Fairway Point, Boca West: a 2020 leasing ban, 15-day sale approval and a members' first right to buy

Not by anyone who bought after 30 April 2020. That day the association recorded an amendment to Article 18.B. "Except as provided by Section 718.110(13), Florida Statutes (2018) … the leasing of Units within the Association is absolutely prohibited" (OR 31394/400, p. 3).

For units the statute exempts, the 1988 rules continue: approval within 30 days, a lease of at least four months, no more than two leases in 12 months, and the association's right of first refusal to lease within 15 days. Those rules were in the original declaration unchanged (Art. 18.B, OR 5633/1857, p. 22). The amendment added only the ban.

A condominium amendment banning rentals, changing the rental term or limiting how often owners may rent binds only owners who consent to it and those who take title after it (§ 718.110(13)). So an owner from before 30 April 2020 who did not consent may still lease under the old rules until conveying. Every buyer since that date, and every buyer now, may not lease at all.

Two details for underwriting. The certificate gives no meeting date or vote, so we take the recording date as the effective date. And Article 18.F still says "The foregoing provisions of this Article shall not be applicable to transfer or lease by a Unit Owner to any member of Unit Owner's immediate family" (p. 6). Whether that lets an owner lease to a spouse, child or parent despite the ban is open. The master's leasing rules apply on top.

The Fairway Point Board must approve the buyer, as must the master, by its Certificate of Compliance, and the Country Club. The 2020 amendment restated Article 18.A as it stood in 1988 (OR 31394/400, pp. 2–3; OR 5633/1857, p. 21).

• Notice. The seller gives the Board the buyer's name and address and what it asks for. The Board decides within 15 days, and a failure to act "shall be considered approval of the sale".
• After a refusal. The seller gives the Secretary 30 days' notice of the date, price and terms. Any member may buy on them by accepting at least 15 days ahead with a 10% deposit.
• The association's choice. If no member does, the association must approve or furnish a buyer with a 10% deposit at least 10 days ahead. Otherwise the seller may close only on the noticed day, price and terms.
• Redemption. A sale made without following these steps may be redeemed by any member who repays the buyer. The right ends 120 days after the seller's notice to the Board, on the date the Secretary's affidavit gives (p. 3).
• Certificate. "Any approval by the Board of Directors pursuant to this Article shall be evidenced by a certificate duly executed by a majority of the Board of Directors" (p. 6). We record it with the deed.
• Void without it. "Any sale, mortgage or lease not authorized pursuant to the terms of this Declaration shall be void unless subsequently approved" (Art. 18.F, p. 6).

Transfers to a spouse, child or parent, between co-tenants, between trustee and beneficiary, and to a corporation in which the owner is a principal shareholder are exempt. So is an institutional lender's foreclosure or deed in lieu and its resale (pp. 5–6). No judicial sale is valid unless the buyer is approved in recordable form or the sale is public with open bidding. The Board need give no reason for a refusal.

On a death, a surviving spouse or resident family may succeed to the unit. Any other heir or devisee needs the Board's consent within 30 days; if it refuses, members may buy for cash at a court-appointed appraiser's price (Art. 18.D, OR 31394/400, pp. 4–5).

An institutional, purchase-money or developer mortgage needs no approval. Any other mortgage does (Art. 18.E, p. 5). The 1988 text said such approval "may be upon conditions determined by the Association or may be arbitrarily withheld" (OR 5633/1857, p. 23). The 2020 restatement reads "nor may be arbitrarily withheld", which could mean the opposite. We ask the association for its approval in writing either way.

In a voluntary conveyance "the grantee shall be jointly and severally liable" with the seller for unpaid assessments (Art. 13, OR 5633/1857, p. 16). We found no capital contribution in the pages read. Fairway Point buyers pay the master's capital contribution and the Club's Joining Fee.

The master bills Fairway Point $140,935 for 2026/2027, down 3.51% (master's adopted 2026/2027 budget, not recorded). Add the master's per-unit charges to that. Fairway Point's own assessment comes from its estoppel.

Building 1 dates from 1988 and its unit numbers run to the eighth floor. It turned 30 in 2018, so Fla. Stat. § 553.899 calls for a milestone inspection, and a structural integrity reserve study applies too. A Fairway Point buyer receives both summaries with the resale documents.

• Fairway Point II's documents create a Fairway Point Common Facilities Association, whose expenses its owners pay. The master's page says one office runs the land, pool and irrigation for both condominiums. The 1988 declaration pages we read do not mention it, so we ask whether Building 1 owners pay it.
• The Clerk links to the declaration a 2007 assignment by the association to a bank (OR 21964/500) and a 2007 contractor's claim of lien (OR 22217/1513). We read neither, and check them for a release.
• The Property Appraiser carries Fairway Point and Fairway Point II as one subdivision. The deed must name "Fairway Point, A Condominium" and Building 1.