Arbor Mill HOA lawsuit grows as influencer vows to stay
The Arbor Mill HOA lawsuit against Jacksonville influencer Bethany Michel is advancing after board members approved a $155,000 special assessment — $1,000 per resident — to fund efforts to remove the 28-year-old from her inherited home in the 55-plus community. Michel says she plans to stay and fight.
Key Takeaways
- The Arbor Mill HOA approved a $155,000 assessment ($1,000 each) to fund the lawsuit against Michel.
- Michel, 28, inherited her father’s home in the Jacksonville 55-plus community after caring for him.
- She says five board members decided the vote, not the wider neighborhood.
- Neighbor William Baltazar says most residents oppose forcing her out.
- Michel says she was told she could stay and vows she “ain’t going nowhere.”
What happened in the Arbor Mill HOA lawsuit?
According to News4JAX, the Arbor Mill homeowners association voted Tuesday night to keep pursuing legal action aimed at removing Michel from the community.
The board approved a $155,000 special assessment to cover legal fees. That cost breaks down to $1,000 for each of about 155 households.
Michel told reporters the process was controlled by the five board members. “They allowed 155 people to think that they had a decision in the vote,” she said. “But it was the five board members who spoke for the whole community.”
The HOA declined to comment on the lawsuit or whether it considered an exception in her case.
Why is the HOA trying to remove Bethany Michel?
Arbor Mill is a 55-and-up community. Michel inherited the home from her father after he died in 2023. She had moved to Florida in 2020 to care for him during the COVID pandemic and previously served as his caretaker.
The New York Post reported that HOA covenants require at least one occupant age 55 or older, and that no residents 19 or under may live there. Ownership can transfer to someone under 55, but occupancy still must meet those rules, which track the federal Housing for Older Persons Act.
Michel, who hosts a podcast and reviews restaurants, said she received a note about community guidelines three months after her father’s death. She also says she has been denied access to other amenities while the case continues.
She maintains her father arranged for her to be “grandfathered in” and that she was told she would be allowed to stay.
How are neighbors reacting to the $1,000 assessment?
Residents are split. Some support enforcing the age restriction. Others want Michel to remain. Neighbor William Baltazar said he does not believe kicking her out is right and that most people disagree with the push.
Michel said nonpaying residents could face $100 charges over the next 10 months so the board can collect the money. She also noted she must fund her own defense while paying the assessment herself. “I have to pay them to help sue myself,” she said.
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Is Bethany Michel leaving Arbor Mill?
Michel says no. She framed the inherited house as a rare path to homeownership for someone in her 20s and credited her father with setting that up.
“Love y’all, even the ones who don’t like me,” she said. “You will live the rest of your life watching me thrive, whether you’re happy with it or not. I ain’t going nowhere.”