Threat of being priced out on South Florida condo owners' minds

MIAMI - South Florida condo owners face escalating costs due to rising assessments and fees, pushing some to move away; legislators aim to address these challenges, focusing on safety and insurance reforms.

One Brickell resident told CBS News Miami, away from our cameras, that he was upset that his neighbor of two decades could no longer afford to stay, overwhelmed by skyrocketing assessments and maintenance fees .

He's not alone in hoping something changes fast.

"People are moving and moving away from this area of town," shared Shawn Cozzolino.

Cozzolino tells us ever since he purchased his condo in Brickell four years ago, his association fees have gone up.

"Add it all together, it's like an extra $1,000 more a month," said Cozzolino. "For a lot of people, they can't do that."

Condo costs are rising for thousands in South Florida.

"My brother and sister-in-law are on Brickell Key and they have had three special assessments, one per year over the last three years," said a Brickell resident who goes by Steve.

Assessments are partly tied to condo state safety requirements for structural inspections, repairs, and funding reserves.

"It's way too cumbersome," said Craig Studnicky, ISG World's CEO. "It's way too much. It's way too soon. Yes, it needs to be phased."

Studnicky has worked in real estate for four decades, believing state laws negatively affected the condo market in South Florida for aging buildings.

"It's the uncertainty of it that has created the conclusion in every prospective buyer's mind as well as lender's mind that the special assessments will be six figures plus per unit," added Studnicky.

It is the opinion of a lot of realtors, and I agree with them, that if we just went back to 40-year recertification, we're good."

In Miami Lakes on Monday, Governor Ron DeSantis participated in a round table discussion urging state lawmakers to find solutions to address escalating condo costs this year.

" I represent 20 cities; 60 plus percent are condos with incredibly compromised structural issues," said State Senator Jason Pizzo.

Pizzo was instrumental in leading the way in creating state condo safety reforms. He believes any solution should not risk building safety.

He told us he wouldn't take a risk by changing requirements, especially after the Surfside collapse in 2021.

" It was a harrowing circumstance, a harrowing tragic event that I don't want to repeat," said Pizzo.

Or see, he said, associations underfunding their bank accounts.

"Boards in years past would go ahead and try to keep costs low, and sometimes, and very often, we're seeing at the expense of the future years and generations," said Pizzo.

One path he sees to help condo owners across Florida is tackling rising insurance costs.

"Insurance bills for the last couple of sessions have not been consumer-friendly," said Pizzo. "Right now, there is no mitigation measure that insurance companies recognize to reduce your policy premium by taking some mitigation measures to actually reduce the likelihood of wind-driven rain intrusion."