Princeton Estates, Woodfield: 18 homes under an unamended 1988 declaration

At OR 5556/1129, 33 pages, made by Woodfield Country Club, Ltd. on 7 December 1987. The Clerk indexes it as a deed, not as restrictions, which is why the developer's own deeds, citing only the master declaration and the plat, never led to it (OR 5965/877, p. 1). It is made subject to the Master Declaration at OR 5037/1571 (OR 5556/1129, p. 1). The association's Board preserved it by a notice recorded on 31 March 2015, which cites the plat as "Plat Book 56, Pages 45-46" (OR 27433/1222, p. 1).

We found no amendment of record.

Approval by the association, then by the master. The Princeton Estates declaration itself sets no approval of sales and no right of first refusal, and we found no amendment, rule or resolution of record that adds one. Since 22 March 2022, though, 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 Princeton Estates whatever its own declaration says, and it is the only recorded source of the approval. A letter recorded with a 2025 deed shows it in use: the application "for residency at PRINCETON ESTATES HOA has been approved", from the association's screening committee, citing no document (OR 35898/188, p. 3). We ask the manager for the application on every file. The master's rule also needs its Certificate of Compliance, with the buyer's Club membership.

The declaration creates a working capital fund "in an amount equal to two (2) months of the annual assessment for each Lot", "collected from each Lot purchaser at the time of conveyance of the Lot to such purchaser" (Art. VIII § 10, OR 5556/1129, p. 20). On its own words it is collected from each lot purchaser at conveyance, not only on the developer's first sale, so a resale buyer pays it; no amendment has changed it. We take the figure from the estoppel. The buyer also pays the master's working capital contribution.

The declaration sets no lease terms. It gives the association power to make "reasonable rules and regulations governing the rights of Owners in connection with the leasing of residential units", including limits on how often and how long (Art. V § 1P, OR 5556/1129, p. 10). We ask the manager for any rules adopted under it. The master's leasing rules apply to every home.

Assessments are "a charge and a continuing lien upon each Lot" and the owner's personal obligation (Art. VIII § 1, p. 18). The lien is effective from the recording of a claim of lien (Art. VIII § 12, p. 20). The lien "shall be subordinate to the recorded lien of any first mortgage" held by an institutional lender, and "No sale or other transfer shall relieve any property from liability for any assessments thereafter becoming due" (Art. VIII § 13, p. 21). Fla. Stat. § 720.3085 also governs a homeowners' association lien.

An amendment needs three-fourths of the members voting at a duly held meeting, and the consent of the Master Association's Board (Art. X § 2, p. 26). Because none has been recorded, any leasing restriction added by amendment would be new; under Fla. Stat. § 720.306(1)(h) it would bind only owners who take title after it or consent, apart from limits on leases under six months or more than three a year.

• Tract A. In 2024 the association sold a strip of common Tract A, its southerly 45.19 feet, by warranty deed (OR 35373/1536, p. 1), and a 2025 corrective warranty deed restated the strip and added two more small portions of Tract A (OR 35544/696, Exh. A, p. 3). The Property Appraiser now carries the strip with Lot 1, a vacant lot, as one parcel, and Tract A less the strip, with Tracts B to D, as the association's common area. A Lot 1 closing should describe both the lot and the strip, and a survey should follow the corrected description.