Carlton Place, Woodfield Country Club: buyer approval and a four-quarter capital contribution

Yes. Since the 2005 amendment, "All prospective sales and lessees shall make application to the Association prior to the commencement of any sale or lease term." Applicants may be interviewed, and "All prospective purchasers and/or tenants shall be approved or denied within thirty (30) days of receipt of the application" (Art. X § 16, OR 19645/733, pp. 1–2). We saw no right of first refusal. Page 3 of the amendment is only the notarial acknowledgment, of 26 October 2005. The amendment requires an application but sets no fee, and no instrument we read, nor any rule or resolution indexed under the association's name, sets an application or lease fee.

Then the master. Since 22 March 2022 the master declaration has required that every sale, transfer or conveyance of a Woodfield lot, including a gift, devise or inheritance, be approved by the Neighborhood association within 30 days and then sent to the master for final approval, with a fee of at least $100 (Art. X § 19, OR 33401/264, pp. 29–30). That binds every Neighborhood whatever its own documents say; Carlton Place's own application and interview apply alongside it. The master's rule also needs its Certificate of Compliance, with the buyer's Club membership.

A capital contribution. Since the amendment recorded 4 January 2023, "a new Unit Owner shall be liable for a Capital Contribution equal to four quarterly assessments", which the Board may change by resolution, rule or regulation (Art. IX § 8, OR 34051/681, p. 2). It is paid by the buyer to the association at resale and is collectible as an assessment, with lien rights. The association is exempt when it takes title by foreclosure or deed in lieu, and the Board may waive it for transfers to immediate family, to family or estate-planning trusts, or between spouses by divorce decree (p. 2). The money may be used "for any lawful purpose", including common expenses, capital improvements and reserves, at the Board's discretion (p. 2). Before that it was one quarterly assessment: the 2023 text strikes "one (1)" (OR 34051/681, p. 2), and that one quarter came from the amendment recorded 9 December 2005, under which "a new Unit Owner shall be liable for a Capital Contribution equal to one (1) quarterly assessment. This will come from the Buyer to the Association at resale" (Art. IX § 8, OR 19645/731, p. 2). The 2024 preservation notice lists no other amendment between them (OR 34853/472).

The original declaration set a working capital fund "equal to two (2) months of the annual assessment ... collected from each Lot purchaser at the time of conveyance" (OR 8145/1732, p. 19). It no longer applies on its own terms: the 2023 contribution applies "Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this Declaration", so since 4 January 2023 a new owner pays four quarterly assessments, or whatever the Board later sets by resolution, in its place. Nothing for Carlton Place Homeowners Association was recorded after the 28 February 2024 preservation notice through 28 October 2026; the other "Carlton Place" entries belong to Carlton Place Condominium Association, a separate association. We ask the estoppel to state the current amount, since the Board may change it.

The buyer also pays the master's resale working capital contribution.

Yes, with approval, under the rules added in 2005 (Art. X § 16, OR 19645/733):

• Approval. "After approval by the Association ... entire Units but not less than entire Units may be leased".
• Frequency and term. "one lease during any twelve-month period. No Unit may be leased for less than three (3) consecutive months ... No lease shall be for a period of more than one (1) year."
• Ownership first. "a unit may not be leased until an Owner has held title for a minimum of one (1) year."
• No subletting or assignment, and no change or extension without consent.
• Guests. Guests may stay without the owner, and without paying, "for periods not exceeding thirty (30) days in any twelve (12) month period as to any one guest"; a longer stay counts as a lease.

These rules date from 2005, before the 1 July 2021 cutoff in Fla. Stat. § 720.306(1)(h), so they bind every owner. No lease fee is recorded. The master's leasing rules apply on top.

• Lien. Assessments are "a charge and a continuing lien upon each Lot ... and shall also be the personal obligation of the Owner" (OR 8145/1732, p. 17), effective on recording a claim of lien (§ 12, p. 19). A first mortgage held by an institutional lender is superior only as to assessments due before a foreclosure sale, and "No sale or other transfer shall relieve any property from liability for any assessments thereafter becoming due" (§ 13, p. 20). Fla. Stat. § 720.3085 also applies.
• Palm lighting. "Each Lot Owner must continue to provide electrical lighting leading up to the palm trees (2 lights per tree)" and pay the electricity (OR 28301/1521).
• Lakes. No docks or motorboats; each owner maintains the strip between the rear lot line and the water's edge "as if said area were a portion of the Lot" (§ 12, pp. 22–23).
• Exterior changes need the architectural review board's approval (OR 21317/1605).
• Amendments need two-thirds of members and the master board's consent (Art. XI § 2, p. 24).
• Amendment numbering. Only one Declaration amendment carries an ordinal in its title, the "Fourth Amendment" of 2016 (OR 28301/1521); the others are titled "Amendment" or "Certificate of Amendment", and no instrument titled Third or Fifth Amendment is recorded. Counted in recording order, the Declaration amendments are OR 19645/731, OR 19645/733, OR 21317/1605, OR 28301/1521 and OR 34051/681, the list in the 2024 preservation notice (OR 34853/472). The two by-law amendments (OR 19139/1040, OR 21317/1610) are not counted.