Since Surfside, buyers of older South Florida condos have learned to ask for the milestone inspection summary and the structural integrity reserve study. Those documents now come with every Florida resale contract that requires them. They describe the building. In several of Delray Beach's large, decades-old complexes, the pool, clubhouse and courts belong to a different entity. The condo association funds it every month, and its finances appear nowhere in a structural report.
Palm Greens, west of Delray Beach, shows the full cost of that separate layer in 2026. The Palm Greens Recreation Association has been in Chapter 11 since January. Its court-appointed trustee has told residents that a multi-million-dollar special assessment may be needed. Several recent buyers told him they had not known about the litigation before they closed, the Palm Beach Post reported.
How a Recreation Association Sits Above the Condo
Palm Greens is a 55-plus community built more than 50 years ago. It sits north of Lake Ida Road between Military Trail and Jog Road, with about 1,400 condominiums and villas. Two separate associations, Condo 1 and Condo 2, govern the homes. A third body, the Recreation Association, oversees the swimming pool, clubhouse and tennis courts.
Each condo association pays the Recreation Association about $40,000 a month to maintain the amenities. Neither condo association is a debtor in the bankruptcy. The Post reported that the two associations could still be on the hook to help the Recreation Association pay creditors, depending on rulings by the bankruptcy court.
A buyer could review a clean reserve study for a Palm Greens building and still be exposed through that chain. The structural paperwork has no reason to mention it.
What Happened at Palm Greens, in Order
The underlying dispute began with land. Lennar received approval to redevelop the former 119-acre Palm Greens golf course as Delray Trails, an adjacent community. In exchange, Lennar agreed to build replacement recreation amenities for both communities. The Recreation Association alleged that the pool, clubhouse, tennis and pickleball facilities were delayed by about four years and that operating costs rose improperly. Lennar has said it fulfilled its obligations and that most of the claims against it were dismissed, according to the Palm Beach Post.
- January 28, 2026. The Recreation Association files for Chapter 11 in the Southern District of Florida. The association said litigation costs had left it unable to pay its bills, the Palm Beach Post reported.
- February 2026. The South Florida Business Journal reports that Lennar Homes is listed as the largest creditor, with a $25 million claim.
- May 5, 2026. Trustee Robert Furr, a Boca Raton attorney, tells more than 400 residents that creditors total several million dollars and that a special assessment may be structured over several years. He gives no lump-sum or monthly estimate.
- May 6, 2026. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Erik P. Kimball approves a development agreement that lets Lennar operate the new recreational complex until it is turned over to a new recreation board. That board is planned to include members from both Palm Greens associations and from Delray Trails.
- July 8, 2026. In a related appeal in district court, a magistrate judge recommends granting Lennar's motion to dismiss. As of the September 2 entries, the docket shows that recommendation but no final dismissal order.
- August 6, 2026. The Palm Beach Post reports that Furr plans to hire a lawyer to pursue potential claims connected to the association's financial collapse.
- October 2026. The bankruptcy case remains active. Hearings are set for October 14 and October 21.
In May, Furr said Lennar could turn the amenity complex over to the new recreation board within 90 days. The later Post coverage and docket entries reviewed for this post don't report an assessment amount or a completed turnover. Furr also said Delray Trails owners might be asked to contribute, even though their HOA had no part in the lawsuits. He called that an issue that will need to be addressed.
Where the Second Layer Appears in a Florida Resale Packet
Florida law does give a resale buyer tools that reach past the building. They sit in documents that often get less attention than the inspection reports.
| Document | Statute or form | What it covers about other associations |
|---|---|---|
| Milestone inspection summary and SIRS | Fla. Stat. 718.503(2)(a) | The building's structure and reserves. Nothing about a separate recreation entity. |
| Frequently Asked Questions and Answers sheet | DBPR Form CO 6000-4 | Mandatory membership in any other association, its name, voting rights and assessments. Rent or land-use fees for recreational facilities. Court cases in which the condo association or another mandatory-membership association may face liability over $100,000. |
| Estoppel certificate | Fla. Stat. 718.116(8) | Itemized assessments and special assessments owed or scheduled to come due, plus contact information for every other association the unit belongs to. |
The FAQ sheet does the most work in a case like Palm Greens. Section 718.504 requires it to state whether membership in a recreational facilities association is mandatory and what fees are charged. It must also list cases where the association is a party of record facing liability above $100,000. The DBPR form extends the litigation question to any other association with mandatory membership. That is exactly where a recreation association's lawsuits belong.
The estoppel certificate has a narrower reach. The association must issue it within 10 business days of a request from the unit owner, the mortgagee, or their designee. It itemizes money owed and money scheduled to come due during the certificate's effective period. A special assessment that a trustee has described but not levied fits neither category. The certificate's list of other associations tells a buyer who else to ask.
The Seven-Day Clock, Restored
The cancellation window changed twice in a year. Chapter 2024-244 added the itemized resale document list and set a three-day cancellation period effective October 1, 2024. HB 913, Chapter 2025-175, changed it back to seven days effective July 1, 2025.
Under the current statute, a resale contract must contain one of two clauses. The first is an acknowledgment that the buyer received the declaration, articles, bylaws and rules, the latest annual financial statement and budget, and the FAQ document more than seven days before signing, excluding weekends and legal holidays. The second makes the agreement voidable by the buyer within seven of those days after signing and receiving those documents. Under the second clause, the FAQ document counts toward that clock only "IF SO REQUESTED IN WRITING." The statute says any purported waiver has no effect, and the right ends at closing.
A parallel set of clauses covers the milestone summary, turnover inspection report and SIRS for contracts signed after December 31, 2024. If an association is not required to have a milestone inspection or a SIRS, the contract must say so in conspicuous type. HB 913 limited milestone inspections to buildings at least three habitable stories tall. For a low-rise garden complex, then, the structural disclosures can be thin or marked not required. In those cases the FAQ sheet and the financial statement carry most of the information about what the unit is tied to.
Why the August Numbers Leave Room to Read
The countywide condo market in August 2026 still gives buyers time to read all of this before committing. Palm Beach County's townhouse and condo median sale price was $300,000 in August 2026, up 5.3% from $285,000 a year earlier, according to the RWorld August 2026 market snapshot. Months of supply stood at 6.7, down from 9.0 in August 2025. Median time to contract was 69 days, compared with 74 a year earlier.
Those numbers point in two directions. Inventory of 5,770 active listings in August 2026, down 17.1% year over year, shows supply tightening. Six-plus months of supply and a 69-day median to contract still describe a market where sellers rarely demand a signature within a day. The county figures don't separate Delray Beach from the rest of the county, or older complexes from newer ones, so they can't show how one community's open litigation affects its own sales pace.
Common Questions
Does a clean SIRS mean a Delray Beach condo has no exposure to special assessments? A SIRS covers the building's structural components and reserves. In a complex where the condo association funds a separate recreation association, that entity's obligations sit outside the study. At Palm Greens, the condo associations are not debtors, but they could be asked to help pay the Recreation Association's creditors depending on court rulings.
Has Palm Greens set an assessment amount? None was reported in the coverage reviewed for this post. In May, the trustee described the potential assessment as multi-million-dollar and possibly payable over several years.
Is the resale cancellation period three days or seven? Seven days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, under the statute as amended effective July 1, 2025.
If you're weighing a resale in one of Delray Beach's established condo communities, David Cooke Real Estate can help you lay out every association a unit belongs to before the seven-day window starts. Request a Private Consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
