Reservation, contract, staged deposits over construction, closing at delivery. Simple in outline. The details are where buyers lose money or sleep.
Written for first-time preconstruction buyers, domestic and international. The desk works in English, Spanish and Portuguese. All notes from the desk.
Preconstruction means buying a residence from the developer before, or while, the building is built. You commit to a price and a unit now, pay in stages, and take delivery when the building is finished, often two to four years later. Here is the whole sequence, and what matters at each step.
Most projects open with a reservation period. You place a refundable reservation deposit, typically a modest amount, against a specific unit or a priority position. The reservation holds your place while the developer finalizes the condominium documents and the purchase agreement.
Nothing is binding yet. What the reservation buys is access to the first release of pricing and units, which is where the best lines are usually taken.
When the developer is ready, you convert the reservation into a purchase agreement. Florida law gives a preconstruction buyer a 15-day rescission period after receiving the condominium documents, during which you can cancel and recover your deposit. That window is when your attorney reads the documents.
At contract you pay the first real deposit, and the agreement sets out the rest of the schedule. Read the schedule, the estimated completion date, the developer's right to extend, and what happens to your deposits if the project does not proceed.
Miami preconstruction runs on staged deposits tied to milestones: contract, groundbreaking, a construction midpoint such as top-off, and closing. The total deposited before closing commonly lands between ~30% and ~50% of the price, though schedules vary by developer and by the moment in the cycle.
Under Florida law, the first 10% of deposits must be held in escrow. Deposits above 10% can be used by the developer for construction, which is normal and legal, and is also why the developer's track record matters. The desk holds the deposit schedules for the buildings it covers and releases them on request.
Your situation is specific. Tell the desk in one message and we will say what applies to you, what does not, and who to speak with.
Two to four years is typical from contract to delivery for a tower. During that time the developer sends progress updates, the deposits come due, and the market moves around you. You cannot occupy, and in most contracts you cannot resell the contract itself without the developer's consent.
This is also when finishes are selected, if the building offers a choice, and when a buyer who intends to finance should be talking to a lender. See can a foreign buyer get a mortgage in Miami.
When the building receives its certificate of occupancy, the developer calls closing. You pay the balance, in cash or with a loan, plus closing costs, which in Florida preconstruction typically include a developer fee of ~1.5% to ~2% of the price alongside title and recording. Then you receive the keys.
Inspect before closing. A punch list of defects is normal, and the developer is obligated to address them under the warranty provisions of the contract and Florida statute.
Three patterns recur. Buyers reserve on a rendering and a floor plan without asking which lines in the building are actually worth the premium. Buyers sign without counsel reading the deposit and extension clauses. And buyers choose a building by brand without looking at who the developer is and what they have delivered before.
The desk's work is on those three points: the floor plan analysis, the contract terms, and the developer record. The dossiers on this site are the public half; the specifics are held at the desk.
Your situation is specific. Tell the desk in one message and we will say what applies to you, what does not, and who to speak with.
This note is general information for people considering Miami, written by a real estate desk, not by a law or accounting firm. Nothing here is legal, tax, immigration or investment advice, and it is not a substitute for advice on your own circumstances. Rules change, treaties differ by country, and the right answer for one family is the wrong answer for another.
Speak with your own attorney and CPA before you commit to anything. If you do not have one who works with international buyers in Florida, the desk is glad to recommend an attorney, a CPA or an adviser suited to your situation, and to sit in the first conversation so that nothing is lost in translation.
Structure, financing, currency, timing, the right building and the right line: the desk works through these questions with international buyers every week, and the answer is nearly always that it can be done, in order, without surprises. If Miami is on your mind, as a home or as an allocation, we would be glad to share what we are seeing, privately, and to start with the question this note did not answer.