Budget season
Florida HOA and condo budget guides
Budget season is the one part of the year where a Florida board's calendar is set by statute rather than by habit. Chapter 718 fixes the condominium sequence, Chapter 719 fixes the cooperative sequence, and Chapter 720 fixes the HOA sequence. Miss a step and the adoption is challengeable; hit them and the hardest conversation of the year gets a lot easier.
These guides cover the whole cycle: what the budget has to contain, how the reserve line is calculated and why the structural piece of it is no longer a vote, the working-back calendar from the adoption meeting, how to present an assessment increase, and the packet that goes out to owners. Statute citations link to the section reference so you can read the rule yourself.
How to build a Florida HOA or condo annual budget
Build the budget from actuals, price insurance and reserves before you set the assessment, and adopt it the way Chapters 718, 719, and 720 require.
Read the guideFlorida budget calendar and statutory deadlines
Every date in the Florida budget cycle, worked back from adoption, with the statutory deadlines marked and cited.
Read the guideReserve study basics for Florida boards
Component inventory, percent funded, funding methods, and what makes the Florida structural study different from an ordinary reserve study.
Read the guideRaising assessments in Florida without losing the room
The arithmetic behind an increase, the choice between dues, special assessment, and a loan.
Read the guideBudget packet checklist for Florida boards
The owner mailing, the board's working file, the adoption agenda, and the post-adoption tasks, as a checklist you can work through.
Read the guideFor owners and residents
How your association works
Plain-language guides for the people who live in a community rather than run one: what assessments pay for, how decisions get made, and what the newer Florida building rules mean for an owner.
How a Florida condo or HOA works, for owners
Who does what, what assessments pay for, and how decisions are made in a Florida condo or HOA.
Read the guideSpecial assessments, explained for Florida owners
What a special assessment is, why they happen, and how your share is calculated.
Read the guideMilestone inspections and reserve studies: what they mean for condo owners
Which buildings need a milestone inspection and a reserve study, and what it means for owners.
Read the guidePaying assessments, late charges, and what happens when you sell
How assessments are billed, how late charges work, and what an estoppel certificate is.
Read the guideRun the numbers while you read
The calculators these guides reference are free and need no account.
- Florida board tools. Calculators, planners, and document generators.
- Annual budget builder. Line editing, per-unit dues derivation, and notice-deadline tracking.
- Florida statute reference. The sections every guide above cites.
Compare notes with other Florida boards
Common Elements is where boards and managers compare vendors, run RFPs, and ask each other what a budget number should look like. Free to join, no credit card.