Baldwin Park residents protest rising HOA fees

ORLANDO, Fla. - Residents in an Orlando neighborhood are seeing their HOA fees double and are worried the fees will go up again.

Denise Lehup has been living in Orlando's Baldwin Park for 10 years, but in the last few her HOA has gone up and up. Last year, there was a 79% increase in HOA fees. Now, in a proposed 2024 budget, there would be another 61% increase bringing the HOA fees to $1,222 a month. She's not only worried about the rising costs but also the value of her home.

"If the homeowner dues are $1200 now, what are they going to be five years from now? What are they going to be seven years from now? Someone will think twice about getting themselves involved in a property they can't control if the board and management company are going to be able to spend at will," Lehup said.

Frustrated residents met on Friday in front of their townhomes near Meeting Place. Many hoping they can work with the Baldwin Park ROA board before a vote on the 2024 budget is made.

"It’s a whopping increase on top of the big percentage increases that we had over the past few years," said resident Mike Lynch. "If that goes through, you will see people selling their places because they literally cannot afford to do it anymore."

Several residents hired an attorney, Jim Byrd of Byrd Law Group. The attorney says residents are seeing a rise in HOA fees across the state.

"In Florida, we are seeing insurance premiums on the rise. Many insurance companies have pulled out and associations are finding it more and more difficult to get affordable insurance for their association," said Byrd. "We are seeing insurance issues causing association dues to rise, but nothing on the magnitude of what's going on in Baldwin Park," he said.

If you're in the market for a home, Byrd suggests checking on how much the HOA has in its reserve budget to cover repair and replacement costs.

"Are you going to buy a house and find out that two years later you're going to have a $50,000 special assessment because the roofs have been touched in 20 years?" said Byrd. "So, you really need to kind of look at the reserves. Look at the entire financial picture."

FOX 35 Orlando reached out to Baldwin Park ROA Friday afternoon for a comment on this story but haven't heard back.