Bridgewood Mid-Rise I, Boca West: three seven-story buildings, a 20-day sale approval and a Village estoppel

Three approvals stand between contract and closing: this association's, the master's Certificate of Compliance and the Country Club's approval of the buyer. "No unit owner may dispose of a Unit or any interest therein by sale without approval of the Association except to another Unit owner" (Art. XVI.A(1), OR 2304/860, p. 14). Leases, gifts and any other transfer of title need it as well (Art. XVI.A(2)–(4), p. 15).

• The seller's notice. The seller gives the association the buyer's name and address and whatever else it "may reasonably require" (Art. XVI.B(1)(a), p. 15). No fee or form is set in the declaration.
• Twenty days. The association has 20 days from the notice and information in which it "must either approve or disapprove" (Art. XVI.B(2)(a), pp. 15–16).
• The certificate. An approval is a certificate "in recordable form", delivered to the buyer "and shall be recorded" in the Public Records. It goes on record alongside the deed.
• A substitute buyer, only if demanded. The seller's notice may demand that the association furnish a buyer if it refuses this one. The association must then deliver a cash contract at the same price, closing within 30 days, or the sale is "deemed to have been approved" (Art. XVI.C(1), pp. 16–17). A notice that makes the demand must enclose a signed copy of the contract (Art. XVI.B(1)(a), p. 15).
• Company and trust buyers. A corporation's ownership is approved only with a "Primary Occupant" the association also approves. The same goes for a trustee holding title for a beneficial owner (Art. XVI.B(3), p. 16).
• What is exempt. An institutional mortgagee taking title by foreclosure or deed in lieu, its own resale, and a buyer at an advertised public sale such as a foreclosure or tax sale (Art. XVI.E, p. 17).
• Without approval. "Any sale, mortgage or lease which is not authorized pursuant to the terms of this Declaration shall be void unless subsequently approved by the Association" (Art. XVI.F, p. 17).

A lender other than an "Institutional Lender" also needs the association's consent, and that consent "may be arbitrarily withheld" (Art. XVI.D, p. 17). Seller financing therefore goes to the association before closing.

A second association and a second estoppel. The Village of Bridgewood Association's declaration covers the whole of the Boca West Replat of Hamlet "S" Plat No. 1, where all six Bridgewood condominiums stand (OR 2295/213, p. 7). "Every person or entity who is a record fee simple owner of a Unit" is a member, and membership "may not be separated from ownership" (Art. IV § 1, p. 2).

Each owner covenants to pay the Village's annual and special assessments, which are "a charge on the land and a continuing lien upon the property" and a personal obligation (Art. V, pp. 2–3). Nothing in the text makes that lien wait for a recorded claim. It gives way to a first mortgage paid off over ten years or more, but only for amounts due before a foreclosure sale or a proceeding in lieu of one (Art. V § 9, p. 4). The Village is not one of the master's 56 Villages and is not on its assessment roll.

The condominium may collect and remit the Village's assessments under Article XVIII.F (OR 2304/860, p. 19). Whether it does so today is not in the record. So we ask in writing which estoppel carries the Village share, and order the Village's own if the answer is unclear. The Village's certificate of payment "shall be conclusive evidence of payment" of what it shows (OR 2295/213, p. 4).

Mid-Rise I's declaration provides for no capital contribution, working capital fee or transfer fee. The buyer pays the master's capital contribution, the Club's Joining Fee, and whatever the three estoppels show as due.

The master bills this association $74,628 for 2026/2027, up from $65,563 (master's adopted 2026/2027 budget, not recorded). The master spreads that charge by assessed value, on top of its per-unit charges. The condominium's own assessment and the Village's come from their estoppels.

In a voluntary sale the buyer is "jointly and severally liable with the grantor" for the seller's unpaid assessments (Art. XVIII.M, p. 21). Since the 2016 amendment the declaration follows the Condominium Act "as it is amended from time to time" (OR 28201/43, p. 2), so § 718.116 governs that liability today.

"After approval by the Association", and only an entire unit; occupancy is limited to the tenant, family, servants and guests (Art. XV.E, p. 14). The owner gives the association the lease, which must state that it is subject to approval. The association decides within the same 20 days and delivers its certificate to the tenant (Art. XVI.B(2)(b), p. 16).

The declaration sets no minimum term and no yearly cap. The master's rules do: no lease in the first 12 months of ownership, none shorter than four months, and a master veto within ten days.

• Article IV.A describes "three (3) seven-story buildings numbered fifteen (15) through eighteen (18)" (p. 3). Building 18 belongs to Bridgewood Mid-Rise II. The Property Appraiser files both condominiums under one subdivision, so we check that the deed says "Mid-Rise Condominium I".
• Each unit has a first-floor storage compartment as a limited common element, except Units 1571, 1572, 1574, 1575 and the same positions in Buildings 16 and 17 (Art. V.C(4), p. 4). It passes with the unit.
• Seven stories and more than 30 years old, the three buildings fall under the milestone inspection cycle of Fla. Stat. § 553.899, repeated every ten years. Its summary and the reserve study status belong in the resale documents.
• Since 2012 a pickup truck is "deemed to be a truck excluded" from all Bridgewood property, including this condominium's parking (OR 25428/245, p. 2). A buyer with one should know before closing.

The Village's own amendments are OR 25428/245 (2012, vehicles), OR 26358/775 (2013, golf-cart parking) and OR 28181/263 (2016).