A homicide at a condo complex. A slip and fall at another one. Do the owners who had nothing to do with those incidents have to pay? One South Florida man turned to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser to find out.

In the condo world, Bonaire at Woodmont is a nice place. Quiet, not too costly and conveniently located.

Gary Perlman: “We’re central to I-95, the Turnpike, the shopping, the restaurants.” Another plus: the Perlmans feel safe here. Gary Perlman: “There’s a guardhouse there. You have to have either a pass key to get in or you have to call somebody in the unit to open the gate for you.” But of course, it’s South Florida and no security is perfect. Gary Perlman: “And he followed through on the owner’s side and piggybacked on it.”

It was Nov. 22, 2023, when the driver and two people, who were secretly following him, snuck into the complex.

Gary Perlman: “Two kids came up to his window and shot him in the car.”

The driver didn’t live here. Neither did the people accused of murdering him.

Gary Perlman: “We were shaken up by the murder.”

As the months passed, calm returned. But then Gary’s irritation grew when he saw their liability insurance company was not renewing the association.

Gary Perlman: “The remaining companies that we had to choose from increased our rates $60,000.”

Gary concluded it was the murder that sent their proposed liability rates from $21,000 a year to $81,000, hitting each condo owner.

Gary Perlman: “From just over $600 to over $700 and I think it’s $740 a month now.”

In every complex there are lawsuits. A slip and fall at the pool, a trip over a tree root or a murder. Gary says its not fair the residents have to pay the price.

Gary Perlman: “Where do they have the right to jack up our rates that way and say ‘You know, the community has to pay for negligence.’ Is it negligence? No, it’s not.”

I am afraid I know the answer, Howard, but can condo owners be forced to pay for something they didn’t do?

Howard Finkelstein: “Indirectly, yes. The good news: if someone sues the association, the insurance company has to pay if the association is found liable. The bad news: they will pass whatever increases there are on to the condo owners. The bottom line is insurance companies always make their money and you end up paying.”

I spoke to the property manager who was very knowledgeable about the insurance hike. She said the dead man’s family had not sued the complex but have required the association to preserve all camera footage and documents from that night.

In our opinion, that means they are probably hoping to sue. The property manager did say the murder isn’t why their liability rates went up. It’s because claims for one year on the property surpassed premiums for the last 10 years. She added they shopped around for liability insurance and got a lower rate, now costing each owner around $124 more per year.

But Gary says it’s just one thing after another for owners.

Gary Perlman: “It’s just almost prohibitive to the average consumer.”

And Gary says as the price of everything rises, its pretty clear what the people who used to want to move to South Florida will probably think.

Gary Perlman: “I think what it’s going to do is affect prospective buyers looking at a place to live.”

As condo living goes, Bonaire is reasonable. Imagine other places that are more expensive with their rate hikes and special assessments. In this day and age good luck to the property managers and boards trying to keep costs down as rates soar.

A problem become a liability to you? Wanna insure your aggravation level doesn’t soar? Contact us! Because our rates never go up. We are free. With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser 7News.