Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

There really isn't enough information provided to adequately answer this. In general, with condos and HOAs, the previous owner (seller) is jointly and severally liable with the new owner for delinquent assessments. An exception to that may be in the case of the purchase of a foreclosed property. I can't tell from your last sentence who you said signed the closing docs agreeing to pay them. Usually, the closing won't happen without those getting paid. I am assuming you did not purchase the property after a mortgage foreclosure. There are also other considerations such as when the Declaration of condominium (or covenants with HOA) was recorded, the language of the covenants, and what the law was then. You may want to call an attorney familiar with association law.