July 20, 2026 | Mark Luis Foster

It was 57 years ago that Apollo 11 landed on the surface of the moon after taking off from the Atlantic shores of Florida. Such exciting times, those 60’s. Those were the days.

Seems Florida is now in the news for other reasons, and in the HOA industry, it runs pretty hot with wild stories. There’s a story gaining a lot of traction about a 28-year-old who inherited an HOA home from her father, but there’s a problem: The HOA is for 55-plus owners only.

According to CBS Channel 27 Harrisburg:

According to the community’s covenant, the subdivision is “intended for the housing of persons fifty-five (55) years of age or older.” Each home must be “at all times” occupied by at least one person who is age 55 or older.

The Jacksonville HOA has been in a fight with the new owner due to the age issue. As you can imagine, the legal fees are adding up and the board voted to spread the debt:

The Freedom at Arbor Mill HOA voted on Wednesday to assess a $155,000 fee, Michel said in a video posted July 13. The fee would be split among the 155 community residents to cover the legal costs of removing Michel, who inherited the home after her father died in October 2023.

This is a tough one. Apparently the covenants are clear:

It recognizes the potential scenario of a death in the home, saying, “However, in the event of the death of an Age-Qualified Occupant who was the sole occupant of a Home, any qualified occupant may continue to occupy the same Home as long as the provisions of the Fair Housing Act are not violated by such occupancy.”

Emphasis on “qualified.”

So what would you do if you were a board member? The rules are clear, but the optics are bad. As I’ve said in many a chapter meeting, it’s a Kobyashi Maru from Star Trek, a “no-win scenario.”

The affected homeowner also said this:  “Beyond my personal situation, what concerns me most is the impact this has on the community as a whole…. Many of my neighbors are seniors on fixed incomes, and this assessment could have significant financial consequences for them.”

You can read the story HERE.