fear is becoming homeless in my old age; I’m very low income. Condos are frightening!

I agree. Mine has appreciated quite a bit, whereas in apartment we were just burning our money. I love our pool and not doing outside work.

My GF just bought a new 55 and over condo in a nice, growing area. It’s a glorified apartment. I’ve lived in apartments so I can see the appeal. The fees you stated are a sobering reality many don’t consider. Her energy costs are minimal, she has a pool, but she’s always fighting the HOA to do the maintenance. I’ve owned two homes and there is constant maintenance but I control the quality. I like performing property maintenance but I’m getting older. Condos better suited to older retired folks with money or busy professionals w/no time for maintenance and whom can afford the lifestyle. She pays additional $300/mo in fees. That’s cheap around here.

If your condos depending on fees and fines, it means they also have low common charges. You gotta pay the money somewhere and if your condo is doing special assessments, it means it has no reserves. That means it’s mismanaged. Which was permitted in Florida.

@@neilkurzman4907 The new condo laws were passed and FL seems to be going after even small condos with only 2 floors. That will be death knell for HOAs and small condo living in FL when people sell at fireside prices to get out of their burden of fees looming ahead. The law was meant to address very tall condos after collapse of that condo that saw 100 ppl die. That’s evil mismanagement for purpose of profit. Entirely different than avg 2 story condo forced to comply with a draconian law. It’s the end of that market with retirees on fixed income. No one will buy them. Collapse is coming at behest of bureaucrats.

@@georgiafan6618 you have buildings that aren’t being maintained. And you’re saying they should be allowed to do that. They have no reserves if they had reserves then they wouldn’t need assessments. What you’re saying is decades of mismanagement should be allowed to continue into the future until another building falls down. How many people can a two-story building fall down so no big deal

@@neilkurzman4907 My point went right over your head.

Thanks, and thank you for watching.

Looks like a hellhole. Crime, horrid humidity & bugs, crap wages, etc. It's good you fled when you could.

Never come..bye

We have been to FL a number of times at different months. The climate ( particularly the humidity) does not suit us and , here in NYS, the weather is getting warmer in the winter so those months are much less of a hardship. I do see some recent out migration from FL to the Carolinas and GA.

2011 me too

@@LivinginLosAngeles-re5yx How could that be in Meatball Ron's state? 🤣

Where do you live?

Where are you living now?

Meatball Ron's FL is a mess.

@@kenbob1071Best governor in the USA.

I'm sure closing was a bittersweet moment for you - but you did well to sell last year.

Florida condos are going to be sold at fire sale prices. Florida is done.

​@@timothythompson4036Florida isn't done, condos are taking a hit.

@@timothythompson4036 Exactly. People don’t get it. Global warming is making the weather worse which means higher insurance, higher HOAs, higher special assessments and more damage.

That insurance seems low for a hurricane state.

@@Miguel195211 It does and I was pleasantly surprised. My agent said it was being in a FEMA X zone, being on the west side of I-95 and it being a brand new home (concrete block construction).

What area of NE Florida? JAX?

​@@lopellaDaytona area.

Thanks, and thanks for watching.

All of that money that you’re spending now is money you should’ve been spending for years. Deferred maintenance and zero reserves are not a good mix.

Agree with you. We’ve owned 3 individual houses, none semi attached or townhouses or an apartment. Last year we sold our house and bought a condo apartment in an 8 story building built in 1964. Every noise we improved it, landscaped the yard and basically had the best looking house on the street. We got sick of it after 17 years in the last house when we bought the houses on the street were well maintained and owned by people who gave a damn about how their houses looked. Over the past 5 years the street went downhill, new no,e owners and investors turning the houses into rentals. Of course you know what renters do to properties, nothing! They don’t care about the street scape, tje house appearance or their neighbours they pay their rent (hopefully) and move on in a year or even less. Tne condo we nought although old I Has been well maintained and has a good reserve fund no dog policy and no kids, they can’t ban kids here but there aren’t any as it’s 90% seniors and Al,ost every unit is owner occupied which makes a big difference. We have no underground, no pool, no gym. But our fees include water, electricity, gas, tv cable with more channels than needed, parking for one car and building insurance. The fee is reasonable. My property taxes are 30% less than the house and the insurance I need to carry on the unit are half of the house. So far after almost one year we are still satisfied with our decision because I don’t have to be concerned with neighbourhood degradation oh btw the people who bought our house said it was the best looking house on the street and we sold in 2 days of listing at $40,000 above listing price and market value.

If Airbnb are taking over a condo, then the board is letting them because a lot of them have restrictions on that

And what to you mean by cheap? Nothing is with Airbnb .

@@EvelinHolmes Self explanatory. Cheap condos converted to airbnb’s. They Provide cheaper solution for those who can’t afford expensive short term rents. Those condos however not immune to economic collapse and high HOA fees. They will be dumped into the market and contribute to the crash. Ppl are rebelling against condos especially in FL. Florida could becomes the next AZ when AZ RE collapsed in ‘08-09.

@@neilkurzman4907 if the apartment building was sold into receivership, perhaps the rules were discarded or rewritten as the apt became condos which were converted to short term rentals. Whoever controls the HOA can write those rules provided they don’t violate the states own laws.

If they have concrete walls and floors they can be decent, especially with an ocean view. But the fear of HOA assessments sucks. At least renting feels stable regarding costs

Not everyone can do the physical upkeep of a house. That’s one reason they’re popular with seniors.

Money laundering in real estate is not to be ignored. Dual citizenship doesn't mean local interests are being served. Wake up. The extremes of wealth and poverty are interconnected.

So so negative . We love our Florida Condo we can’t hear anything it’s great ! Great wonderful friends too.

I can say on average it's 50-70k less expensive than last year. What was selling for 300k you can get now for 250k.

Lol they can't escape dropping the price on there investment

It's not HOA really. It's new maintenance and construction needed to keep building safe. So it's a special assessment

​@@jonny-b4954yup exactly.

The HOA fees are to pay the bills. They have to be paid, you can't go to court to prevent the bills from being paid.

See that attitude is why there’s a problem. These condos are in desperate need of repair. And they have people like you suing the board to stop them from doing the repairs. That’s what was happening in Surfside before it collapsed.

As a Licensed Community Association Manager in Central Florida who manages multiple condo communities, I have not seen soil samples included in any Milestone or Structural Integrity Reserve Study. Are you able to provide a source for this information, please? I would be very interested.

Not all condos here are in trouble. Many are well built, well managed and well maintained. But you need to research, and spend time in a condo at different hours of the day to make sure it’s right for you.

I agree. I'm Brazilian, though have lived in the US for decades. The truth is that American construction is crap. In Brazil, condos are pretty standard. Full families live and raise their kids in condos. They tend to be safer from crime, and some are closed communities. Not one of my family members complain about noise. Not one. They're built solid. Meanwhile, I live in in townhouse condo, with a family above me. It might as well be paper. They stomp, they sneeze, they talk loud...I hear it all. American crap at American high cost.

While they're not for me either, I can understand the appeal. Alot of people like the minimal maintenance of an apartment, but want the benefits of owning, like building equity etc. Unfortunately, that only works if you live in a condo with a functional HOA that doesn't neglect the building or finances, otherwise it can be hell.

NY sells apartments!

You don’t get anything back from your rented apartment when you leave…but you will have to put down $7,000 on your next rental….when I sell my condo I will make a pretty good profit….right now my condo is artificially doubled in value…if I wanted to sell it a couple years ago…. I would have made a huge profit….but I want to stay here….so even when the values return to something normal….it will still be worth 25% more than I paid for it…which is normal….

Condos are cheaper to buy than single house

So when you buy a house you rented from the bank, you don’t own it. If you want to rationalize then you never own anything.

I bought a condo in 2005 and immediately added soundproofing on adjoining walls. I was never bothered by noise. The 30k assessment fee I received shortly after I moved in was an unexpected expense. I went to the next board meeting and demanded a forensic accounting of the condo association’s spending history. There should have been plenty in reserve to cover basic maintenance. NEVER AGAIN

@@cryptochat313 It's not the adjoining wall that is the problem as I did that also and it didn't work with the subwoofers. The sound still travels up and over through the roof and attic. Never again will I live in a condo or townhouse. Too confined.

I was wondering if townhouses had the same issue . I know my condo experience was horrible too I can even hear people peeing and flushing the toilet!

I think by having a house, apartment or condo it’s always a crap shot what neighbors you will have or the owners or how it’s managed with the HOA but it’s always good to do your research although that doesn’t always avoid everything.

Yep. The house two doors down and behind me rents a live band every once and while. He’s a retired deputy sheriff, so, when I call to complain nothing happens. They play until 3 am sometimes.

What if you don't want cable and wifi? Do u still have to subsidize everyone else through the HOA?

@@pinschrunner than dont use it lol who doesnt use wifi though?