Baywood, Boca West: a $10,000 working capital contribution and a restatement that names one plat
Baywood, platted as Bay Wood, is 71 townhomes on Bay Cove Drive and Bay View Road in Boca West. Sales need no Baywood approval. Since August 2026 a buyer pays a $10,000 Working Capital Contribution, or whatever the Board sets. No home may be leased in its first year, and the 2025 restatement describes only one of the two plats.
The association at a glance
Baywood at Boca West Property Owners' Association, Inc. — Chapter 720 homeowners' association
- Estoppels
- Two association estoppels, Baywood's and the master's, plus the Country Club's statement. Baywood's is due within 10 business days of a written or electronic request (Fla. Stat. § 720.30851)
- Approval of a sale
- None. The 2025 restatement requires approval of leases only
- Paid at closing
- A Working Capital Contribution of $10,000 "or such other amount as determined by the Board from time to time", except on family, estate-planning, divorce and lender transfers (Art. VI § 20, OR 36743/601, p. 2)
- Leasing
- No lease in the first 12 months of ownership; then once in 12 months, at least 3 months long, with approval within 30 days (Art. VI § 17, OR 35513/1327, pp. 16–20)
- Insurance
- The owner insures the home at 100% of replacement cost, including windstorm and 25% ordinance-and-law cover, naming the association (Art. III § 6(C)–(D), pp. 6–7)
- Homes
- 71 townhomes: 43 on Bay Wood at Boca West (Plat Book 43, Page 192) and 28 on Bay Wood Plat 2 at Boca West (Plat Book 44, Page 104)
- Declaration
- Official Records Book 3776, Page 801 (OR 3776/801), recorded 17 August 1982; amended 2000 (OR 11685/470); restated 24 January 2025 (OR 35513/1327); amended 2024 and 2026
- Manager
- Lang Management Company, 561-483-7488. The Property Appraiser mails the association's tracts in care of Lang, which matches the master's page. Source: the master association's Your Management Company page (not recorded), checked October 22, 2026.
Baywood is a Village of attached townhomes in Boca West, in unincorporated Palm Beach County, on Bay Cove Drive and Bay View Road. The master's management page writes "Baywood"; the plats, the master's assessment roll and the declaration write "Bay Wood". So do the legal descriptions, which read "Bay Wood at Boca West" or "Bay Wood Plat 2 at Boca West". Yusem Homes partnerships developed both plats, recorded in 1982. The association has changed its documents three times since May 2024, and we read all three instruments for this page.
What does a Baywood sale need?
No Baywood approval. The 2025 restatement regulates leases but not sales. The closing still needs the master's Certificate of Compliance and the Country Club's approval of the buyer, and Baywood's estoppel must show the Working Capital Contribution.
What does a Baywood buyer pay at closing?
A Working Capital Contribution "payable by the Owner who acquires title to the Lot", collected "at the time of closing of the sale of each Lot, including on any resale". It is not an advance on assessments, and the Board may spend it on any proper expense. Three instruments built it:
| Recorded | Instrument | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| 20 May 2024 | OR 35026/1371, p. 2 | Creates "a new Section 10" of Article V of the 2000 Amended Declaration: $3,000 for each lot. |
| 24 January 2025 | OR 35513/1327, pp. 20–21 | The restatement carries the same text, still $3,000, as Article VI § 20. |
| 25 August 2026 | OR 36743/601, p. 2 | Strikes "$3,000.00" from Article VI § 20 and inserts "10,000 for each Lot, or such other amount as determined by the Board from time to time". |
The 2000 Amended Declaration had no transfer charge. No contribution is due when a mortgagee or the association takes title by foreclosure or deed in lieu (OR 36743/601, p. 2). Nor is it due when an immediate family member takes by inheritance, gift or devise. The family is the owner's spouse, parents, siblings, children, grandchildren or grandparents. Also exempt are a bona fide estate-planning conveyance to a trustee or spouse without a change in occupancy, and a transfer between spouses by divorce decree.
The Board can change the amount without recording anything, so we take the figure from Baywood's estoppel. The master's capital contribution and the Club's Joining Fee are separate charges.
When can a Baywood owner lease?
The restatement added a leasing section, which the 2000 Amended Declaration did not have (Art. VI § 17, OR 35513/1327, pp. 16–20):
- First year. "No Unit shall be leased within the first 12 months of an Owner's ownership." A tenant already in place at the sale may stay to the end of the lease, and the buyer's 12 months start then. The bar does not apply to the association after a foreclosure, an Immediate Family Member, an estate-planning trust or a divorce transfer.
- Term and number. At least 3 months, no more than once in any 12 months, and no term over 12 months unless the Board reviews it each year (§§ 17, 17.9).
- Approval. The owner gives written notice with the tenant's application, by certified mail or by hand. The association decides within 30 days, and may refuse only for listed good cause (§ 17.3, pp. 16–18). The grounds include certain felonies within five years, sex-offender registration, poor credit or payment history, and a delinquent owner.
- Fees and deposit. An application fee of at least $150 an applicant, plus the cost of background checks, and a deposit of up to one month's rent (§§ 17.7–17.8, p. 19).
- No short stays. No subleasing, and no listing on Airbnb, VRBO or similar sites (§ 17.6).
- Void without approval. "Any lease which is not approved by the Association shall be void and shall convey no interest" (p. 18).
- Long-stay guests. A guest who stays more than 30 days while the owner is away is treated as a tenant, unless an Immediate Family Member (§ 17.4).
A rental amendment to a homeowners' association's documents enacted after 1 July 2021 generally binds only owners who take title after it, or who consent to it. Limits on leases shorter than six months, or on leasing more than three times a calendar year, bind everyone. A transfer to an affiliated entity or to an heir is not a change of ownership for this rule (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(1)(h)). So Baywood's three-month minimum reaches every owner, and every buyer since 24 January 2025 is bound by the rest. The master's leasing rules apply on top.
Who insures and maintains a Baywood home?
The owner. Each owner carries an HO-3 or comparable policy at 100% of replacement cost, with windstorm cover at a deductible of no more than 5% (Art. III § 6(C), pp. 6–7). Flood cover is required in a high-risk zone, and ordinance-and-law cover of at least 25%. The association is named as additional insured and loss payee, and may buy a master policy instead. Owners also carry liability cover of at least $100,000 (§ 6(D)). The association cleans the roofs and cleans and paints the exteriors on its own schedule; the owner maintains the rest (§ 6, p. 5).
Where does a Baywood title need care?
- Plat 2 is not in the restatement's legal description. Exhibit A covers "All of BAY WOOD" on Plat Book 43, Page 192, and Exhibit B lists Tracts A–F of that plat only (OR 35513/1327, pp. 24–25). Plat 2 dedicates its Tracts B and E to this association (PB 44/104). The developer's 1983 deed of Lot 121 on Plat 2 recites the 1982 declaration "as amended and supplemented" (OR 3883/1045). We have not found that supplement. Whether the 2025 and 2026 instruments bind a Plat 2 lot is a question for underwriting.
- A stale cross-reference. Article VI § 20 makes the contribution "collectible as an assessment in accordance with the provisions of Article V". In the restatement Article V is Easements, and the assessment lien is in Article IV. The 2026 amendment kept the wording.
- Incomplete citations. The 2026 certificate amends the "Amended and Restated Declaration" but cites only OR 3776/801. Its exhibit, headed as an amendment to the 2000 "Amended Declaration", cites OR 3776/801 and OR 11685/470, not the restatement (OR 36743/601, pp. 1–2).
- The lien. It "relates back to the date on which this Declaration was recorded", with priority as § 720.3085 provides (Art. IV § 8, OR 35513/1327, p. 11). The text does not say whether that means 1982 or 2025.
- An older association. Arvida's 1981 declaration created the Village of Bay Wood Association, Inc. (OR 3526/1322), and the 2000 Amended Declaration still made owners subject to its assessments (Art. IX, OR 11685/470). The restatement drops that article. Whether that association still exists or bills is open.
Our practice
How Bayit Title handles this
We read the lot's plat first. On a Plat 2 lot we raise the restatement's legal description with underwriting before the commitment issues. We ask the estoppel for the Working Capital Contribution the Board currently sets and check the deed against its exemptions. For a buyer with a tenant in place we note when the lease ends, because the buyer's 12-month bar starts then.
What is recorded for Baywood?
| Recorded | Instrument | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| 21 May 1981 | OR 3526/1322 | Arvida's Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions for Village of Bay Wood Association, Inc. |
| 21 January 1982 | PB 43/192 | The plat, Bay Wood at Boca West. |
| 8 July 1982 | PB 44/104 | The plat, Bay Wood Plat 2 at Boca West, by Yusem Homes–Bay Wood II. |
| 17 August 1982 | OR 3776/801 | The Declaration of Restrictions and Protective Covenants for Bay Wood Townhomes, dated 20 May 1982. |
| 28 March 2000 | OR 11685/470 | The Amended Declaration. |
| 20 May 2024 | OR 35026/1371 | The $3,000 Working Capital Contribution. |
| 24 January 2025 | OR 35513/1327 | The Amended and Restated Declaration, By-Laws and Articles, adopted by written consent of the members. |
| 25 August 2026 | OR 36743/601 | The contribution raised to $10,000, adopted by written consent. |
Common questions
Does Baywood approve buyers?
No. Baywood's 2025 restatement requires approval of leases but not of sales. The master's Certificate of Compliance and the Country Club's approval still apply (OR 35513/1327).
How much is the Baywood working capital contribution?
$10,000 since 25 August 2026, or whatever amount the Baywood Board later sets. It was $3,000 from May 2024. Family, estate-planning, divorce and lender transfers are exempt (Art. VI § 20, OR 36743/601, p. 2).
Can I rent out my Baywood townhome?
Not in the first 12 months you own it, with family and estate-planning exceptions. After that, once in 12 months, for at least 3 months, with Baywood's approval (Art. VI § 17, OR 35513/1327).
Is it Baywood or Bay Wood?
Both. The master writes Baywood; the plats, roll and declaration write Bay Wood. The legal description of a Baywood home reads "Bay Wood at Boca West" or "Bay Wood Plat 2 at Boca West".
Who insures a Baywood townhome?
The owner, at 100% of replacement cost including windstorm, with 25% ordinance-and-law cover and the Baywood association named as additional insured (Art. III § 6(C), OR 35513/1327).