WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — About 140 condominium owners in West Palm Beach are facing a decision to sell their waterfront property or spend potentially more than $1 million in repairs.
State laws, passed in response to the Surfside condo collapse, are creating an issue where condo owners are facing affordability challenges to stay in their homes.
WATCH: Condo owners facing decision to sell or repair
Instead, their only option, they tell WPTV, is to find a new place to live with the money earned from selling the land to a developer.
Paul Moreno, president of the La Fontana condominiums in West Palm Beach, said new legislation passed after the Surfside collapse will require his 10-story building next to the Intracoastal Waterway to get inspected, then pay for repairs.
He said this will lead to special assessments, which he said some people within his building can’t afford.
“If you’re talking assessments… those are not doable for a lot of these people,” Moreno said. “…The price range Serhant is looking at, nobody is going to be feeling any pain. The only thing we’re going to be missing is right here.”
He said he’s working with Serhant, the real estate company featured on Netflix and Bravo shows, to sell the building for about $200 million. Moreno said he assumes a developer will buy the property and create a new building with more expensive units and possibly a marina.
Paul Lykins, a real estate agent in Palm Beach County, said the new laws passed after Surfside have led to a trend of other condominium buildings being sold to developers due to affordability issues. He said developers are buying out aging buildings in prime locations along the waterfront.
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“We have a lot of those older condo buildings that are sitting there, and of course, they are being affected by the new condo laws and assessments,” Lykins said. “…You know, developers are coming in and waving bags of money at them.”
Moreno said he believes the realty group had received seven inquiries about the property.