In this episode of The Peter Zalewski Show™ podcast, Jose Pazos—founder of A-Smart CAM property management—discusses the dire financial situation that South Florida condo owners will face next year.The weekly podcast The Peter Zalewski Show features interviews with South Florida business leaders focused on real estate, finance and the economy.The program - hosted by Peter Zalewski of the Miami Condo Investing Club™ - is broadcast live every Wednesday at 4 pm (Miami time) at MiamiCondo.Club and on Peter Zalewski’s social media accounts to watch the free live broadcasts.The objective of the show is to deliver straight talk, share institutional knowledge and provide data-driven analysis on the macro and micro economic forces shaping the tricounty South Florida region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.Episode OverviewIn the Dec. 3, 2025, episode of The Peter Zalewski Show™ podcast, host Peter Zalewski interviews Jose Pazos, the founder of A-Smart CAM property management in Miami, about the seismic shifts in the South Florida condo market resulting from the 2025 Florida Condo Association Financial Cliff.This discussion revealed that the combination of new structural integrity reporting mandates, rising maintenance fees and massive special assessments is driving a market correction in South Florida, especially in Vintage projects that are at least 30 years old.The rising cost of condo living in the tricounty region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach is leading to increased tension at association meetings and potentially creating a substantial buying opportunity for experienced investors focused on Vintage projects.The market turmoil, which is fundamentally altering investment calculus and pushing long-time residents to the brink, is the result of a perfect storm where post-Surfside legislation, stubbornly high interest rates and decades of deferred maintenance have collided.Pazos called this current period a “bloodbath,” noting it is unfolding precisely as he and others anticipated when the new reserve funding law passed in the aftermath of the Surfside condo collapse in June 2021.The emotional and financial stress has boiled over at condo association board meetings.Pazos described a recent budget meeting in the Miami suburb of Sweetwater where two individuals nearly got involved into a physical altercation.The encounter involved yelling and vulgarities with threats of violence, demonstrating the visceral reactions now common at these meetings.These friction points are a direct result of the financial shock brought on by a combination of state-mandated repairs coupled with softening market conditions where resale supply is rising, transactions are falling and buyers are holding out for deep discounts.As an example, Pazos referenced a 97-unit, low-rise project that has had to take out a $5 million loan at a 9.0 percent interest rate to play catch up on 50 years worth of deferred maintenance.This cost translates to more than $51,500 per unit.The Florida legislature has attempted to provide some relief for cash-strapped unit owners facing this Condo Cliff.Pazos explained that associations can temporarily waive some reserve funding for 2026 and 2027.

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