Willow Wood Mid-Rise III, Boca West: sale approval, a capital contribution and a first-year leasing bar

Three approvals: the association's, the master's Certificate of Compliance and the Country Club's approval of the buyer. The association's comes first.

Since 1981 no owner may sell "without approval of the Association except to another Unit owner" (Art. XVII.A(1), OR 3575/377). Since 20 August 2024 approval reaches any "sale, disposition, conveyance, or transfer of any Unit, or any interest therein" (OR 35221/619, p. 12). That includes a sale to another owner, adding or replacing a trustee, and "any change in ownership of an entity".

• The application. The seller applies at least 30 days before the transfer, with the contract and each buyer's photo identification. The fee is $100 for each applicant unless the Board sets another (p. 13). The association may run background and credit checks and interview the buyer.
• The certificate. "No transfer which requires Association approval shall be valid unless the Certificate of Approval has been issued", and a transfer without one "shall be considered null and void" (p. 13). We record the certificate with the deed.
• Grounds to refuse. A credit score below 650, certain criminal convictions, a history of breaking association rules, violations on the unit, or a delinquent seller (p. 14). The association may approve on condition that violations are cured and the seller's balance is paid by the transfer. If not, it may revoke the approval and treat the transfer as void.
• No deadline, no substitute. The amendment sets no time for the association to decide a sale. The 1981 rule that made it supply a buyer at the contract price, or else approve the sale, is gone (Art. XVII.C(1), OR 3575/379).
• What is exempt. Transfers on death, foreclosure and tax-deed sales, deeds in lieu to an institutional lender, and an owner's transfer to their own trust. Even then, nobody may occupy the unit without the association's written approval (p. 12).

Every owner is also a member of the Village of Willow Wood Association, Inc. (Declaration of Covenants Art. IV § 1, OR 2990/611) and of the master. The Village of Willow Wood is not one of the master's 56 Villages. Its assessments are a lien that needs no recording (OR 2990/612), and the Mid-Rise declaration lets this association collect them for it (Art. XIX.F, OR 3575/384). So we confirm in writing which estoppel carries the Willow Wood share.

A capital contribution to this association, on top of the master's. It is "non-refundable", due at the transfer, set by the Board, and "considered an assessment against the Unit", with lien rights. "Transferees that do not pay the capital contribution shall not be allowed to purchase" (OR 35221/619, pp. 14–15). No recorded document gives the amount, so we take it from the association's estoppel.

The master bills the association $56,911 for 2026/2027, up from $47,841 (master's adopted 2026/2027 budget, not recorded). That is on top of the master's per-unit charges. The association's own assessment and the Village of Willow Wood's come from their estoppels.

Only after 12 months of ownership, and only with approval. The 2024 amendments deleted the leasing section (Art. XVI.E) and replaced Article XVII with new leasing and sale rules (OR 35221/619, pp. 6–12):

• First year. No tenant may occupy a unit for 12 months after "a full or partial transfer of ownership", including a foreclosure, tax sale or inheritance (p. 10). An entity or trust owner names designated occupants for that year.
• A sale with a tenant in place. An approved lease survives the sale until its original end date, but may not be renewed or extended. The buyer's 12-month bar starts when it ends (pp. 10–11).
• Approval. Every lease, renewal and sublease needs prior written approval. The owner applies at least 30 days ahead and pays $100 an applicant. If the association does not act within 30 days, the lease is denied.
• Term and number. At least 4 months and at most 1 year, and "No Unit may be leased more than once in any 12-month period for any reason" (p. 7).
• Tenants. Natural persons only, who may be refused below a 650 credit score, and a deposit of up to a month's rent. The owner gives up use of the common elements while the unit is leased.

The term, once-a-year and first-year limits bind owners who consented to them and everyone who took title after they took effect (Fla. Stat. § 718.110(13)). The approval requirement is not limited that way. The declaration delays any amendment that limits leasing until nine months after its adoption (Art. XII.C(6), OR 3575/367). These were adopted on 20 June 2024, so for leasing they took effect about 20 March 2025. Whether an owner who took title between the recording and that date is bound is a question for underwriting. The master's leasing rules apply on top.

No smoking is allowed anywhere, inside the units included (OR 35221/619, p. 5). A guest who pays, stays while no owner or tenant is in residence, or stays more than 30 days in 12 months needs approval as a tenant does. Water heaters must be replaced within six months after they turn 12, and the association may enter to inspect them. The Board may change the use restrictions by rule.

Buyer and seller are jointly and severally liable for unpaid assessments "as set forth in the Condominium Act", and lien priority and a foreclosing lender's liability now follow the statute (OR 35221/619, pp. 17–18). The 1981 requirement that a mortgage to anyone but an institutional lender be approved went with the old Article XVII.

Both buildings are eight stories and over 30 years old, so they need a milestone inspection under Fla. Stat. § 553.899 and a structural integrity reserve study. The buyer is entitled to their summaries (the resale documents).

• Two of the 2024 amendments carry the wrong article number: maintenance as "XII" where the declaration's is XIII, and default as "XVII" where it is XVIII (OR 35221/619, pp. 4, 16). We note both for underwriting.
• Phase IV, a third 46-unit building, was never added before the 1 January 1987 deadline (Art. IV.G), so the condominium is 92 units. We check the unit's share against the phases of record.
• As declared, Phase II holds a non-residential management unit, the pool and the service building (Art. IV). A 1987 quit-claim copied into the Village's 2011 notice shows Arvida conveying the management unit to the Village of Willow Wood (OR 24580/1907, p. 54).
• Parking spaces are limited common elements assigned by recorded instrument, and they pass with the unit (Art. V.C(1)). The extra cost of covered parking is charged to the assigned unit (Art. XIII.C).

The Village of Willow Wood's declaration is OR 2990/610 (11 January 1979), amended in 1985 (OR 4748/257) and preserved under the Marketable Record Title Act by a notice of 16 June 2011 (OR 24580/1907).