Luxury Condos

Why the building matters more than the unit

Buy the Building First

A condominium is a share of a building and a seat on its balance sheet. The finish level of one residence can be changed in a season; the age of the structure, the size of the reserve fund and the rental rules cannot. So I start with the building: when it was completed, how many stories it rises, how many owners split each assessment, and what the last engineer’s report said. Only then do we talk about which floor.

The building facts below come from brokerage building profiles and listing records I checked in October 2026. Where sources disagreed on a year or a unit count, I show the figure I could support and note the gap, and I confirm against the county appraiser and the declaration before any offer.

The documents

What I Read in the Condo Documents

Florida gives a resale buyer the association’s documents and a window to cancel after receiving them; since July 1, 2025, that window is seven days. Seven days is enough if someone has read these documents before, knows where the problems hide and reads them in this order.

The budget and the financials. I compare this year’s budget with last year’s, read the balance sheet for the reserve balance against the reserve schedule, and look for a line that jumped: insurance, management, legal. I also pull the board minutes for the past twelve months, which associations are now required to post, because a special assessment usually appears in the minutes months before it appears on an estoppel.

The reserve study, and the structural one. Florida now requires a structural integrity reserve study for every condominium building of three habitable stories or more, repeated at least every ten years. It covers the roof, the structure including load-bearing walls and primary structural members, fireproofing and fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows and exterior doors, and any other item over the statutory threshold that affects those systems. Since January 1, 2026, the reserves for those items are funded on the study’s schedule and cannot be waived by an owner vote. I read the study for the remaining useful life of each item and the funding plan behind it, then compare the plan with the actual reserve balance.

The milestone inspection. Buildings of three habitable stories or more get a structural inspection by a licensed Florida engineer or architect when they turn 30, or 25 if they sit within three miles of the coastline, and every ten years after. Almost every building on this page is within three miles of the coast. I read the Phase 1 summary, and if it called for a Phase 2, I read that too, with the repair scope and the funding source. A building with a completed inspection and a funded plan is a known quantity; one without an inspection on file is the question I raise first.

The rental and occupancy rules. Minimum lease term, how many leases a year, whether a new owner must wait before leasing, the approval process and fee, pet limits by weight or count, and whether the building allows seasonal leases at all. These rules decide whether a residence can carry itself when you are away, and they are the first thing I check for anyone considering the rental side.

The declaration, the rules and the insurance. Who insures what, the master policy’s wind deductible, any pending litigation, and the approval and transfer fees. In a club community with a condominium section, I also read how the club obligation attaches to the unit.