Now that the directors want to sell some common area properties to raise cash we have been hearing a lot of comments concerning ownership of the common areas. It’s been said that each member owns a piece of the HOA properties and/or have a vested interest in them. That applies to a Condominium Association (COA), not a Homeowners Association (HOA).
In Florida, these 2 types of residential Owners Associations function and are regulated in very different ways. Each one comes under the jurisdiction of a separate Chapter in the Florida Statutes - Chapter 718 for Condominium Associations and Chapter 720 for Homeowners Associations. Each Association must also follow its own Governing Documents and various other chapters, laws and codes.
It is interesting to note that Florida's Condominium Act (FS 718) uses the term common elements, while the Homeowners Association Act (FS 720) refers to common areas. This language difference is the basis for this article.
In Condominium Associations, each individual unit owner also owns an undivided share of the common elements.
In Homeowners Associations, the Associations’ corporation owns the common areas.
This distinction may not seem like much at first, though it directly influences:
– voting procedures
– Board of Directors authority
– how financial reserves are handled
– maintenance and repair responsibilities
– how changes can be made to the common areas
Condominium common elements are jointly owned by all the individual unit owners, so more oversight and protection are required in order to safeguard those owners' legal and financial interests.
In very basic terms, in a 100-unit condominium building each unit owner also owns a 1/100th share of all the common elements (areas). That share cannot be separated and sold separately. It is part of owning an individual unit and transfers to a new owner when that unit is sold, a fundamental element of ownership.
On the other hand, HOA communities, like this one, usually contain single-family homes and townhouses/villas, and individuals own their properties with no shared ownership of the common areas. This is the major difference between HOAs and COAs in Florida.
Since this HOA’s common areas are owned by the Association's corporation, individual owners are partially insulated from some of the legal and financial issues that could affect condo owners.
You might be thinking that if an HOA corporation owns the community's common areas, then the members get to vote on how those common areas are maintained, improved, and managed. Not exactly. You are members of the Association, not individual shareholders in the corporation that runs the community. By law, an HOA can’t issue stock.
Not all matters regarding COA or HOA common elements/areas are open to having the owners vote on them. Since a Board of Directors is elected to manage the Association's business, the Board is able to make most decisions without an owner vote, including selling common area properties. Note that in this HOA the directors are elected by each other. Not one of them was elected by the members.
Because individual HOA property owners do NOT jointly own the common areas, the Board of Directors has more authority to make decisions on its own regarding the maintenance, repair, upgrade, and additions to common areas that the corporation owns.
Since Condo owners DO jointly own the common areas, they have more input and voting rights on how common elements are managed and maintained, especially when it comes to spending Association money.
As a member you are responsible for all costs (maintenance, repair and etc.) of the properties but you have no ownership rights, only ‘use’ rights and the directors can take that right from you if they feel you’re not behaving properly. Every member of this HOA has the responsibility to understand how the Association is organized and how it should function within the laws governing it. You may need to use that knowledge as your first line of defense to protect yourself and your property someday.
Of all the ways to raise cash they chose to sell property. Would someone point out any other Florida HOA that has done this?
The following PDF is filed with the County, the highlights are not on the original document. The first thing to know is there are no stockholders in this corporation. Our Charter forbids this HOA from issuing stock. The second thing to know is this “Unanimous Resolution” violates our Bylaws, both the ones they are using and the ones recorded with the County.
Troy Weaver, as President, declared the recorded Bylaws void because proper procedure wasn’t followed. By his reasoning, the sale of lots 7 & 8 is void because proper procedure wasn’t followed. Mismanaged Circus of Fools comes to mind.
This association now has less than half the common areas it started with and you won’t believe what has been done with the boat launch property.
The procedure used to sell lot 408 also violated the same bylaws involved in the previously posted sale. It was sold to the member on each side and they divided the lot between them. The directors really messed up on this one, greatly benefiting the new owners. There are only two other lots in this subdivision with the same unusual circumstance.
We certainly hope the new owners understand what they have and that the directors can’t make any changes without their permission.
Quote from the GLSA website;
GLSA NEWSLETTERS
The monthly newsletter is a member paid service to provide them with timely information about the community.
Quote from the October 2026 newsletter;
“ They were discussing at the last meeting how much higher the taxes are and the fact that eventually, even with the dues been paid, there will come a time when there is no more money in the bank. Troy suggested BOD should entertain possibly selling the swim area property. Then take some of those proceeds and re doing boat dock area and add a sandy beach and swim area there. There is plenty of room for it, and it would also reduce not only the taxes but the liability insurance as well. Nothing set in stone or anything and if you have opinions, concerns, you are more than welcome to come to a meeting and discuss.”
Unfortunately, the directors may not be finished selling off the common areas after all. Troy Weaver now suggests selling the beach/picnic property next. They also want to put the beach on the boat launch property, although the feasibility of such a project is highly questionable. We have photos of President Robert McCoy and a few directors walking around that area during a severe drought when the boat launch was extended. It’s muck with the remains of the former fishing pier and other items unsuitable for a swimming area. It is also unclear whether they could obtain the permits required to develop the property for that purpose.