The Conundrum of Aging Florida Condominiums — Repair or Abandon?

In the early 80's, Robert Crain, a well-known engineer in the condo construction defect world, was asked by HUD to opine on the anticipated useful life of condominium buildings built in Florida. His conclusion was 50 years. Especially for a number of beach-front condos built in the 1970's, engineer Crain seems to have predicted well.

The definition of useful life that I will use for purposes of this article is the point where the cost of trying to rehabilitate a structure becomes excessive making demo and reconstruction, or even abandonment, the better business decision.

The challenge with Florida condo buildings reaching the end of their useful lives is that condo associations are highly regulated, and boards and management in dealing with aging buildings are constrained under both statute and declarations of condominium.