Long Cove at Heron Bay: rules, fees and closing points

Very little, because the declaration creates no association of its own:

• One estoppel, from the master. "Each LOT in the NEIGHBORHOOD shall be assessed by the ASSOCIATION (as such term is defined in the GENERAL COVENANTS)" (Art. III ¶ 6, p. 8). There is no Long Cove assessment, lien or estoppel. Any Neighborhood Expenses the master bills to Long Cove should appear on the master's estoppel (Heron Bay Declaration §§ 7.5, 9.5, pp. 46–47, 58).
• No Long Cove fee, approval or right of first refusal. The buyer pays the master's Capital Payment and nothing to Long Cove.
• Confirm no association has been formed since. The declaration lets the developer assign its rights to "a HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION formed by the NEIGHBORHOOD" (Art. III ¶ 11, p. 9). No such association or assignment is in our set.
• Check the legal description against the plat. Block E has 31 lots, so a contract or commitment describing Lots 32–35 of Block E of Heron Bay Two has the wrong legal description (see the title points).

Yes. The declaration sets no leasing limits of its own, so the master's rules govern: one lease in any 12 months, with tenants registered before they move in. The declaration binds tenants too, and the owner is responsible for their violations (Art. III ¶ 5, p. 8).

• There are no Lots 32–35 in Block E. The master declaration commits "Lots 1 through 35, inclusive, in Block E" of Heron Bay Two (Heron Bay Declaration Exhibit A, OR 24242/722), but the plat ends Block E at Lot 31 and limits it to "thirty-one (31) detached single family dwelling units" (PB 159/39, sheets 3, 7). The master's "35" is an error that leaves no lot uncovered: Long Cove's declaration covers every lot in Blocks C, D, E and F (Art. I ¶ 6, p. 2).
• Access is by private street. On the plat, Parcels G and H are private streets and Parcels J, K and N berm and planting areas. The owners of lots in Blocks C, D, E and F, "and not the public", have an ingress and egress easement over Parcels G and H; WCI reserved a perpetual right of ingress and egress over Parcels F, G and H; and North Springs Improvement District and the City of Coral Springs hold utility easements on and under them (PB 159/39, sheets 1, 6–8). The plat dedicates nothing to the master association. The Property Appraiser records the master as owner of Parcels G and H, citing a multi-parcel warranty deed dated 12 December 1997 (OR 27607/519), and of J and N, citing one dated 21 January 1998 (OR 27607/518). It also records the master as owner of K, less a small North Springs Improvement District water and sewer site, citing a warranty deed dated 10 July 1998 (OR 28569/309). We have not read these deeds.
• The first 30-year term has ended, and the covenants continue. That term ran from recording to 11 January 2026. The covenants now extend for ten-year periods "unless an instrument signed by the then OWNERS of a majority of the LOTS in the NEIGHBORHOOD has been recorded agreeing to change or terminate this DECLARATION in whole or in part" (Art. III ¶ 10, p. 9).
• No preservation notice. We found no notice for this declaration, and the master's 2024 notice (Instr 119854426) does not list it. The Marketable Record Title Act sets a separate 30-year test. It runs from each lot's root of title, the last title transaction recorded at least 30 years earlier (Fla. Stat. § 712.01). So January 2026 was only the earliest date a lot could lose the covenants (§ 712.04). A notice can preserve them (§ 712.05), as can an amendment indexed under the association's legal name that cites the declaration's recording information (§ 712.05(2)(b)). So can a deed in the chain that cites the declaration by book and page or instrument number (§ 712.03(1)). Whether the covenants still bind a particular lot turns on its chain of title.
• The developer's claim of lien. If an owner lets the lot, landscaping or house run down and does not fix it within 15 days of written notice, the developer may do the work, bill the owner, and "is hereby empowered to file a Claim of Lien" for what is owed (Art. II ¶ 10, pp. 6–7). The search should look for one.
• The developer's other powers. It has the same enforcement and lien rights under this declaration as under the master declaration, including its Article 6 (Art. III ¶ 7, pp. 8–9); it resolves any conflict between the two, "and its decision shall be final" (¶ 8, p. 9), and alone may amend the declaration, for minor changes only (¶ 9, p. 9).
• A drafting leftover. "MEMBER" is defined as the lot owners, "all of whom shall be MEMBERS of the NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION" (Art. I ¶ 5, p. 2), but the declaration never creates one; everything operative runs to the master and the Neighborhood Committee.
• The common areas are the master's. Parcel H of Heron Bay Two "is Association Common Area" for the roadway, drainage and utilities; Parcels J, K and N are for landscaping and buffer walls; nothing may be built on any of them without the developer's approval (Art. II ¶ 1.B–D, p. 3).
• Execution. The declaration was executed on 28 November 1995 (p. 10); the handwritten day in the acknowledgment is unclear. It is noted here for completeness and is of low significance.