I am in an oceanfront condo in SC and the association performs coating and waterproofing on the exterior, rooftop and balconies every 7-10 years. Inspects every 2 or 3 years and spot repairs if necessary. The building is 21 years old and is 18 floors. We had one special assessment ($5000 over a year, extra $420/mo) to cover crazy insurance hikes after Katrina, I believe. Otherwise, the condo fee is about $940/mo for a 4 bedroom. The association has been very good about maintaining roof, waterproofing, pool repair and elevator reserves. I see this Florida thing like an airplane crash. There will be more awareness toward building maintenance and will hopefully prevent other disasters like this.
Had a 10+ year run as snowbird at an oceanfront condo in the Tampa area. The condo building was 6 floors with 5 apartments to a floor. The snowbird visits came to a screeching halt when monthly fees jumped from $5K to $10K. It was an older building, built sometime in the 80’s. The walls and floors are a little thin. You could hear little kids running around above and it sometimes got a bit loud on the weekends. Reflecting back on the building, it seemed to be well maintained and there nothing that I recall that sticks out as being dangerous.