The Cove, Boca West: 20-day approval of sales and leases, and a lien rule that reaches every buyer
The Cove is 76 condominium units in 19 four-unit phases at 20220 Boca West Drive in Boca West. Every sale, transfer and lease needs the association's approval, decided within 20 days, and an unapproved one is voidable. A 2021 amendment makes any buyer except a foreclosing first mortgagee liable for all past-due assessments.
The association at a glance
The Cove at Boca West Condominium, Inc. — Chapter 718 condominium association
- Estoppels
- The Cove's and the master's, plus the Country Club's statement. The Cove's is due within 10 business days of a written or electronic request (Fla. Stat. § 718.116(8))
- Approval of a sale
- Yes. The seller gives notice, the contract and the fee; the association decides within 20 days, and silence is approval (Declaration § 19, OR 5474/781, p. 24)
- Unpaid assessments
- Anyone taking title other than a foreclosing first mortgagee owes all unpaid assessments, interest, costs and fees (§ 13.6, OR 33126/211, p. 3)
- Leasing
- Approval of every lease, at least one month long; a lease may be refused if the unit was leased 4 or more times in the past 12 months (§ 19.6.1, p. 26)
- Homes
- 76 units, numbered 101 to 1904, all at 20220 Boca West Drive, built 1988 to 1990; legal descriptions read "Cove at Boca West Cond Unit nnnn"
- Declaration
- Official Records Book 5474, Page 781 (OR 5474/781), recorded 5 November 1987 by Signature Homes; phase amendments 1987–1991; amended in 2003 (OR 14935/1398) and 2021 (OR 33126/211)
- Manager
- Excel Property Management, 561-876-3107. DBPR's condominium list (17 October 2026) gives the association's address at 790 Park of Commerce Boulevard, and the Property Appraiser mails its tracts to 20540 Country Club Boulevard, Suite 101. We confirm the manager when ordering the estoppel. Source: the master association's Your Management Company page (not recorded), checked October 22, 2026.
The Cove at Boca West is a condominium built in phases of four units off Boca West Drive, in Boca West, in unincorporated Palm Beach County. Signature Homes, a joint venture of Monterey Homes, Inc. and D.R.M. Construction Corp., declared it in 1987 with only Phases 13 and 14. Phases were then added one at a time, in no fixed order, until at least 1991. We read the declaration's first 40 pages, the phase amendments and the two members' amendments.
How many phases does The Cove have?
Nineteen, of four units each (§ 23.2, OR 5474/781, p. 31). The last phase amendment we found, adding Phase 2 in October 1991, lists every phase added so far: 2 to 11 and 13 to 19 (OR 7002/1877, p. 1). It does not list Phases 1 and 12. Yet the Property Appraiser carries units 101–104 and 1201–1204, and excepts "Ph 1 thru 19" from the association's Parcel A. So amendments adding Phases 1 and 12 must have been recorded after October 1991, and we did not find them.
DBPR lists the condominium as "Phase 1-21". No further phase can now be added: a phase "not added to the CONDOMINIUM by that date may not thereafter be added", and the date was seven years after recording (§ 23.10, p. 32). That deadline passed in November 1994, so The Cove is 76 units.
What does a sale at The Cove need?
A Cove sale needs the association's approval as well as the master's Certificate of Compliance and the Country Club's approval of the buyer. The association's procedure is in § 19 of the 1987 declaration (pp. 24–27), which has not been amended.
- The notice. Before a sale, transfer or lease, the owner gives the association written notice with the buyer's details, a signed copy of the contract and a non-refundable fee set by the rules, capped by law (§ 19.1). An heir gives notice on taking title.
- The decision. Within 20 days of receiving everything, the association approves in recordable form or disapproves (§ 19.3). If it does neither, the sale is deemed approved, and it must deliver a recordable approval on request.
- A refusal. The association must buy, or name a buyer, only if the seller's notice demanded it or the unit passed by inheritance (§ 19.3.2). Otherwise a refusal simply stands.
- Unpaid assessments. The association may refuse approval until the owner's assessments are paid in full (§ 19.3.4, p. 24).
- Voidable, not void. An unapproved transaction is "voidable at the election of the ASSOCIATION", which may then evict at the owner's cost (§ 19.7, p. 27).
- Entity or unrelated buyers. Approval of a company or of two unrelated buyers may be tied to named occupants, who are then treated as the owners (§ 19.8).
Exempt are transfers to a spouse, adult child, parent, parent-in-law or co-owner, or their trust or entity, an institutional lender's foreclosure, and a public sale with open bidding (§ 19.9, p. 27).
What does a buyer at The Cove owe for the seller's assessments?
In a voluntary conveyance the buyer "shall be jointly and severally liable for all unpaid ASSESSMENTS and CHARGES owed by the prior UNIT OWNER" (§ 13.1, p. 11). In December 2021 the owners rewrote § 13.6 (OR 33126/211, p. 3):
- the association's lien is subordinate only to a first mortgage recorded before its claim of lien, and only for assessments due before a foreclosure sale or deed in lieu;
- "only a first mortgagee who acquires title" is excused from earlier assessments, and it still owes the statutory amount, the lesser of 12 months' assessments or 1% of the original loan;
- if the statute raises a mortgagee's liability the higher figure applies, but a statutory reduction does not;
- any other owner taking title at a foreclosure sale, "or … as a result of any other public sale or private transaction", owes all unpaid assessments, interest, costs, late charges and fees.
So a third-party buyer at a foreclosure sale owes the whole arrears. Read literally, "private transaction" could also reach a buyer from a lender that took title. Every voluntary grantee was already jointly liable for the seller's arrears (§ 13.1). The 2021 text says "Lot" once where the declaration says "Unit". Section 718.116 still governs where the statute and the declaration differ.
When can a Cove owner lease?
With approval, under the same § 19 procedure. Every lease must be in writing, and none may run less than a month without consent (§ 19.6.1, p. 26). The association may refuse a lease, with no duty to find a tenant, if the unit was leased 4 or more times in the past 12 months. A guest staying up to 30 days in 12 months, without paying, is not a tenant.
The declaration adds that no amendment "which would further prohibit or restrict any UNIT OWNER from renting or leasing his UNIT" may be made "without the consent of all of the UNIT OWNERS" (§ 19.6.1, p. 26). We found no leasing amendment. The master's leasing rules, including its first-year bar and four-month minimum, apply on top and are stricter.
What does a buyer at The Cove pay?
The working capital contribution of two months' assessments applied only to buyers from the developer (§ 12.2, pp. 10–11). We found no resale contribution. A Cove buyer's entry charges are the master's capital contribution and the Club's Joining Fee.
The master bills The Cove $75,489 for 2026/2027, up 15.11% (master's adopted 2026/2027 budget, not recorded). The master's per-unit charges are billed on top. The Cove's own assessment comes from its estoppel.
Since 1987 the association has had to insure the buildings under a blanket policy at 100% of replacement cost (§ 15.2.1, p. 15). The 2003 amendment deleted the original $500 cap on that policy's deductible (OR 14935/1398).
Where does a Cove title need care?
- The amendments adding Phases 1 and 12 were not found. On a unit numbered 101–104 or 1201–1204 we find the amendment and check the unit's share.
- The association's name appears as "The Cove at Boca West Condominium, Inc." in the declaration and the 2021 amendment, and as "... Condominium Association, Inc." in the 2003 amendment. We use the first on estoppels.
Our practice
How Bayit Title handles this
At The Cove the 20-day clock starts only when the association has the notice, the contract and the fee together. We send all three at once. On a resale from a lender or after a foreclosure we read the 2021 lien text with the estoppel, because the buyer may owe the full arrears. For units in Phases 1 and 12 we find the missing phase amendment before closing.
What is recorded for The Cove?
| Recorded | Instrument | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| 28 May 1987 | PB 56/143 | The plat, Cove at Boca West. |
| 5 November 1987 | OR 5474/781 | The declaration, 95 pages, by Signature Homes, submitting Phases 13 and 14. |
| 1987–1991 | OR 5519/754 to OR 7002/1877 | Fifteen amendments adding Phases 15, 6, 5, 3, 4, 16, 8, 7, 17, 9, 18, 10, 19, 11 and 2, in that order. |
| 17 March 2003 | OR 14935/1398 | § 15.2.1 amended to delete the $500 cap on the casualty deductible, adopted by at least 67% of the votes. |
| 9 December 2021 | OR 33126/211 | § 13.6 rewritten: lien priority, mortgagee liability and the liability of every other buyer. |
Common questions
Does The Cove approve buyers?
Yes. The Cove's association approves every sale, transfer and lease within 20 days of the notice, contract and fee. It need not supply another buyer unless the seller's notice demanded one (§ 19.3, OR 5474/781).
Can I rent out my unit at The Cove?
Yes, with approval, for at least a month. The Cove may refuse a lease if the unit was leased 4 or more times in the past year. The master's four-month minimum and first-year bar apply too.
Does a buyer at a Cove foreclosure sale owe back assessments?
Yes, unless it held the first mortgage. Since 2021 The Cove's declaration excuses only a first mortgagee that takes title, and only in part. Other foreclosure-sale buyers, and possibly "private transaction" buyers, owe all unpaid assessments (OR 33126/211, p. 3).
How many units are at The Cove?
Seventy-six, in 19 phases of four. The Cove's declaration let phases be added only within seven years of 1987, so the 21 phases DBPR lists will never be reached (§ 23.10).
Is there a capital contribution at The Cove?
Not on a resale. The Cove's two-month working capital contribution applied only to buyers from the developer. The master's capital contribution is charged (§ 12.2).