For yacht owners, residence and marina contracts deserve a coordinated review that separates title, voting authority, occupancy, approvals, and succession. A disciplined document review helps align the family’s ownership structure with the rights each agreement actually provides.
For a yacht owner, a South Florida residence and a berth may form one seamless lifestyle. Their contracts require a more deliberate separation. Title, company control, condominium voting, occupancy, and marina access should each be examined independently, then coordinated into a single ownership plan.
The essential distinction is simple: owning an interest does not settle every question about exercising rights. A trust beneficiary’s status should not be treated as resolving both occupancy and association voting. Likewise, authority within an LLC is distinct from authority to cast the condominium unit’s vote.
For a buyer considering Una Residences Brickell alongside a separate boating arrangement, the starting point is not an assumption about bundled privileges. It is a written map of who owns, who signs, who votes, and who may use each asset. This framework does not imply any particular project’s marina rights or approval terms.
Begin with the recorded declaration, bylaws, articles of incorporation, amendments, and current rules. Florida condominium associations must maintain these records, along with a current roster of unit owners, mailing addresses, unit identifications, and voting certifications.
Review those documents against the proposed ownership structure. Identify the titleholder, the person authorized to act for that titleholder, and the documentation required to establish the unit’s voting representative. The family’s internal understanding is no substitute for the association’s applicable certification requirements.
Association records also include current management agreements, leases, and other contracts to which the association is a party or under which it or unit owners have obligations. These may include relevant marina arrangements, but a privately negotiated berth agreement will not necessarily be in the association’s files. Obtain and review that agreement separately.
An LLC requires two distinct authority reviews: one for internal management, the other for representation of the condominium unit before the association.
Under Florida’s default rules for a member-managed LLC, each member has voting rights concerning company management and activities. Default voting power is proportionate to each member’s current percentage or other interest in profits-not automatically one vote per member. Whether the company is member-managed or manager-managed is therefore a substantive review issue, not merely a label on formation paperwork.
Florida LLC law also permits operating agreements or articles of organization to assign voting rights to identified members or specified classes or groups. Counsel should reconcile those provisions with the proposed signatory’s authority and any required internal consent.
Address the association vote separately. Confirm the applicable voting certification and representative requirements in the condominium documents. Florida condominium law generally restricts proxy voting to limited proxies, subject to specified exceptions. This does not mean owners must cast every vote by proxy, nor does an internal LLC authorization replace the association’s voting procedures.
For a trust-owned unit, check the bylaws to determine who may vote and what certification is required. Read occupancy provisions separately. Beneficiary status alone should not be treated as answering both questions. Review trustee authority against the trust instrument and applicable condominium requirements.
A family evaluating Vita at Grove Isle as part of a Coconut Grove search can apply this distinction before settling its ownership structure: identify the proposed resident, the trustee, and the voting representative individually, even where roles overlap.
For occupant and guest registration, review the current rules alongside the governing documents. Ask which categories apply to family members, guests, or crew; what information is requested; and whether registration is distinct from approval. These are document-review questions, not universal requirements.
Similarly, evaluate any request for trust documentation against the governing documents and applicable approval provisions. Do not assume every association may demand the same trust materials.
The question is not whether a board must approve everything. It is which specific events the governing documents subject to approval, notice, certification, or registration.
Have counsel identify any provisions addressing a purchase, transfer into an entity, trustee replacement, change in LLC control, or change in occupants. Record each applicable trigger, decision-maker, required submission, and timing. Where the documents distinguish these events, the closing checklist should preserve those distinctions.
The notice provisions in Florida’s condominium suspension statute concerning owners and applicable occupants, licensees, or invitees address approved suspensions. They do not establish a general transfer or occupancy-approval process.
Voting continuity also warrants an administrative check. An association may suspend voting rights for an unpaid monetary obligation exceeding $1,000 that is more than 90 days delinquent, subject to statutory requirements. Proof of the obligation must be provided at least 30 days before the suspension takes effect. Keep payment administration separate from, but coordinated with, the authority review.
For a Fort Lauderdale buyer considering St. Regis® Residences Bahia Mar Fort Lauderdale, residence selection and marina contracting should remain distinct diligence tasks. A project name or lifestyle concept cannot substitute for the executed documents defining a particular owner’s rights.
Review the marina agreement to identify the contracting party and establish the signatory’s authority. Ask whether it addresses assignment, changes in ownership or control, authorized users, and death or incapacity. Identify the consent or notice obligations actually stated; do not import the condominium’s procedures into a different agreement.
Compare the residence and marina documents side by side. If the proposed titleholder, marina customer, and day-to-day user differ, ask counsel to confirm how each agreement accommodates that structure. Where consent is required, resolve its timing before relying on uninterrupted use.
A succession review should connect the trust instrument, LLC operating agreement, company records, association voting certification, and marina agreement. Ask who could act after death or incapacity, what evidence establishes that authority, and which records or consents would need attention.
When an LLC interest is placed into a trust, assignment and admission as a member are distinct issues. The operating agreement and company records should reflect the trustee’s membership and authority. An assignment alone should not be treated as resolving both.
The practical deliverable is a coordinated authority checklist, not a promise of automatic continuity. It should identify each role, the controlling document, and any required update when that role changes. Have Florida counsel review the actual agreements before committing to the structure. This is general editorial guidance, not transaction-specific legal advice.
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Begin a quiet conversationStart with the recorded declaration, bylaws, articles of incorporation, amendments, and current rules. Review the owner roster and voting certification alongside the proposed ownership structure.
No. Internal LLC authority and representation of the unit before the association are separate questions that require review of the company and condominium documents.
Not automatically. Under the default rules for a member-managed LLC, voting power is proportionate to each member’s current percentage or other interest in profits.
No. Florida condominium law generally restricts proxy voting to limited proxies, subject to specified exceptions, but does not require every vote to be cast by proxy.
No. Review the bylaws and applicable occupancy provisions separately, because beneficiary status alone should not be treated as resolving both rights.
Do not assume a universal approval requirement. Identify the actual approval, notice, registration, or certification triggers in the property's governing documents.
Not necessarily. Association recordkeeping requirements can encompass relevant marina arrangements, but they do not establish that a private berth contract will be in association records.
An association may suspend voting rights for an unpaid monetary obligation exceeding $1,000 that is more than 90 days delinquent, subject to statutory requirements. Proof of the obligation must be provided at least 30 days before the suspension takes effect.
No. Assignment and membership admission are distinct issues, and the operating agreement and company records should reflect the trustee’s membership and authority.
Review the trust instrument, LLC operating agreement, company records, association voting certification, and marina agreement together. Identify required updates and consents without assuming automatic continuity after death or incapacity.
