PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — WPTV is looking into what impact homeowners association fees have on people in Palm Beach County.
On Friday, we visited the Sandalwood Lakes neighborhoods, where we met Sharon Siebert.
WATCH: Palm Beach County residents consider rising HOA fees
"My mom bought this house in the '80s, so first owners," said Siebert. "I live here with my sister so there's only been three of us owning the house."
It's a priceless sentimental asset that she said was nearly foreclosed on after she went through illness and loss of income, while budgeting for a rise in homeowners fees and a $605 monthly HOA fee.
"I understand that it's a business, I understand that the business is to make sure that the properties are maintained and people are supporting the greater community," said Siebert. "But at the same time when you've been here a long time and always maintained your property, it's always difficult when you find yourself in a tough situation and there's no help."
A Redfin study found condo HOA fees rose nearly 13% in West Palm Beach last year.
WPTV did some digging and called the Sandalwood Lakes HOA President Gabriela Botofan, who said they've been trying to find ways to make living in the community more affordable.
She said they have board meetings every month as well as a budget committee consisting of owners that help review the bills.
She mentioned the HOA fees are adjusted annually and thanks to their insurance carrier not raising the rates, after they doubled it the year before, the HOA fees went down from $671 last year to $605.
They'll be revisited at the end of the year and it's unclear if they'll get lower, remain the same or get more expensive.
They provided WPTV with the following information: Burg & Divosta built the townhouses back in the early '80s.
There are four different associations, all independent of each other:
- Heritage Village – 300 units – Total monthly dues are $694
- Village of Sandalwood Lakes North – 164 units – monthly dues are $554
- Village of Sandalwood Lakes South – 524 units – monthly dues are $500
- Village of Sandalwood Lakes – 888 units – monthly dues are $605
These four associations all have their own board of directors that create their respective association’s annual budget based on their costs to run the not-for-profit corporation.
The variation in fees is factored by the number of units and the different sizes.
"Here has been great, so I'm not saying this location is bad, this location is great," said Simon Putmon. "But we have experienced in the past some bad HOAs that were kind of outrageous."
He's been renting at Sandalwood for five years, so he hasn't felt the direct impact of HOA fees.
Putmon is now married and has a young child, so he's ready to become a homeowner and has been house hunting.
"When you were looking for places without HOA fees, were there a lot here in Palm Beach County?" asked WPTV's Joel Lopez.
"No, not really," said Simon Putmon. "It was like, where can we go, maximize our money, and don't have to deal with the whole HOA hassle?"
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The solution for the Palm Beach County native is four hours away, as he has his eyes set on Ocala.
"It's got land, not many HOA fees and you still have that good quality of life," said Putmon.
At the state level, more accountability and oversight for HOAs is behind a new bill that could become Florida’s next big HOA crackdown.
South Florida lawmaker Rep. Juan Carlos Porras is proposing HB 983 to — he said — level the playing field with homeowners associations.
WATCH: Rep. Juan Carlos Porras seeks to bring transparency and accountability to HOAs
His legislation aims to make it easier to recall HOA board members, allow homeowners to recover legal costs from lawsuits against their HOA, and require HOA's to provide better disclosures to homebuyers before closing.
It also shifts enforcement authority from state agencies to local law enforcement.
“Changing the focus from DBPR to local law enforcement," said Porras. I think Tallahassee has done a great job with some of our legislation. But unfortunately, we lack that enforceability, that enforcement of our laws is lacking. So, I think if we allow our cops to do their job to audit, inspect, and even investigate some of these HOAs and these condos I think a lot of these problems are going to cease to exist."
Porras’ bill joins at least four others, somewhat related to HOA reform.
It’s unclear which — if any — will get movement this session. Gov. Ron DeSantis has yet to weigh in as well.
Matt Sczesny is determined every day to help you find solutions in Florida's coverage collapse. If you have a question or comment on homeowners insurance, you can reach out to him any time.
