Two Vineyards homes can share the same gate, the same golf course view and the same master association. Why would one face a structural reserve study that its board cannot vote away while the other does not? Florida draws the line by how many habitable stories a building has. The line runs right through the Vineyards, in some places through a single sub-community.
The Vineyards Community Association counts thirty-eight sub-communities. They mix villas, condos, coach homes, single-family homes and custom homes. Comparing them by price and view leaves out the reserve rulebook each building falls under. That rulebook shapes association budgets for years.
The Line Florida Drew at Three Habitable Stories
The 2025 rewrite of Florida's condo-safety law, HB 913, sets the trigger for milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies at three or more habitable stories. Collier County's milestone inspection page applies the same threshold to condo and cooperative buildings. Both sources also carve out an exemption for one- to four-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories, so a three-story building is not automatically covered. Coverage depends on the building's legal story count and on whether that exemption applies. The words "coach home," "villa" or "condo" on a listing do not decide it.
That threshold held through the 2026 session. SB 1498 would have changed how a story is defined for reserve studies, and it died in committee. Anyone writing an offer this fall is working under the 2025 rules.
Where That Line Runs Through the Vineyards
Collier County's milestone building roster, dated January 2026, lists three Vineyards associations by name. The Vineyards Community Association directory fills in the other side.
| Sub-community | How the VCA directory describes it | On Collier's milestone roster | Certificate of occupancy years on the roster |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chardonnay at the Vineyards | 60 two- and three-bedroom condos with elevators | Yes, buildings at 6010, 6015, 6025 and 6030 Chardonnay Lane | 1989 to 1994 |
| Concord at the Vineyards | 136 condos with elevator access | Yes, buildings at 155, 195, 200, 210, 220 and 230 Vintage Circle | 1994 to 1996 |
| Avellino Isles | 198 two- and three-story coach homes | Yes, 21 building records | 2006 to 2010 |
| Napa Ridge Homeowners | 29 one- and two-story single-family homes | Not identified | Not applicable |
| San Miguel | 28 one- and two-story villas | Not identified | Not applicable |
| San Rafael | 24 single- and two-story homes | Not identified | Not applicable |
Avellino Isles shows that the line can split one gated enclave. Its directory entry describes two- and three-story coach homes together, and the county roster lists 21 Avellino building records. Two buyers looking at Avellino on the same afternoon could end up under different reserve requirements depending on which building they choose. The county record for each address is the way to confirm which buildings are covered.
Other sub-communities are unresolved. The directory lists Bellerive as 86 two- and three-bedroom condos and describes Vista Pointe as mid-rise condo buildings. It gives neither one an exact story count. For those, the county record is the place to check. Collier lets anyone search building status by reference number, address or association name through its public portal. A note on the roster itself: its milestone due-date columns show inconsistencies. Use it to confirm a building is listed, and get due dates and results from the association.
What Changes on the Covered Side
A structural integrity reserve study covers the building's core components. These include the roof, primary structure, fire safety systems, plumbing, electrical systems, waterproofing and exterior painting, and windows and exterior doors. The study must include a funding schedule. According to Florida's Division of Condominiums, an association whose study shows underfunding may raise regular fees, levy special assessments or borrow.
The waiver option is gone. Budgets adopted on or after January 1, 2025 cannot waive or reduce reserves for study items. Associations that had previously voted to waive must begin funding on January 1, 2026. HB 913 also lets a board levy a special assessment or take out a loan for repairs required by a milestone inspection or reserve study without a prior vote of the owners.
The law does allow one form of relief. An association that completed a milestone inspection within the prior two calendar years may, with majority owner approval, pause or reduce reserve contributions for repairs the inspection recommended. The pause can last up to two consecutive annual budgets and applies only to budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028. A buyer who sees lower reserve contributions in a covered building's budget should ask whether the cause is this pause, because it ends.
The timing also matters this season. An association whose milestone inspection is due on or before December 31, 2026 may complete its reserve study at the same time. The combined study must still be finished by that date. A contract signed this fall in a covered building could close just before or just after a new study lands.
The Layer Every Owner Shares Regardless of Height
Every Vineyards home, two stories or ten, pays into the same master association. As of December 31, 2025, the Vineyards Community Association included about 2,727 units on about 559 acres. It is responsible for shared common areas such as gates, roads, sidewalks and landscaping. Its unaudited statements through June 30, 2026 show $1,847,506 in budgeted annual master maintenance revenue. Spread evenly, that works out to roughly $680 per unit per year. The association allocates its quarterly assessments by its own formula, so an individual home's share may differ.
The master association has reserve questions of its own, separate from the state study requirement. The 2025 audit report is dated August 20, 2026. It estimates about $3.285 million in future replacement costs and $154,000 in 2026 reserve funding. The audit says reserves may not cover future needs and that the board could raise assessments, levy special assessments or delay work. It labels the future-repair schedule as unaudited and based on management's estimates. At the April 29, 2026 annual meeting, the treasurer reported that VCA reserves were fully funded under the approved reserve study. The board approved a $34,168 Go Access gate-system replacement and $28,860 in concrete repairs, and the minutes do not mention a special assessment.
These figures describe the master layer only. A clean master budget says nothing about whether Chardonnay, Concord or a three-story Avellino building has funded its own study.
The Layer No One Is Required to Buy
Vineyards Country Club runs on a third cost model. The Procacci family, who developed the community and built the club in 1988, still owns it privately. It is non-equity, its initiation fees are nonrefundable, and it describes itself as having no assessments and no debt. About 75 percent of members live in the community, and living there does not require membership.
2026 annual dues are $18,725 for Full Golf and $8,775 for Lifestyle. The club's own pages list different initiation fees. An April 27, 2026 club article lists $150,000 and $48,000. The current membership page lists $180,000 and $60,000 and says only a limited number of Full Golf memberships are available. Confirm the current figure with the club directly. Annual dues are billed October 31 and due by December 15. A buyer joining this fall is joining just as the billing cycle turns.
The club layer is optional and does not change with building height. That leaves the sub-association as the one layer where two similar-looking Vineyards homes can carry very different future obligations.
What the County Numbers Cannot Sort
Market data shows the countywide condo market but cannot isolate this risk. In August 2026, Collier County excluding Marco Island recorded a condo median closed price of $417,500, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier. Condo inventory fell 15.2 percent to 2,099 units, and closed condo sales slipped 3.5 percent to 272, according to the Naples Area Board of Realtors report released September 25, 2026. None of those figures separates buildings above the three-story line from those below it, and no public Vineyards dataset does either.
So the comparison happens in the documents. Before writing an offer on a Vineyards condo or coach home, request these:
- The building's legal habitable story count, checked against the Collier County milestone portal by address or association name.
- The completed reserve study, or the date it is scheduled, for any building on the roster, especially where a combined milestone and study is due by December 31, 2026.
- The current and proposed budgets, with reserve lines for study items and any note of a temporary pause in contributions.
- Board minutes covering the past year, including any loan, line of credit or special assessment tied to inspection or study findings.
- The master association's latest audit and minutes, read separately from the sub-association's.
- Written club terms, if membership is part of the plan, with the initiation fee confirmed on the date you join.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is every condo in the Vineyards subject to a structural integrity reserve study? No. The requirement applies to condo buildings with three or more habitable stories, with an exemption for one- to four-family dwellings of three or fewer habitable stories. The Vineyards includes one- and two-story villas and homes, and mixed communities such as Avellino Isles have buildings on both sides of the line.
Does the master association's reserve study replace a building's own study? No. The Vineyards Community Association's reserves cover shared areas such as gates and roads. Each covered condo building's study is a separate obligation of its own association.
Can a covered building's board assess owners without a vote? Under HB 913, a board may levy a special assessment or obtain a loan without prior owner approval for maintenance, repair or replacement required by a milestone inspection or reserve study. This is general information. A Florida attorney can review a specific association's documents.
If you're comparing a Chardonnay condo, a Concord residence or a three-story Avellino Isles coach home against a villa down the road, Kaleena Figaro Group can help you get the county record, the reserve study and the board minutes for each one and line them up before you write an offer. Start Your Naples Home Search with a side-by-side look at the documents behind each address.
