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PRE-CONSTRUCTION
The contract, the developer's track record, the building's operating economics, and your own exit plan are one decision, not four. A rendering sells a lifestyle; only the purchase agreement, the projected fee schedule, and the delivery terms tell you what you are actually signing up for.
Review the developer's history of completed projects, the design and construction team, current construction status, and the ownership and association structure planned for the tower. Weigh the specific line and view you are considering against other stacks in the same building and against comparable finished properties already on the market.
List each deposit milestone, the financing step, the closing requirement, and the reserve you will need to hold in cash before you sign anything. Consider how long your capital will be committed, which contract terms can still change, which projected costs are estimates rather than commitments, and how a delayed delivery date would affect your plan.
Clarify up front whether the unit is meant for personal use, long-term ownership, rental income, or resale at delivery. Review assignment and leasing restrictions, the amount of competing inventory expected at handover, and the building's rules on short-term rentals. A disciplined purchase leaves you a reason to hold the property even if appreciation is slower than the sales gallery projected.
Buying before it is built
A pre-construction condo is bought from a contract and a stack of documents, not from a finished unit: you choose a floor plan and a line, sign, and pay deposits in stages while the building rises. Florida's Condominium Act sets the rules for that money and for the documents you must receive, and they protect the buyer more than many people expect.
The figures below are the statute's own. Your contract adds its own terms — deposit dates, completion deadlines, what happens if construction runs late — so read it with a Florida real estate attorney while the cancellation window is still open.
Step by step
Some developers take reservations before contracts are offered. The deposit goes to an escrow agent and is refunded in full, immediately, if you ask in writing; it reaches the developer only as a down payment under a signed contract.
With the contract come the prospectus or offering circular (required for projects of more than 20 residential units), the declaration, the estimated operating budget with a schedule of what each unit type pays, and the Frequently Asked Questions and Answers sheet.
You may cancel in writing within 15 days of signing and receiving every required document, and again within 15 days of receiving an amendment that changes the offering against you. The developer may not close inside those 15 days unless you agree in writing.
Payments follow the contract's schedule, commonly at signing and at construction milestones. The first 10% stays in escrow, or is secured by a bond or letter of credit the state accepts; anything above it can fund construction only when the contract says so.
For the escrow rules, construction is complete when the building receives its certificate of occupancy. Before closing, walk the unit, list what is unfinished, confirm your financing and read the closing statement; the balance is due at closing.
Reading the documents
The developer must give you a budget and a schedule of what each unit type pays. The contract itself warns that these figures are estimates and that actual costs may exceed them.
F.S. §718.503(1)(a)
A developer may guarantee that assessments will not exceed a stated amount for a period, paying any shortfall itself. Note the date the guarantee ends: that is when the real budget begins.
F.S. §718.116(9)
The FAQ sheet must state in plain words any restriction on leasing a unit. Read it before you count on rental income; whether you may assign the contract before closing depends on the contract itself.
F.S. §718.504
If owners must pay rent or land-use fees for recreational or other shared facilities, the prospectus has to say so in conspicuous type. It is a cost that never shows in the price.
F.S. §718.504
The contract must state that homeowners' insurance does not cover flood damage, and whether the developer knows of flooding on the property or has filed a flood claim.
F.S. §718.503(1)(a)
Contracts and sales brochures must warn that oral representations cannot be relied on. If a promise matters — a view, a finish, a delivery date — it belongs in the contract or its exhibits; the full plans and specifications must be available for you to inspect.
F.S. §718.503(1)(a), (3)
Two ways to buy a condo
F.S. §718.503(1) and (2). The contract can give you more time than the law; any waiver of these rights has no effect.
Questions
The contract must name the escrow agent and its address, and the agent must give you a receipt on request. The agent has to be independent of the developer: a bank, a savings and loan, a Florida Bar attorney, a licensed real estate broker or a title insurer, for example.
If you terminate properly — under the contract or under the Condominium Act — escrowed funds come back to you with any interest earned. Ask early whether any part of your deposit above 10% has already been released for construction, because that money is no longer held in escrow.
Most foreign nationals can buy a Florida condo. State law restricts purchases by certain buyers domiciled in specific countries, so confirm your eligibility with a Florida attorney before you sign.
No. The budget is the developer's good-faith estimate; the contract states that actual costs may exceed it, and increases beyond the developer's control do not by themselves give you a right to cancel.
An amendment that materially changes the offering against you gives you 15 days from receiving it to cancel in writing. Keep every amendment you receive, with the date it arrived.
Plan the numbers
Primary sources for the rules quoted on this page.
