New to Florida and New to an HOA: What Newcomers From Other States Get Wrong in Their First Year

The Brennans Had No Idea What They Were Walking Into

Mark and Linda Brennan sold their farmhouse outside Burlington, Vermont, and landed in Port Orange with equity to spare and a closing date circled on the calendar. Their new neighborhood had manicured sidewalks, a community pool, and a homeowners association. Back in Vermont, the closest thing to an HOA was a neighborly understanding that you did not park a rusted tractor where people could see it. Florida, as the Brennans quickly discovered, operates on an entirely different set of rules.

(The Brennans are a composite example and not actual clients. Their story reflects questions I hear regularly from relocating buyers.)

Florida has been a buyer's market in Volusia County through much of 2026. Median sale prices sit around $343,000, homes are spending roughly 77 days on the market, and list-to-sale price ratios have settled in the 97 to 99 percent range after the frenzied peaks of 2021 and 2022. Buyers arriving from the Northeast and Midwest are finding real opportunity here. But a softer market is not a forgiving market when it comes to HOA due diligence. The less you pay per square foot, the more you need to understand what governs the community you are buying into.

Two Chapters of Florida Law You Need to Know by Name

Florida governs homeowners associations primarily under Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes. Condominium associations fall under Chapter 718. These are not the same thing, and confusing them is the first mistake many buyers make.

If you are buying a single-family home in a planned development, as the Brennans did, Chapter 720 is your framework. It governs how the HOA must operate, what records it must maintain, how meetings must be noticed, and how enforcement must work. If you are buying a condominium unit anywhere from Daytona Beach to New Smyrna Beach to Palm Coast, Chapter 718 controls, and it carries additional requirements around structural inspections and reserve funding that became significantly more demanding after the 2022 Surfside collapse prompted statewide reform.

Neither chapter is optional. The HOA cannot contract around its core requirements, and neither can you.

Read the Documents Before You Close, Not After

Florida law gives buyers in HOA communities the right to receive and review the governing documents before closing. Under Chapter 720, sellers are required to provide the declaration of covenants, the bylaws, the articles of incorporation, the current rules and regulations, and certain financial records. Buyers have a defined period to review these and, in some circumstances, rescind the contract if they find something unacceptable.

Most buyers from states without active HOA cultures treat this package like the terms-and-conditions box they click past on a software update. That is a mistake that costs real money.

The declaration is the foundational document. It describes the restrictions that run with the land and bind every owner regardless of what the seller told you verbally. The bylaws explain how the association governs itself. The rules and regulations cover the day-to-day details, and those details are where the surprises live.

For the Brennans, the surprise was on page 34 of the rules. Their community prohibited commercial vehicles and pickup trucks with visible cargo beds from being parked in driveways overnight. Mark Brennan drove a half-ton truck. He used it every day. He had owned it for six years and never once thought of it as a community issue. Under his new association's rules, it was.

What an Estoppel Certificate Actually Tells You

Before closing on any HOA-governed property in Florida, your title company or closing attorney will order an estoppel certificate from the association. This document, addressed to the buyer and lender, confirms the current state of the seller's account with the HOA: the monthly or quarterly dues, any outstanding balances, any pending special assessments, and any violations the seller has been cited for but not resolved.

The estoppel is not just a formality. It is a snapshot of the financial relationship between the property and the association at a specific moment. If there is a special assessment that was approved before closing, you need to know whether the seller is paying it or whether it transfers to you. The estoppel certificate should tell you. If it does not, ask.

Estoppel fees in Florida are regulated. The association can charge for the certificate, but the amount is capped under state law, and there are deadlines for delivery. Your agent and closing attorney should be tracking both.

Special Assessments and Reserves: The Condo Buyer's Extra Layer

Buyers purchasing condominiums in Florida after 2022 are entering a market that has been reshaped by milestone inspection requirements and mandatory reserve funding rules. These changes flowed from the tragedy at Champlain Towers South and represent the most significant shift in Chapter 718 in a generation.

Condominium buildings that meet certain age and height thresholds must now undergo structural milestone inspections at defined intervals. Associations must also fund reserves adequately to address the items identified in those inspections. For buyers looking at condos in Daytona Beach Shores, Ormond Beach, or along the New Smyrna Beach coastline, this means you need to read the reserve study, understand the funding level, and ask directly whether any assessment is anticipated. A building that has deferred maintenance and inadequate reserves is not a bargain at any price. It is a future liability.

For single-family HOA buyers like the Brennans in Port Orange, reserve issues are less acute but still worth examining. Look at the most recent budget. Does the association fund reserves for common area maintenance, pool equipment, and community roads? Or does the board rely on special assessments every time something breaks? The difference between a well-run HOA and a poorly run one often lives entirely in that budget document.

Parking, Pets, and the Rules People Discover Too Late

Parking restrictions and pet policies are among the most commonly violated HOA rules by new residents, not because buyers are defiant but because they simply did not read the documents carefully enough before closing.

Florida HOA parking rules can restrict the number of vehicles per unit, prohibit certain vehicle types, regulate where vehicles may park within the driveway, and establish specific hours for street parking. Pet rules frequently limit breeds, impose weight limits, restrict the number of animals per household, and require registration of pets with the association.

Under HB 1203, signed into law in May 2024 and now fully in force, Florida significantly limited what HOAs can regulate and how aggressively they can enforce. Associations can no longer prohibit certain vegetable gardens, regulate home improvements that are not visible from the street, or fine residents for minor violations like trash can placement outside of specified collection windows. The law also caps fines, mandates financial transparency, requires board member training, and makes accepting kickbacks by board members a felony offense.

These reforms help, but they do not eliminate enforcement. Restrictions that existed before the new law and fall within its permitted scope remain fully enforceable. Mark Brennan's truck rule was one of them.

How Fines Work and Why Liens Are Real

Out-of-state buyers often assume that HOA fines are like parking tickets: annoying, modest, and easily ignored. In Florida, that assumption is dangerous.

Under Chapter 720, HOAs have the authority to levy fines for violations of the governing documents, provided the association follows proper notice and hearing procedures. A fine that is properly assessed and remains unpaid can become a lien against the property. A lien that is not resolved can cloud title and, in certain circumstances, lead to collection action.

The process requires the association to give written notice, an opportunity to be heard before a fines committee that is separate from the board, and adherence to procedural rules before any fine is imposed. If the association skips those steps, the fine may not be legally enforceable. But fighting an improperly imposed fine still takes time and sometimes legal fees. It is far better to understand the rules in advance than to contest enforcement after the fact.

The First Board Meeting: What the Brennans Learned

Under HB 1203, HOA board meetings must be properly noticed, and associations must maintain accessible records. The Brennans attended their first board meeting three months after closing, mostly out of curiosity. They were the only new residents there.

What they heard was instructive. The board discussed a proposed increase in monthly dues to fund resurfacing of the community's entrance road, a request from a homeowner to add a pergola that required architectural committee approval, and two outstanding violation notices for vehicles parked in violation of the truck rule. One of those notices was directed at a resident three doors down from the Brennans who had the same model truck Mark drove.

The Brennans left that meeting and made two decisions. Linda requested a copy of the full architectural application package. Mark started pricing enclosed trailers.

They were not angry about the rule. They were informed about it, finally, and that made all the difference.

What This Meant for the Brennans

Had the Brennans reviewed their governing documents carefully before closing, the truck rule would not have been a surprise. A careful read of the estoppel certificate confirmed no outstanding balances or pending assessments, which was genuinely good news. The reserve fund for their community was healthy, and the budget reflected consistent contributions rather than a pattern of emergency assessments.

They ultimately kept Mark's truck but parked it inside the garage each night. A minor adjustment, they said, for a community they otherwise loved. The pool, the sidewalks, and the Florida sunshine helped considerably.

Their experience is a useful template. Read the documents before you close. Order the estoppel certificate and actually look at it. Attend an open board meeting before you buy if the community allows it. If you are purchasing a condominium, request the reserve study and the most recent milestone inspection report. And if anything in those documents raises a question you cannot answer on your own, ask someone who can.

Work With Someone Who Knows Both Sides of the Closing Table

HOA communities dominate the housing stock across Port Orange, Ormond Beach, Palm Coast, DeLand, and much of the greater Daytona Beach area. Understanding the legal framework before you buy is not optional. It is part of making a sound decision.

As an attorney and REALTOR® with Realty Pros Assured in Ormond Beach, I work with buyers who want to understand what they are getting into before they sign anything. Visit arthursimpson.com to learn more, or reach out directly to talk through your questions before your next offer goes in.