Pinewood Owners:

I have been as transparent as possible with everyone about the repairs and maintenance needs of Pinewood South.

Our concrete upper lanai decks and front stairways must be repaired and stabilized before the condition becomes far more serious and far more costly. Pinewood South is now 40 years old, and these sorts of repairs are typical, though expensive. Each time I have made or been given repair cost estimates, the number has gone higher. My effort has been to stay ahead by giving owners a cost that I thought would be higher than the final project estimates. In that effort, I was mistaken and have now made some difficult decisions. We must move forward because the repairs cost will only go higher if we wait. The answer cannot be to ignore the necessary repairs.

The Special Assessment amount will be $9990.00 to each Pinewood condo. We ask for full upfront payment but will allow 3 installments of $3330.00 (Aug 1, 2025 – Nov 1, 2025 – Feb 1, 2026) for those that contact us with extreme hardship. In either case, it is important to note that the assessment must be paid. Pinewood South will charge interest on overdue balances (10 days) and initiate a lien process on balances that become 90 days or more overdue. A fee would accompany an “intent to lien notice,” another fee with the next “notice of lien” and a third fee of over $700 by our legal firm Goede, DeBoest & Cross, PLLC if they place a lien. Foreclosure could follow.

The best option for owners is to pay the full assessment up front. If you do not have the money, we ask that you borrow it. You might look for bank loans, credit card loans, family help etc. Check with your bank or mortgage company and the FHA to see whether a special assessment loan can be rolled into your mortgage to keep a single monthly payment. Bottom line, the assessment must be paid, and Pinewood South cannot provide additional financing.

Let us finish with better news. First, we are still investigating ways to lower the cost of the work. The project still must go to competitive bidding and might come in at a lower cost than the budgetary bid. Assessed money can only be used for this project and unused money can be returned to owners. Therefore, a partial refund is possible if there is an overage after the work is done. Further, after the large quarterly fee increases of the last two years, we plan to have no increase next year and increases based only on direct inflation in Pinewood costs for the foreseeable future.

Respectfully Submitted,

Gregory Grover

President, Pinewood South COA