Florida House Bill 0453

I have to ask this question.

Given the fact that the Florida Governor has signed into law House Bill 0453, which eliminated the 125% cap on annual increases in property taxes and certain common area resort expenses, why would you still buy a Florida timeshare?

If your annual maintenance fee is $800.00 this year, it could be $1800.00 next year.

Any thoughts?

I realize that this part of the new law is irritating to many owners of Florida timeshares. As for the cap increase, remember that most timeshares have elected board members. You can vote board members out if you feel that the fees increases are too high. As well, I believe that boards are required to send every owner a proposed budget outlining where the funds are going and that owners have to approve the new budget.

Remember too that if many owners are not happy with the hefty increases, they will default on their units. It will create a snowball effect possibly causing some resorts to go bankrupt so it would be in the boards' best interests to keep maintenance fees at a sustainable rate.

As for why anyone would buy a Florida timeshare after this new law has been enacted, well I guess it's for the same reason(s) why people would buy before this law was enacted. Very few people are going to change their mind over the removal of a cap increase. If you think about it, how many people going into these timeshare presentations will say "Yeah, I was going to pay $17000 for this unit that I can get for $1 on E-Bay with maintenance fees exceeding what can be rented for and can be increased by 125%, but I just can't accept the fact that the cap is being eliminated."?