Luxury Condos, Co-ops & Country Club Communities in Palm Beach, Boca Raton & Port St. Lucie

Association & Club Guide | Palm Beach · Boca Raton · Port St. Lucie

Luxury Condos, Co-ops, and Country Club Communities in Palm Beach, Boca Raton, and Port St. Lucie

By Jeannie Jacobson, REALTOR® | RE/MAX Gold | Last reviewed September 2026

Above $1,000,000, the ownership structure can matter as much as the property. Condominium, cooperative, homeowners’ association, and club membership each carry different documents, approvals, costs, financing rules, and timelines — and all of them are reviewable before you commit.

Talk Through a Specific Community Search Condo and Club Listings

Quick Answer. The ownership form — condominium, cooperative, homeowners’ association, or club community — determines the documents you receive, the approvals required, the recurring costs, the financing options available, and the closing timeline. Buyers must review structural, financial, and membership documents before the contract’s review period ends. Sellers should assemble the same documents, plus estoppel figures, before listing.

This guide is real estate education, not legal, tax, insurance, lending, engineering, or accounting advice. Statutes, lender project standards, association documents, and club rules change and vary by community; every figure and requirement must be verified for the specific association or club. Figures cited are directional and dated. No specific price, timeline, approval, premium, or outcome can be guaranteed.

What This Guide Covers

Why Structure Matters as Much as the Property
Condo, Co-op, HOA, or Club: How Ownership Structures Differ
Luxury Condominiums After Florida’s Building Safety Reforms
Buying a Co-op on the Island of Palm Beach
Country Club Communities: Memberships, Capital, and Transfers
Gated HOA Estates: Disclosures, Review, and Rental Rules
Master-Planned Luxury in Port St. Lucie
The Buyer’s Document Review Checklist
Selling Inside an Association or Club
FAQ: Condos, Co-ops, and Club Communities
Conclusion

Why Structure Matters as Much as the Property Above $1,000,000

Two buyers can pay the same price on the same street and own something structurally different. One holds a deeded unit governed by Chapter 718 with a board that can levy a special assessment. One holds shares in a corporation and a proprietary lease, with a board that can decline a purchaser. One holds fee simple title subject to a declaration of covenants and a club membership that may or may not return capital at resale.

Those differences drive five things that show up in every transaction: the documents you are entitled to receive, the approvals required before closing, the recurring costs, the financing options available to you or to your eventual buyer, and how long the transaction takes.

They also move value. A building carrying an unfunded structural repair reads differently to a buyer than an identical building with a funded reserve schedule. A club community with a mandatory equity membership carries a capital obligation that a non-equity community does not. A master-planned community with community development district debt on the tax bill costs more to hold than its purchase price suggests.

The three markets in this guide have different association profiles.

Palm Beach means the Town of Palm Beach on the barrier island, where cooperative ownership under Chapter 719 is common alongside condominiums, and boards frequently approve purchasers. Waterfront and oceanfront buildings on the island also sit within the state’s post-2021 condominium safety framework.

Boca Raton splits between the City of Boca Raton, largely east of I-95 with its oceanfront and Intracoastal condominium towers and east-side club communities, and unincorporated Palm Beach County to the west, where large gated golf and country club communities use Boca Raton mailing addresses. That jurisdictional line changes which building department, which millage, and which local ordinances apply.

Port St. Lucie is dominated by master-planned communities with layered associations and, in many cases, community development district assessments on the tax bill, alongside golf communities including PGA Village and newer development at Tradition and Riverland. Oceanfront condominiums within St. Lucie County sit on South Hutchinson Island.

One instruction applies throughout: this guide explains how these structures work in general, and every community’s own documents control. Verify each figure against the association’s or club’s current materials.

Ownership

Condo, Co-op, HOA, or Club: How Luxury Ownership Structures Differ

Four structures cover nearly all association-governed luxury property in these markets, and they are governed by different chapters of Florida law. The practical differences are largest in what you own, who must approve a sale, and how a lender evaluates the transaction.

Condominium Ownership Under Chapter 718

In a condominium you own a deeded unit plus an undivided share of the common elements. The association, governed by Chapter 718, Florida Statutes, maintains the common elements and levies assessments to do it.

Key features for a buyer: you receive resale disclosure documents under Fla. Stat. § 718.503, with an associated cancellation right. The association can levy special assessments for capital projects. Buildings three or more habitable stories are subject to the milestone inspection and structural integrity reserve study framework covered in Section 2. Lenders evaluate the project, not only the borrower, and a project that fails agency standards limits your financing and your eventual buyer’s.

Notable 2025 change: HB 913, enacted as Chapter 2025-175, Laws of Florida and effective July 1, 2025, extended the condominium resale rescission period to 7 calendar days. Confirm the current period and its trigger with a Florida real estate attorney, because the timing runs against your contract.

Cooperative Ownership Under Chapter 719

A cooperative is not a condominium. You do not receive a deed to a unit. You purchase shares in a corporation that owns the building, together with a proprietary lease giving you the right to occupy a particular unit. Chapter 719 governs.

Three consequences follow. Board approval of the purchaser is common, and a board that declines an applicant ends the transaction regardless of price. Financing can be restricted or prohibited by the cooperative’s own documents, which is a building-level rule rather than a lender decision. And the corporation may carry an underlying mortgage, so the financial review extends to the entity as well as to your own purchase.

Cooperatives are common on the island of Palm Beach and rare in most of the rest of these markets, which is why Section 3 treats them separately.

Single-Family Homes in a Mandatory Homeowners’ Association Under Chapter 720

Here you own the lot and the home in fee simple, subject to a recorded declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions. The association, governed by Chapter 720, enforces the declaration and levies assessments.

Under Fla. Stat. § 720.401, a buyer of a parcel in a community with a mandatory homeowners’ association must receive the statutory disclosure summary before executing the contract; if it is not provided, the buyer has a right to void within 3 days of receiving the summary, and that right ends at closing. Architectural review, leasing restrictions, and fine procedures all sit in the declaration and rules rather than in statute alone.

Club Communities: Mandatory Versus Optional, Equity Versus Non-Equity

A club membership is a separate relationship from the association, even when the two are administered together, and it is governed by the club’s own documents rather than by Chapter 718 or 720.

Two independent variables define it. Mandatory versus optional determines whether membership is a condition of ownership. Equity versus non-equity determines whether members hold an ownership interest in the club and whether any capital contribution may be refundable under the club’s bylaws.

Those two variables produce four combinations, and a community can sit in any of them. Never assume from a community’s reputation which applies. The answer is in the club’s membership documents, and this guide does not state the membership structure, fees, dues, or refund terms of any named club, because those must be verified from the club’s own current materials.

Community Development Districts

A community development district is a special-purpose local government used to finance infrastructure in master-planned communities. Its assessments appear on the annual property tax bill as non-ad valorem line items, separate from the millage-based portion.

CDD assessments typically have two components. Debt service repays the bonds that funded roads, utilities, and drainage, usually over a defined term, and can sometimes be prepaid. Operations and maintenance funds ongoing district expenses and continues indefinitely.

For a buyer the practical questions are: what is the annual amount for each component, how many years remain on the debt service, what is the remaining principal balance, and can it be paid off. Those answers come from the district itself or from county records — see Section 6.

Structure	What you own	Governing law	Key disclosure	Approval process	Financing considerations	Recurring cost categories
Condominium	Deeded unit plus share of common elements	Chapter 718	§ 718.503 resale disclosure with cancellation right	Varies; some associations approve or require notice	Lender reviews the project; agency standards apply	Assessments, reserves, special assessments, unit insurance
Cooperative	Shares in a corporation plus a proprietary lease	Chapter 719	Governing documents and financials per the corporation	Board approval of the purchaser is common	May be restricted or prohibited by the co-op’s documents	Maintenance charges, underlying mortgage share, assessments
HOA (fee simple)	Lot and home, subject to the declaration	Chapter 720	§ 720.401 disclosure summary; 3-day right to void	Usually notice and estoppel; approval varies by declaration	Generally conventional; project review lighter than condominium	Assessments, reserves where established, possible CDD
Club membership	A membership interest; equity or non-equity per the club	The club’s own documents	Membership plan, bylaws, and application materials	Club application and approval; waitlists possible	Capital contributions are generally not financed by a mortgage	Dues, minimums, capital assessments per the club
CDD (overlay)	Not ownership; a special-purpose district	Chapter 190 framework	District disclosure; assessments on the tax bill	None for transfer	Counts toward the buyer’s housing cost and debt ratios	Debt service plus operations and maintenance

General comparison only. Each community’s recorded declaration, bylaws, and club documents control, and any of these characteristics can differ in a specific community. No fees, dues, reserve balances, or refund terms are stated here for any named community; obtain those from the association or club’s current documents. Consult a Florida community association attorney on how a specific structure applies to you.

Keep exploring: read verified client reviews

Condominiums

Luxury Condominiums After Florida’s Building Safety Reforms

Residential condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories tall must complete milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies, and associations must fund the reserves those studies identify. The practical result for buyers and sellers is higher dues, special assessments, or both in buildings that deferred maintenance.

This framework came out of the 2021 Surfside collapse and has been revised three times: SB 4-D in 2022, SB 154 in 2023, and HB 913 in 2025, enacted as Chapter 2025-175, Laws of Florida and effective July 1, 2025. It is the single most consequential thing to understand before buying a Florida condominium above $1,000,000.

Milestone Inspections: Who, When, and What the Phases Mean

Under Fla. Stat. § 553.899, milestone inspections apply to condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories. The first inspection is generally required by December 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years of age, with local enforcement agencies able to require it at 25 years in certain circumstances including proximity to the coast, and every 10 years thereafter.

The inspection proceeds in phases. Phase one is a visual examination by a licensed architect or engineer. If phase one finds no signs of substantial structural deterioration, the process ends there. If it identifies such signs, a phase two inspection follows, involving more detailed and potentially destructive testing to determine the extent of deterioration and what repairs are required.

HB 913 added a conflict-of-interest requirement: an engineer, architect, or contractor bidding to perform a milestone inspection or reserve study must disclose in writing whether they also intend to bid on repair work arising from their own report. Associations must also retain milestone inspection and reserve study reports as official records for at least 15 years.

What a buyer should read is not the headline but the report. A phase two inspection is not a verdict on a building; it is a description of conditions and recommended work. What matters is what the report found, what the association has decided to do about it, and how that work will be paid for.

Structural Integrity Reserve Studies and Funding Rules

A structural integrity reserve study (SIRS), required under Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(g), is a study performed by a licensed engineer or architect evaluating the building’s principal structural and operational components and establishing what must be reserved for their repair and replacement. It applies to residential condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories and must be completed at least every 10 years. The study covers at minimum eight enumerated components, including roof, structure, fireproofing and fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows and exterior doors, and any other item whose deferred maintenance or replacement cost exceeds a statutory threshold and whose failure would affect the listed components.

The funding rules are where buyer costs appear. According to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, associations existing on or before July 1, 2022 that are unit-owner controlled were required to complete a SIRS by December 31, 2025; where a milestone inspection was due on or before December 31, 2026, the SIRS could be completed simultaneously, but in no event later than December 31, 2026. Associations whose budgets were adopted on or before December 31, 2024 could vote to waive or reduce SIRS reserves, and were to begin funding those reserves in accordance with the study on January 1, 2026.

For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, the historic waiver vote is eliminated for SIRS structural components. Associations can no longer simply vote to fund nothing. HB 913 added flexibility in how the money is raised, permitting SIRS reserves to be funded through special assessments, lines of credit, or loans with majority owner approval, and allowing an association that completed a milestone inspection to delay the study for up to two consecutive budget years while it addresses repair recommendations.

One further consequence worth knowing: HB 913 conditioned Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s ability to issue or renew condominium policies on the association’s compliance with the milestone inspection and reserve study requirements. Compliance is therefore not only a legal matter but an insurance one.

Finding Pending and Likely Special Assessments

A pending special assessment is disclosed. A likely one has to be inferred, and that inference is the most valuable work a buyer does.

Three documents read together tell you most of it. The engineer’s report states what work the building needs. The budget and reserve schedule state what has been set aside. The minutes state what the board intends to do about the gap. A building with a large identified scope, a thin reserve, and minutes discussing financing options is describing a future assessment even if none has been adopted.

Ask directly, in writing, whether any assessment has been adopted, is under consideration, or has been discussed by the board, and request the last 12 to 24 months of board and membership meeting minutes rather than a summary.

Financing a Condominium: The 2026 Changes

Lenders evaluate the project as well as the borrower. A well-qualified buyer can lose conventional financing because of the building’s finances. A project meeting agency standards is called warrantable; one that does not is non-warrantable, which typically means a smaller pool of lenders, larger down payments, and higher rates.

Requirements tightened materially this year. On March 18, 2026, Fannie Mae issued Lender Letter LL-2026-03 and Freddie Mac published Bulletin 2026-C, coordinated with the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Among the changes: the reserve allocation requirement for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance rises from a minimum of 10 percent to a minimum of 15 percent of the annual budgeted income assessment; the Limited Review process is retired, so condominium loans move to Full Review with the association’s operating budget analyzed; the waiver of project review expands to projects of ten or fewer units, with conditions; and the 50 percent investor concentration limit is eliminated for projects under Full Review.

Effective dates are phased through 2026 and into 2027 and have been reported differently across sources, so confirm the operative requirement and date with a licensed mortgage loan originator rather than relying on any summary, including this one.

Post-Surfside standards making projects with significant deferred maintenance, critical repairs, or certain special assessments ineligible were introduced as temporary measures and largely made permanent in 2023. In Fannie Mae’s Condo Project Manager, a project showing an “Unavailable” status makes the loan ineligible for sale to Fannie Mae. Reserve studies older than roughly three years may be flagged in review.

The practical instruction for a buyer is to have the lender begin project review early, before the inspection period runs down, because the answer can change whether the purchase is possible at all. Buyers may choose any lender they wish.

Oceanfront and Intracoastal Towers: What to Check by Market

The framework is statewide, but the exposure differs.

In the City of Boca Raton, oceanfront and Intracoastal condominium buildings east of I-95 are frequently of an age that brings them into milestone inspection cycles, and coastal exposure affects both the engineering scope and the master insurance program. In the Town of Palm Beach, oceanfront and Lake Worth Lagoon buildings face the same statutory framework plus the Town’s own review bodies for any exterior work. In St. Lucie County, oceanfront condominiums sit on South Hutchinson Island, frequently carrying Fort Pierce mailing addresses despite the county location.

In each case the questions are identical: the milestone inspection status and report, the SIRS and the association’s funding response, the master insurance program and deductibles, and the assessment history. This guide does not describe any building as safe, unsafe, or structurally sound. It describes what the documents show, and a licensed engineer is the person qualified to evaluate them.

The Six Documents Every Condominium Buyer Requests

1. Milestone inspection report and status. Whether the building is subject to § 553.899, when its inspection was or is due, whether phase one has been completed, whether a phase two followed, and the report itself rather than a summary. Associations must retain these as official records for at least 15 years, so a missing report is itself information.

2. Structural integrity reserve study. The full study, including the components evaluated, remaining useful life, estimated replacement costs, and the recommended funding plan. Compare the study’s date against the statutory cycle and against lender expectations, since an outdated study can affect project review.

3. Current budget and reserve schedule. What is being collected, what is being reserved, and how the reserve line compares against the SIRS recommendation. Ask specifically whether reserves for SIRS components are being funded at the level the study calls for, and what the reserve percentage of the annual budget is.

4. Board and membership meeting minutes, 12 to 24 months. The single most informative document set and the one buyers most often skip. Minutes reveal what the board is planning, what it has debated, what bids it has received, and what owners have objected to — usually well before anything is formally adopted.

5. Master insurance declarations. What the association’s policy covers, what it excludes, the deductible structure including any separate windstorm deductible, and how the declaration allocates responsibility between the association and the unit owner. Coastal deductibles can be large enough to generate an assessment after a single event.

6. Litigation and pending assessment disclosures. Any pending or threatened litigation involving the association, and any special assessment adopted, proposed, or under discussion. Ask in writing and ask about all three states, because “no assessment has been adopted” is a narrower answer than the one you need.

Expert Tip: read the engineer’s report and the minutes together. The report tells you what the building needs. The minutes tell you what the board intends to do about it, and when. Read alone, an engineering report showing significant scope can look alarming in a building that has already funded the work, or reassuring in a building that has no plan to pay for it. Read together, the two documents answer the question a buyer actually has: what is this going to cost me, and when. Bring both to a Florida community association attorney if anything is unclear.

Cooperatives

Buying a Co-op on the Island of Palm Beach

A cooperative purchase differs from a condominium purchase in three ways that matter before price is even discussed: what you acquire, whether a board must approve you, and whether financing is permitted at all. Cooperatives are common on the island of Palm Beach and uncommon elsewhere in these markets.

How a Cooperative Purchase Differs

You acquire shares in a corporation and a proprietary lease rather than a deeded unit. Chapter 719, Florida Statutes governs. The corporation owns the real property; your shares are allocated to a particular unit and your lease gives you the right to occupy it.

Three practical consequences. Your monthly maintenance charge may include a share of an underlying mortgage on the building, which a condominium assessment would not. The corporation’s financial statements matter to your purchase because you are, in effect, joining an entity. And transfer is governed by the corporation’s documents, which typically require board consent.

Note also that Florida’s building safety framework reaches cooperatives: milestone inspections under Fla. Stat. § 553.899 and structural integrity reserve studies under Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(g) apply to cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories, not only to condominiums.

The Board Application and Interview

Cooperative boards typically require a written application and, frequently, an interview. What is requested varies by corporation, and each one’s documents control, but applications commonly seek financial statements and documentation of assets and income, references, employment or business information, and authorization for background and credit checks.

The review is about objective criteria: whether the application is complete and accurate, whether the applicant demonstrates the financial capacity the corporation’s documents require, and whether the applicant is prepared to comply with the house rules. Ask the corporation for its written application requirements and its stated criteria before you apply, so you are preparing against a known standard rather than guessing.

Financing Limits and Cash Requirements

Some cooperatives limit the percentage of the purchase price that may be financed, and some prohibit financing entirely. This is a building-level rule set by the corporation’s own documents, not a lender decision, and it cannot be negotiated around by finding a different lender.

Corporations may also require applicants to demonstrate liquid assets or reserves beyond the purchase funds. Because these requirements are specific to each cooperative and change, obtain the current written requirements from the corporation or its managing agent before writing an offer. Where financing is permitted, a share loan on a cooperative is a different product from a conventional mortgage; discuss it with a licensed mortgage loan originator early, since fewer lenders offer them.

Timelines and Contract Contingencies

Board approval takes time, and application packages are frequently reviewed on a meeting schedule rather than on demand. Build the approval process into the contract rather than hoping it fits.

Practical steps: ask how often the board meets and what its application deadline is relative to those meetings; ask what a complete application requires so nothing is returned for a missing item; set the closing date against a realistic approval timeline; and include a contingency addressing what happens if approval is not obtained or is delayed, drafted by a Florida real estate attorney. Do not assume that a cash purchase moves faster through a board than a financed one.

Fair Housing Applies to Cooperative Boards

The federal Fair Housing Act and the Florida Fair Housing Act, Chapter 760, Part II, apply to cooperative and condominium boards. Review criteria must be applied uniformly and must rest on objective factors such as financial capacity, application completeness, and willingness to comply with the governing documents.

This guide describes only those objective criteria. It does not describe who lives in any community, and a buyer or seller with a concern about how criteria were applied should consult a Florida attorney.

The Five-Step Cooperative Purchase Sequence

Request the governing documents. The articles, bylaws, proprietary lease, house rules, and the corporation’s current financial statements. Ask specifically whether financing is permitted and at what percentage, and what the application requires. Get this before you write, not after.

Review the financials and house rules. Examine the corporation’s financial position including any underlying mortgage, reserves, and assessment history, alongside the milestone inspection and reserve study status where the building is three or more habitable stories. Read the house rules on leasing, pets, renovations, and guests.

Submit a complete application. Incomplete packages are the most common cause of delay. Assemble financial documentation, references, and authorizations exactly as the corporation specifies, and submit ahead of the board’s stated deadline for its next meeting.

Board interview. Where required, it is generally a conversation about your understanding of the building’s rules and your financial capacity. Come prepared to discuss the documents you were given and any renovation plans, because approval conditions sometimes attach to those.

Approval and closing. Closing follows written approval. Confirm what the corporation requires at transfer, including any transfer fee or capital contribution set by its documents, and coordinate the date with your closing agent and attorney.

Buyers who want a deeded alternative on the mainland sometimes compare the island against condominiums in the mainland corridor; see the West Palm Beach market overview for that context.

Clubs

Country Club Communities: Memberships, Capital, and Transfer Rules

A club membership is a separate financial relationship from the home, governed by the club’s own documents. Two questions decide almost everything: whether membership is mandatory, and whether it is equity or non-equity.

Both answers, and every number attached to them, live in the club’s membership plan and bylaws. This guide states no club’s fees, dues, capital contributions, or refund terms, because those must be verified from that club’s current published materials.

Equity Membership

In an equity club, members hold an ownership interest in the club. Joining typically involves a capital contribution, and the club’s documents govern whether any portion of that contribution may be returned when a member resigns or sells.

Refund mechanisms vary widely and are entirely document-driven. Common structures include a refund payable only after a replacement member is admitted, refunds paid from a waiting list in order of resignation, refunds of a stated percentage of the contribution, and refunds calculated against the current contribution amount rather than the one you paid. Some structures involve long waits.

The questions to ask are specific: is any portion refundable, what triggers the refund, is it position-dependent on a resignation list, how long have recent refunds taken, and is the amount based on what I paid or on the then-current figure. Get the answers from the club in writing and have a Florida attorney review the membership documents before you commit.

Non-Equity and Bundled Memberships

In a non-equity club, members purchase the right to use facilities without an ownership interest. An initiation or entrance fee is typically non-refundable, and the club may be owned by a developer, an investor, or a management company rather than by the members.

Bundled membership generally means club membership is included with and inseparable from home ownership, with dues assessed alongside or through the association. It simplifies the transfer question — membership follows the home — while removing the option to decline.

Mandatory Versus Optional Membership

In a mandatory membership community, joining the club is a condition of ownership. Dues are unavoidable and must be counted in your carrying cost and, where a lender counts them, in your debt-to-income ratio. In an optional membership community, you may own without joining, and membership becomes a separate decision.

The distinction affects resale as well. A mandatory community’s buyer pool is limited to purchasers willing to accept the club obligation. An optional community’s is wider. Neither is better; they are different products, and the listing should be clear about which applies.

Waitlists, Categories, and Transfer at Resale

Clubs commonly offer membership categories — golf, sports or social, tennis, dining — with different privileges and costs, and categories may have separate waitlists. A home sold with an expectation of golf membership is not the same asset if only a social category is currently available.

At resale, the transfer mechanics are set by the club: whether membership transfers with the home automatically, whether the buyer must apply and be approved, what transfer fee or new capital contribution applies, and how that timing interacts with the real estate closing. Approval timing is the item that most often delays a club community closing, and it should be confirmed at the listing stage rather than discovered after a contract.

Recurring Costs: The Categories

Ask for current figures in each of these categories in writing, from the club, dated:

Annual dues, by membership category
Food and beverage minimums, and whether unused amounts carry forward or lapse
Capital assessments, both recurring capital dues and any special capital assessment adopted or under discussion
Cart, bag storage, locker, racquet, and similar fees where applicable
Association assessments, which are separate from club dues even when billed together
CDD assessments where the community carries a district

Club Communities Across the Three Markets

Described by structure and jurisdiction only, without characterizing prestige or residents.

In Boca Raton, east-side club communities inside the City of Boca Raton include Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club and The Sanctuary. West of the city, in unincorporated Palm Beach County, gated golf and country club communities include St. Andrews Country Club, The Oaks at Boca Raton, Woodfield Country Club, Boca West, the Polo Club, and Boca Bridges. The jurisdictional distinction is not cosmetic: it determines the building department, the millage, and the municipal services. Confirm any specific address against Palm Beach County Property Appraiser records, and see the Boca Raton market overview.

In Palm Beach Gardens, the mainland club corridor includes communities such as Old Palm, Mirasol, BallenIsles, and PGA National. See the Palm Beach Gardens market overview.

In Port St. Lucie, golf communities include PGA Village and PGA Village Verano, with additional club and golf product at Tesoro Club and Astor Creek Golf and Country Club. Structure and cost, not reputation, are what distinguish them for a buyer’s purposes.

For every community named above, verify the membership structure directly with the club. Whether membership is mandatory or optional, and equity or non-equity, is not stated here for any of them, because it must come from the club’s own current documents.

Question to ask the club	Why it matters	Where the answer is documented
Is membership mandatory or optional?	Determines whether dues are avoidable and who your eventual buyer can be	Recorded declaration and the club’s membership plan
Is the membership equity or non-equity?	Determines whether you hold an ownership interest and whether capital may return	Club bylaws and membership plan
What is the capital contribution or initiation, and is any part refundable?	This is capital a mortgage generally will not finance	Membership plan; obtain in writing and dated
If refundable, what triggers the refund and how long have recent ones taken?	Refunds are frequently position-dependent and can take years	Bylaws plus the club’s current resignation list practice
What membership categories exist and is there a waitlist for the one I want?	A home bought for golf access is a different asset if only social is available	Membership plan and the club’s current category availability
What are annual dues, minimums, and capital assessments?	The real carrying cost, separate from association assessments	Current dues schedule; request dated and in writing
Is any capital assessment adopted or under discussion?	Clubs fund capital projects the way associations do	Club communications and financial statements
How does membership transfer at resale, and how long does approval take?	Club approval timing frequently governs the closing date	Membership plan and transfer procedures

Every answer is club-specific and changes over time. Obtain responses in writing, dated, from the club or its membership office, and have a Florida attorney review the membership documents before you rely on any of it.

Weighing two communities with very different club structures? The purchase prices can be close while the ten-year cost of ownership is not. Talk through a specific community and we will help you assemble the questions and the documents to compare them properly.

HOA Communities

Gated HOA Estates: Disclosures, Architectural Review, and Rental Rules

Fee simple ownership inside a mandatory homeowners’ association gives you the home and the lot, subject to a recorded declaration. Chapter 720 sets minimum standards for disclosure, records, fines, and estoppel, and your community’s declaration can add stricter requirements on top.

The HOA Disclosure Summary and the 3-Day Right to Void

Under Fla. Stat. § 720.401, a prospective parcel owner in a community with a mandatory homeowners’ association must be given the statutory disclosure summary before executing the contract. If it is not provided, the buyer has a right to void the contract within 3 days of receiving the disclosure summary, and that right terminates at closing.

Two practical notes. The summary is a short standardized document, not the governing documents themselves — it tells you that assessments exist and that the declaration binds you, but it does not tell you what the declaration says. And because the void right ends at closing, it is a pre-closing protection rather than a post-closing remedy.

Estoppel Certificates: Contents, Timing, and Fees

An estoppel certificate is the association’s written statement of what is owed on a parcel and what else affects it. For homeowners’ associations the governing provision is Fla. Stat. § 720.30851; the parallel condominium provision is Fla. Stat. § 718.116(8).

The certificate generally states the regular assessment amount and payment frequency, amounts currently due, any special assessment, transfer or capital contribution fees due on transfer, and whether there is a known violation of the declaration or rules for the parcel.

The framework, including fee caps and a statutory delivery deadline, dates from SB 398 effective July 1, 2017 and has not been amended by the major 2024 and 2025 association bills. Fee caps are set by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and were last adjusted in 2022, with the next scheduled adjustment reported for July 1, 2027. If the association fails to deliver within the statutory deadline, the fee is waived. Confirm the current cap, deadline, and surcharge structure with your closing agent or a Florida community association attorney, since these are the figures most often quoted from stale sources.

Order the estoppel early. Associations routinely use the full statutory window, and a luxury closing has no slack for a document that arrives on the last permitted day.

Architectural Review for Renovations and Additions

Most gated communities require architectural approval before exterior changes, additions, pools, landscaping, or significant renovation. The scope of what needs approval, the submission requirements, and the review timeline all sit in the declaration and the architectural guidelines.

HB 1203, effective July 1, 2024, tightened denial procedures. Where an association’s architectural or improvement committee denies a request, it generally must provide written notice identifying the specific covenant or rule relied on and the part of the request that does not conform. Vague denials are harder to sustain. The legislation also protected certain uses, generally barring associations from prohibiting items such as vegetable gardens or clotheslines in areas not visible from the street, adjacent parcels, common areas, or golf courses. These protections are narrow, so read the declaration rather than assuming.

Separately, HB 293 (2024) addressed hurricane protection, generally providing that associations cannot prohibit owners from installing approved hurricane shutters, impact glass, or other hurricane protection meeting the Florida Building Code, under Fla. Stat. § 720.3035. Associations may still adopt specifications governing appearance.

For a buyer planning a renovation, the useful step is to request the architectural guidelines and recent committee decisions before the review period expires, and to ask how long approvals typically take.

Leasing and Rental Restrictions

Declarations commonly restrict leasing: minimum lease terms, maximum number of leases per year, waiting periods after purchase before an owner may lease, association approval of tenants, and caps on the number of leased homes in the community.

The question buyers most often ask is whether an amendment adopted after they bought can apply to them. That turns on the declaration’s own amendment provisions and on Florida law governing the application of rental restrictions to existing owners, and the answer is genuinely fact-specific. If your purchase depends on the ability to lease, treat it as a legal question and get an opinion from a Florida community association attorney before you close — not a reassurance from a sales office.

Recent HOA Reform in Plain Language

Described neutrally, without advocacy.

HB 1203 (2024), effective primarily July 1, 2024, was the most substantial revision to the Homeowners’ Association Act in more than a decade. Among its provisions: mandatory director education within 90 days of election; a requirement that associations with 100 or more parcels maintain a website or downloadable application posting official records and notices, effective January 1, 2025; tightened fining procedures, with fines generally capped at $100 per violation unless the governing documents provide otherwise, an aggregate cap of $1,000 unless otherwise provided, at least 14 days’ written notice of the right to a hearing, and review by an independent committee that can decline to approve the fine; the architectural denial requirements described above; and criminal penalties for certain kickbacks and record concealment.

Also relevant to buyers: under Fla. Stat. § 720.3085, an association must provide a 45-day written demand before recording a lien and a separate 45-day notice before foreclosing, and a fine of less than $1,000 may not become a lien.

On 2026 legislation: HB 657 (2026), which would have eliminated the presuit mediation requirement under Fla. Stat. § 720.311 and restructured estoppel fees among other changes, passed the Florida House in March 2026 but died in Senate Rules when the regular session adjourned on March 13, 2026. It should be treated as did-not-pass rather than pending; presuit mediation remains a requirement for covered disputes. Verify the current status of any bill before relying on it, and take disputes to a Florida community association attorney rather than acting on a summary.

Did you know? The rules summary a sales office hands you is not the governing document. The instrument that binds you is the recorded declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions together with every recorded amendment, and amendments frequently change the restrictions that matter most — leasing, pets, vehicles, and architectural standards. Request the complete recorded set, including amendments in chronological order, and read the leasing and architectural provisions in the declaration itself. A two-page summary cannot tell you what a thirty-year amendment history says.

Keep exploring: review recent sales

Port St. Lucie

Master-Planned Luxury in Port St. Lucie: Tradition, PGA Village, and Beyond

Port St. Lucie’s luxury inventory sits largely inside master-planned communities, which means layered associations and, frequently, community development district assessments. The structures are different from Palm Beach County’s older club communities, and the cost components appear in different places.

How Layered Associations Work

Master-planned communities commonly use a master association governing the overall community — entry, main roads, shared amenities, landscaping of common areas — plus sub-associations governing individual neighborhoods or product types within it.

For a buyer this means two sets of documents, two budgets, two assessment schedules, and potentially two sets of architectural rules. Ask which association governs what, request the governing documents and budgets for both, and confirm the total monthly obligation rather than the figure quoted for one of them. Estoppel may be required from each.

CDD Debt Service Versus Operations and Maintenance

Where a community development district exists, its assessments appear on the annual property tax bill as non-ad valorem line items.

The two components behave differently. Debt service repays the bonds that funded the district’s infrastructure. It runs for a defined term, and in many districts an owner may prepay the remaining principal to retire that portion of the assessment. Operations and maintenance funds ongoing district activity and continues for as long as the district operates.

To find the numbers for a specific address: request the district’s disclosure and current assessment schedule, review the property tax bill for the parcel through the St. Lucie County Tax Collector, and ask the district directly for the remaining principal balance and whether prepayment is permitted. A buyer comparing two homes at the same price, one with CDD debt service and one without, is comparing two different carrying costs, and lenders generally count the assessment in qualifying.

Confirm whether a specific Port St. Lucie community carries a district, and on what terms, from the district or county records rather than from a listing description.

Did you know? A CDD assessment on the tax bill is not one number, and treating it as one is the most common Port St. Lucie budgeting error. Ask the district for the debt service amount, the operations and maintenance amount, the number of years remaining on the debt, and the remaining principal balance — as four separate figures. In many districts the debt portion may be prepaid, which changes both the annual carrying cost and what a future buyer inherits. A listing that quotes a single combined “CDD fee” has not answered the question.

New Construction: Builder Control and Turnover

In a community still being built, the developer typically controls the association during a control period, with governance transferring to owners at turnover under statutory and declaration-based triggers tied to the percentage of units conveyed and elapsed time.

What a buyer should understand: during developer control, budgets, reserve decisions, and amenity timing are largely the developer’s; after turnover, an owner-controlled board inherits whatever condition and financial position exists. Ask where the community sits in that process, what the projected turnover timing is, and what reserves the association is projected to hold at turnover. For how builder contracts themselves differ from resale contracts, see the new construction buyer playbook.

Structural Comparison With Palm Beach County Clubs

Compared on structure rather than on prestige, three differences stand out.

Age of the asset. Port St. Lucie’s master-planned luxury inventory is generally newer, which means newer infrastructure and, in condominium buildings, a later position in the milestone inspection cycle. Palm Beach County’s established club communities are frequently older, with correspondingly mature amenity infrastructure and capital histories.

Where costs appear. In Port St. Lucie a meaningful share of infrastructure cost frequently sits in CDD assessments on the tax bill. In many Palm Beach County club communities, comparable costs were funded into the original purchase prices and now appear as association assessments and club capital rather than as district debt.

Club capital structure. Equity and non-equity arrangements exist in both regions, and neither market is uniform. Verify per club, per the previous section.

See the Port St. Lucie market overview for orientation. Buyers specifically considering age-restricted communities, which operate under the Housing for Older Persons exemption and should be confirmed as qualifying before being described that way, can review age-restricted communities near Port St. Lucie.

For Buyers

The Buyer’s Document Review Checklist

Request governing documents, budgets and reserves, minutes, structural reports, insurance, estoppel figures, and approval and membership requirements — and do it against your contract’s review period rather than after it. Several of these documents take days or weeks to arrive.

The review period is the window in which you can still cancel. Treat it as a deadline, not a formality, and start the requests the day the contract is executed.

Obtain the governing documents. The recorded declaration and all recorded amendments, articles, bylaws, and current rules. For a cooperative, add the proprietary lease. For a master-planned community, get both the master and sub-association sets. Read the leasing, pet, vehicle, and architectural provisions in the declaration itself rather than in a summary.

Read the budget and reserve schedule. What is collected, what is reserved, and how reserves compare against the reserve study’s recommendation. For a condominium, check whether SIRS component reserves are funded at the study’s level and what percentage of the annual budget goes to reserves, since lender standards now turn on that figure.

Read the minutes, 12 to 24 months. Board and membership meeting minutes are the most informative document in the package and the one most often skipped. They reveal planned projects, bids received, financing discussions, owner objections, and assessments under consideration well before anything is adopted.

Review the structural reports. For condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories: the milestone inspection report including any phase two, and the structural integrity reserve study. Read them alongside the minutes. If anything is unclear, the person qualified to interpret them is a licensed engineer, not an agent.

Confirm insurance. The association’s master policy declarations, what it covers and excludes, deductible structure including any separate windstorm deductible, and how the declaration splits responsibility between association and owner. Then obtain your own quote for the coverage you must carry, through a licensed Florida insurance agent.

Obtain estoppel figures. Order early. The certificate states amounts due, any special assessment, transfer and capital contribution fees payable at closing, and known violations affecting the parcel. In a layered community, you may need one from each association.

Confirm approvals and membership transfer. What association or board approval the transfer requires, how long it takes, and what the application involves. Separately, what the club requires: application, approval, transfer fee or new capital contribution, category availability, and timing. Align the closing date to the slowest of these, not the fastest.

Document	What to look for	Factual red flags	Who can explain it
Declaration and amendments	Leasing, pets, vehicles, architectural standards, assessment authority	Amendments materially narrowing a use you are relying on	Florida community association attorney
Budget and reserve schedule	Reserve line versus study recommendation; reserve share of budget	Reserves funded below the study’s recommendation; large year-over-year assessment jumps	CPA or accountant; attorney for funding obligations
Meeting minutes	Planned projects, bids, financing discussions, assessments under consideration	Repair scope discussed with no identified funding source	Attorney; engineer for the technical scope
Milestone inspection report	Phase one findings, whether phase two followed, recommended repairs	Report not produced on request; recommendations with no board response in minutes	Licensed engineer or architect
Structural integrity reserve study	Components, remaining useful life, replacement costs, funding plan	Study older than the statutory cycle or than lender expectations	Licensed engineer; attorney on funding rules
Master insurance declarations	Coverage, exclusions, deductibles, association-versus-owner responsibility	Large windstorm deductible with no corresponding reserve	Licensed Florida insurance agent
Estoppel certificate	Amounts due, special assessments, transfer and capital fees, violations	Violations noted against the parcel; unexpected capital contribution at transfer	Closing agent; attorney
Club membership documents	Mandatory or optional, equity or non-equity, dues, refund terms, transfer	Refund terms that are position-dependent with long recent wait times	Attorney; CPA on the capital treatment
CDD disclosure and schedule	Debt service and O&M amounts, years remaining, prepayment option	Debt service treated as if it were an HOA fee in a listing	The district; tax collector; CPA

“Red flags” here describe conditions worth investigating, not conclusions about any community or building. Nothing in this table evaluates the safety or soundness of any structure; that is an engineering determination.

Touring buildings and club communities? The useful visit includes the documents, not just the unit. Book a private showing and we will request the association and club materials in parallel so your review period starts with paper already moving.

Keep exploring: search condo and club listings

For Sellers

Selling a Luxury Home Inside an Association or Club

An association or club sale has more moving parts than a conventional one, and most of them are on someone else’s calendar. Sellers who pre-order documents hold their timeline; sellers who wait for the buyer to request them do not.

Pre-Order Documents and Estoppel Figures

Before listing, request from the association: the governing documents and all recorded amendments, the current budget and reserve schedule, recent meeting minutes, the master insurance declarations, and — for a condominium or cooperative building three or more habitable stories — the milestone inspection report and structural integrity reserve study. From the club, request the current membership plan, dues schedule, and written transfer procedure.

Order the estoppel when the contract is executed rather than near closing. Associations routinely use the full statutory window, and in a layered community you may need one from each association. A document that arrives on the last permitted day is a document that delays your closing, and a delayed closing in a market where buyers have alternatives is a risk you control.

Disclosing Assessments and Known Building Issues

Under Johnson v. Davis, decided by the Florida Supreme Court in 1985, a seller of residential property must disclose facts that materially affect value, are not readily observable, and are not known to the buyer. Selling “AS IS” limits your obligation to repair; it does not limit your obligation to disclose.

In an association context that duty commonly reaches: a special assessment adopted or under discussion, known structural findings from a milestone inspection, a building’s failure to complete a required inspection or study, pending litigation involving the association, and known violations affecting your parcel or unit. Statutory disclosure runs alongside it — Fla. Stat. § 718.503 for condominium resales, Fla. Stat. § 720.401 for parcels in mandatory homeowners’ associations — each with its associated buyer cancellation right.

Disclose what you know and hand over the documents. Withholding a board’s discussion of a future assessment is precisely the kind of omission that produces post-closing litigation, and the information is discoverable in the minutes anyway.

Timing the Closing Around Approvals

Where board approval, club approval, or both are required, those processes set the earliest realistic closing date — not your lender, and not your buyer’s.

Establish at listing: how often the relevant board and membership committee meet, what a complete application requires, how long recent approvals have taken, and whether a transfer fee or capital contribution is payable at closing. Then set the contract’s closing date against the slowest of those, and build extension mechanics into the contract in advance rather than negotiating them under pressure.

Membership Transfer and Net Proceeds

Where an equity membership is involved, the transfer and any refund mechanism can affect your net proceeds and their timing. Refund structures are governed entirely by the club’s documents, and some pay only after a replacement member is admitted or according to position on a resignation list, which can mean the money arrives well after closing.

Obtain the club’s written explanation of what you are entitled to, what triggers it, and the expected timing, and share it with your closing agent and CPA so the figure appears in the right place in your planning. Do not assume a capital contribution returns at closing.

Pricing When Reserve or Assessment Status Affects Demand

In the current environment, a condominium’s structural and financial position is part of its price. Two units with identical finishes in different buildings can attract materially different buyer pools if one building’s project status limits conventional financing and the other’s does not.

The honest approach is to price against the documented position rather than against the unit alone, and to make the documentation available up front. A building with a completed milestone inspection, a current reserve study, a funded reserve schedule, and no pending assessment has a genuine, demonstrable advantage — and a seller who supplies that package lets a buyer’s lender begin project review immediately rather than three weeks in.

Where the position is less favorable, the choices are the same as anywhere else: address what can be addressed, disclose what cannot, and price for it. What does not work is leaving a buyer to discover it during the review period, because the discovery usually arrives as a cancellation rather than a renegotiation.

Keep exploring: request a home valuation • seller resources and preparation checklists

FAQ

FAQ: Condos, Co-ops, and Club Communities

What is the difference between a condominium and a cooperative in Palm Beach?

In a condominium, governed by Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes, you own a deeded unit plus an undivided share of the common elements. In a cooperative, governed by Chapter 719, you own shares in a corporation that owns the building, together with a proprietary lease giving you the right to occupy a specific unit. Three practical differences follow. Cooperative boards commonly approve purchasers, and a declined applicant ends the transaction. Financing may be limited or prohibited by the cooperative’s own documents rather than by any lender. And your monthly charge may include a share of an underlying mortgage on the building. Cooperatives are common on the island of Palm Beach.

What is a condominium milestone inspection in Florida?

Under Florida Statutes Section 553.899, a milestone inspection is a structural inspection required for condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories tall. The first inspection is generally required by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, with local enforcement agencies able to require it at 25 years in certain circumstances including coastal proximity, and every 10 years afterward. Phase one is a visual examination by a licensed architect or engineer. If it finds signs of substantial structural deterioration, a more detailed phase two inspection follows. Associations must keep these reports as official records for at least 15 years, so a report that cannot be produced is itself worth noting.

What is a structural integrity reserve study and why does it affect dues?

A structural integrity reserve study, required under Florida Statutes Section 718.112(2)(g), is a study by a licensed engineer or architect that evaluates a building’s principal structural and operational components and establishes what must be reserved for their repair and replacement. It applies to condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories and must be completed at least every 10 years, covering at minimum eight enumerated components including roof, structure, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, and windows. It affects dues because for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024 associations can no longer vote to waive or reduce reserves for those structural components, so underfunded buildings must raise assessments, borrow, or levy a special assessment.

How can I find out whether a Florida condo has a pending special assessment?

Ask in writing whether any assessment has been adopted, is proposed, or has been discussed by the board, because those are three different answers. Then verify independently using three documents read together: the engineer’s report, which states what work the building needs; the budget and reserve schedule, which states what has been set aside; and 12 to 24 months of board and membership meeting minutes, which reveal what the board plans to do about any gap. The estoppel certificate will state assessments currently due. A building with a large identified repair scope, thin reserves, and minutes discussing financing is describing a likely future assessment even if none is formally adopted.

Can I get a mortgage to buy a luxury condo or co-op in Palm Beach County?

Usually, but the building matters as much as you do. Lenders review the project, and a project meeting agency standards is warrantable while one that does not is non-warrantable, typically meaning fewer lenders, larger down payments, and higher rates. On March 18, 2026 Fannie Mae issued Lender Letter LL-2026-03 and Freddie Mac published Bulletin 2026-C, coordinated with the FHFA, raising the reserve allocation requirement from a minimum of 10 percent to a minimum of 15 percent of the annual budgeted income assessment and retiring the Limited Review process. Cooperatives are different again: the corporation’s own documents may limit or prohibit financing entirely. Start project review early with a licensed mortgage loan originator.

How long does board approval take for a Florida condo or co-op?

It depends on the community’s own procedures, and it is set by the board’s meeting schedule rather than by your closing date. Ask three questions before writing an offer: how often does the board or its committee meet, what is the application deadline relative to those meetings, and what does a complete application require. Incomplete packages are the most common source of delay, since a returned application usually means waiting for the next meeting. Set your contract’s closing date against a realistic approval timeline and include a contingency addressing delay or denial, drafted by a Florida real estate attorney. A cash purchase does not necessarily move faster through a board.

What is an equity membership at a Florida country club?

In an equity club, members hold an ownership interest in the club itself, and joining typically requires a capital contribution. Whether any portion of that contribution returns when you resign or sell is governed entirely by the club’s bylaws and membership plan. Common structures include refunds payable only after a replacement member is admitted, refunds paid in order of position on a resignation list, refunds of a stated percentage, and refunds calculated against the then-current contribution rather than what you paid. In a non-equity club, members buy the right to use facilities without an ownership interest, and the entrance fee is typically non-refundable. Verify the structure in writing with the specific club.

Do I get my club membership contribution back when I sell?

Only if the club’s documents provide for it, and the timing is frequently not at closing. Equity clubs may refund some portion of a capital contribution, but the mechanism varies: some pay only after a replacement member is admitted, some pay according to position on a resignation list, and some calculate the amount against the current contribution figure rather than the one you paid. Waits can be long. Non-equity initiation fees are typically not refundable at all. Get the club’s written explanation of what you are entitled to, what triggers payment, and recent actual timing, then share it with your closing agent and CPA before you plan around the money.

What is a community development district fee in Port St. Lucie?

A community development district is a special-purpose local government that finances infrastructure in master-planned communities, and its assessments appear on the annual property tax bill as non-ad valorem line items. There are two components. Debt service repays the bonds that funded roads, utilities, and drainage, runs for a defined term, and in many districts may be prepaid. Operations and maintenance funds ongoing district expenses and continues indefinitely. Request the district’s current assessment schedule, the remaining principal balance, and whether prepayment is permitted, from the district or county records. Lenders generally count the assessment when qualifying a buyer, so it affects affordability as well as carrying cost.

What is an HOA disclosure summary and what happens if I do not receive it?

Under Florida Statutes Section 720.401, a buyer of a parcel in a community with a mandatory homeowners’ association must receive a statutory disclosure summary before executing the contract. If it is not provided, the buyer has a right to void the contract within 3 days of receiving the summary, and that right terminates at closing. Two points matter. The summary is a short standardized document telling you that assessments exist and that the declaration binds you; it does not tell you what the declaration says. And because the void right ends at closing, it protects you before closing rather than after, so read the recorded declaration and amendments during your review period.

Can an HOA or condo association restrict renting my home?

Yes. Declarations commonly impose minimum lease terms, limits on the number of leases per year, waiting periods after purchase before an owner may lease, association approval of tenants, and caps on the number of leased homes in the community. Whether an amendment adopted after you purchased applies to you is fact-specific, turning on the declaration’s own amendment provisions and on Florida law governing the application of rental restrictions to existing owners. If your purchase depends on the ability to lease, treat it as a legal question and obtain an opinion from a Florida community association attorney before closing rather than relying on a sales office.

How does Jeannie Jacobson help buyers and sellers of condo and club homes from Port St. Lucie to Boca Raton?

Jeannie Jacobson is a Florida-licensed sales associate with RE/MAX Gold, based in Port St. Lucie, serving from St. Lucie County south into Palm Beach County. She is ranked among the Top 1% of Realtors in the United States based on annual production, was voted the 2022 and 2023 People’s Choice Award for Treasure Coast Favorite Realtor, has been mentored by Mike Ferry, and is fluent in English and Spanish. Her process on association and club property is documents-first: request governing documents, budgets, minutes, structural reports, insurance, estoppel figures, and club transfer requirements against the contract’s review period rather than after it. More detail is on her Port St. Lucie REALTOR profile.

Conclusion: Structure Determines Documents, Costs, Approvals, and Timeline

Buying or selling luxury condos and country club homes in Palm Beach, Boca Raton, and Port St. Lucie comes down to a single organizing idea: the ownership structure determines everything procedural about the transaction. Which documents you are entitled to, which approvals must happen, what you will pay each year, whether a lender will finance it, and how long it all takes.

The three markets carry different association profiles. Palm Beach pairs oceanfront and lagoon-front condominiums with cooperative ownership under Chapter 719, where board approval of the purchaser is routine and the building’s own documents may restrict or prohibit financing. Add the Town’s review bodies for exterior work, and approvals rather than price frequently set the calendar.

Boca Raton divides between the City of Boca Raton, with its oceanfront and Intracoastal condominium towers and east-side club communities, and unincorporated Palm Beach County to the west, where large gated golf and country club communities sit. The jurisdiction determines the building department, the millage, and the local ordinances, and the club structure determines a carrying cost that can exceed the difference in purchase price between two homes.

Port St. Lucie is master-planned, which means layered master and sub-associations, newer infrastructure, and community development district assessments appearing on the tax bill in two components that behave differently — debt service with a defined term and possible prepayment, operations and maintenance continuing indefinitely.

Two things changed recently enough that they deserve repeating. Florida’s condominium safety framework, revised most recently by HB 913 in 2025, removed the ability to waive reserves for structural components in budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, which is why assessments have moved in buildings that deferred maintenance. And in March 2026, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac raised the reserve allocation requirement to a minimum of 15 percent and retired the Limited Review process, which means the building’s finances now decide who can finance a purchase in it.

For buyers, the work is a document request started the day the contract is executed. For sellers, it is the same package assembled before listing, plus estoppel ordered early and approval timelines confirmed in advance.

If you are weighing a specific building, community, or club — or preparing to sell inside one — the useful first conversation is about its documents.

Considering a Specific Building, Community, or Club?

Bring us the address. We will help you assemble the document request and the questions that decide whether it works.

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This article is general real estate education reflecting information believed accurate as of September 2026. It is not legal, tax, financial, insurance, lending, engineering, or accounting advice. Florida statutes, agency lending standards, association governing documents, club membership plans, and district assessments change and vary by community; every requirement, deadline, fee, and figure must be verified for the specific association, building, club, or district. No fees, dues, reserve balances, refund terms, or assessment amounts are stated here for any named community. Nothing in this article evaluates the safety or structural condition of any building; that is a determination for a licensed engineer or architect. Results vary by property, financing, competition, condition, and contract terms, and no specific price, timeline, approval, premium, or outcome can be guaranteed. Real estate compensation is negotiable and set by written agreement; no rate is standard or established by law. Consult a Florida community association attorney, a Florida real estate attorney, a CPA or tax advisor, a licensed Florida insurance agent, a licensed mortgage loan originator, and a licensed engineer regarding your specific situation. Equal Housing Opportunity. We comply with the Federal Fair Housing Act and the Florida Fair Housing Act.