Cedarwood, Boca West: a $5,000 resale contribution, a first-year leasing bar and open-ended ACC damages
Cedarwood is 33 homes on Cedarwood Circle in Boca West, under a 1977 declaration. The association does not approve sales. Since April 2025 a buyer pays a $5,000 resale capital contribution, or whatever the Board sets, on any voluntary transfer. Since 2019 no home may be leased in its first 12 months, and then only once a year with approval.
The association at a glance
Village of Cedarwood Association, Inc. — Chapter 720 homeowners' association
- Estoppels
- Two association estoppels, Cedarwood's and the master's, plus the Country Club's statement. Cedarwood's is due within 10 business days of a written or electronic request (Fla. Stat. § 720.30851)
- Approval of a sale
- None. The declaration requires approval of leases only
- Paid at closing
- A resale capital contribution of $5,000 "or such other amount as determined from time to time by the Board", on any voluntary transfer (Art. V § 12, OR 35671/1544, pp. 3–4)
- Leasing
- No lease in the first 12 months of ownership; then one lease in 12 months, longer than four months, with approval within 30 days (Art. VI § 15, OR 30958/1816, pp. 2–5)
- Architectural damages
- $100 a day, or another sum the Board sets, with no cap, for unapproved or non-conforming work, secured by a claim of lien (Art. VII, OR 35671/1544, pp. 5–6)
- Homes
- 33 homes on Cedarwood Circle (7505–7721), on Cedarwood of Boca West, P.U.D. (Plat Book 32, Page 94)
- Declaration
- Official Records Book 2658, Page 648 (OR 2658/648), recorded 30 March 1977 by Coppola Enterprises, Inc.; amended from 1985 to 2025, most recently by OR 35671/1544
- Manager
- Excel Property Management, 561-876-3107. The April 2025 amendment gives the officers' address in care of Hawk-Eye Management LLC (OR 35671/1544, p. 1), and the Property Appraiser mails the common parcel in care of Hawk-Eye. We confirm the manager when we order the estoppel. Source: the master association's Your Management Company page (not recorded), checked October 22, 2026.
Cedarwood is a loop of 33 homes on Cedarwood Circle in Boca West, in unincorporated Palm Beach County. Arvida recorded the plat, Cedarwood of Boca West, P.U.D., and Coppola Enterprises built the homes and recorded the declaration in 1977. Legal descriptions read "Cedarwood of Boca West Lt" and a number. The association's legal name is Village of Cedarwood Association, Inc.; the master's cable schedule calls it Cedarwood Homeowners Association. Walls and fences on the lot lines are treated as party walls (Art. III § 3, OR 29782/1504, p. 3). Cedarwood's covenants changed most in 2018, 2019 and 2025, and those instruments drive a closing here.
What does a Cedarwood sale need?
No Cedarwood approval. We found no approval of sales or right of first refusal in the 1977 declaration or its amendments. The closing needs the master's Certificate of Compliance, the Country Club's approval of the buyer, and Cedarwood's estoppel.
What does a Cedarwood buyer pay at closing?
A one-time "resale capital improvements contribution", due from "each new Lot Owner upon the voluntary transfer of title" (Art. V § 12). It was created in 2018 at one quarter's regular assessments (OR 29782/1504, p. 2). Since 11 April 2025 it is "Five Thousand ($5,000.00) Dollars, or such other amount as determined from time to time by the Board" (OR 35671/1544, p. 3). The Board may change it without another amendment, so we take the figure from the estoppel.
- Exempt: certificates of title after a foreclosure or tax sale, and transfers to heirs or beneficiaries by or under court order.
- Exempt: an estate-planning transfer into a trust in which the seller keeps 100% of the beneficial interest.
- Not exempt: a "lady bird deed" or similar instrument that passes a remainder to someone who was not already an owner (pp. 3–4).
- Price does not matter. "The actual amount of consideration which is paid for the Lot by the transferee shall be an irrelevant consideration."
On top of it come the master's capital contribution and the Club's Joining Fee.
When can a Cedarwood owner lease?
Not in the first 12 months of ownership. The 1977 declaration had no leasing article; the owners added Article VI § 15 at a special meeting on 31 July 2019 (OR 30958/1816, pp. 2–5):
- First year. "The rental or leasing of residences … is prohibited within the first 12 months of an Owner's ownership." The section names no family or estate-planning exception.
- Term and number. One lease a residence in any 12 months, "the term of which lease shall be in excess of four (4) months". No lease may exceed 12 months unless the Board reviews it each year.
- Approval. The owner gives notice by certified mail or by hand, with the tenant's application. The association decides within 30 days (§ 15.1, p. 3).
- Grounds to refuse. Within the past five years, a tenant's bankruptcy, foreclosure, eviction for unpaid rent or unsatisfied judgment; within ten, a felony of violence, theft, fraud or moral turpitude. The association may also refuse if the lot has been leased or owner-vacant for 18 of the last 24 months, or the owner is delinquent.
- Deposit. Up to the greater of $2,500 or one month's rent (§ 15.3, p. 4).
- Void without approval. An unapproved lease "shall be null and void". No subleasing or assignment.
- Long-stay guests. A guest other than immediate family who stays more than 30 days while the owner is away is treated as a tenant.
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 (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(1)(h)). Cedarwood's section was recorded in October 2019, before that date, so it binds every owner. The master's leasing rules apply on top.
What did the 2025 amendment change about the lien?
As recorded in 1977, the lien was subordinate to a first mortgage amortized over at least ten years. A foreclosing institutional mortgagee owed nothing for earlier assessments (Art. V § 9, OR 2658/648). The 2025 text keeps the subordination but adds that the lien "relates back to the date on which this Declaration was recorded" (OR 35671/1544, p. 2). For mortgages recorded after the amendment, and earlier ones where the law allows, § 720.3085 governs a lender's liability.
It also makes a buyer liable for the seller's arrears: "A Lot Owner is jointly and severally liable with the previous Lot Owner for all unpaid assessments". The association's written opinion on subordination is "dispositive" (p. 3).
Where does a Cedarwood title need care?
- Architectural damages run at $100 a day, or another sum the Board sets, from the seventh day after notice of a violation. "There shall be no dollar amount limitation", and the total is secured by a claim of lien (Art. VII, OR 35671/1544, pp. 5–6). We ask the estoppel whether any approval or violation is open.
- Since 2007 the declaration may be amended by a majority of the voting interests (Art. IX § 4, OR 22288/302). The 2018 and 2019 certificates still quote the old three-fourths wording, and the 2025 certificate states no vote or meeting (OR 35671/1544, p. 1).
- The 2018 certificate calls the 1985 amendment (OR 4576/1085) "the Declaration" (OR 29782/1504, p. 1). The 2019 and 2025 instruments cite the 1977 declaration correctly.
- Every owner has a three-foot easement over the neighboring lot to maintain those party walls and fences (Art. III § 3, OR 29782/1504, p. 3).
- Since 2025 fines may exceed $100 a violation and $1,000 in the aggregate (By-Laws Art. XIV, OR 35671/1544, p. 6).
Our practice
How Bayit Title handles this
We ask Cedarwood's estoppel for the Board's current contribution and for any open architectural matter, since both reach the buyer. We read the deed against the contribution's exemptions, especially a lady-bird or trust conveyance. A buyer planning to rent hears about the 12-month bar before signing. We confirm the manager first, because the recorded and published names differ.
What is recorded for Cedarwood?
| Recorded | Instrument | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| 16 December 1976 | PB 32/94 | The plat, Cedarwood of Boca West, P.U.D., by Arvida Corporation. |
| 30 March 1977 | OR 2658/648 | The Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions for Village of Cedarwood, by Coppola Enterprises, Inc., with By-Laws. |
| 1985–2009 | OR 4576/1085; OR 13486/1059; OR 14935/1358; OR 20062/727; OR 22288/302; OR 23281/1925 | Landscaping, exterior painting, a preservation notice, the majority amendment vote, and late charges, pets and architectural conditions. |
| 15 April 2018 | OR 29782/1504 | The resale capital contribution and the party-wall easement, adopted on 5 February 2018. |
| 16 October 2019 | OR 30958/1816 | The leasing section, adopted on 31 July 2019. |
| 11 April 2025 | OR 35671/1544 | The lien and mortgagee section, the $5,000 contribution, architectural control and fines. |
Common questions
Does Cedarwood approve buyers?
No. Cedarwood screens tenants, not buyers. A Cedarwood closing still needs the master's Certificate of Compliance and the Country Club's approval of the buyer (Art. VI § 15, OR 30958/1816).
How much is the Cedarwood resale contribution?
$5,000 since April 2025, or another amount the Cedarwood Board sets, on any voluntary transfer. Foreclosure, court-ordered inheritance and 100% estate-planning trust transfers are exempt (Art. V § 12, OR 35671/1544, pp. 3–4).
Can I rent out my Cedarwood home?
Not in your first 12 months as owner. After that a Cedarwood home may be leased once in 12 months, for more than four months, with approval (Art. VI § 15, OR 30958/1816).
Does a lady-bird deed trigger the Cedarwood contribution?
Yes. Cedarwood charges the contribution on a lady-bird deed that passes a remainder to anyone who was not already an owner (Art. V § 12, OR 35671/1544, pp. 3–4).
How many estoppels does a Cedarwood sale need?
Two association estoppels, Cedarwood's and the Boca West master's, plus the Country Club's account statement.