For the pre-construction buyer whose building is nearing delivery, who has waited years for the keys and wants nothing missing on closing day.
This page explains. Whether the building suits you is a separate conversation. Contact the desk at Miami Dossier for the current position on any building we cover.
Before closing on a new condo, collect seven things: proof the building may be occupied, meaning a certificate of occupancy; the recorded declaration showing your unit legally exists; the title commitment; a draft closing statement, checked line by line; the association's first budget and master insurance certificate, with your own unit policy; a written walk-through list signed by the developer; and the warranties and manuals. Verify the wire instructions by phone. If you are financing, add the lender's commitment and appraisal.
Closing on a new building is different from buying a resale. The developer sets the date, the paperwork is new, and the buyer's leverage is highest before the final wire leaves.
Several on our file are at or near delivery. Alba Palm Beach in West Palm Beach was completed in June 2026 with immediate occupancy. NoMad Residences Wynwood opened in May 2026. Olara delivers in phases from late 2026 through 2028. South Flagler House is set for March 2027, and Cipriani Residences Miami for summer 2027. Buyers in those buildings are, or soon will be, assembling this file. See the Alba, Olara and Cipriani notes.
Three documents. First, the certificate of occupancy, temporary or final, issued by the local building department, which allows the building to be lived in. Second, the recorded declaration of condominium. Under section 718.104, a condominium is created when the declaration is recorded, and the declaration must include a surveyor's certificate that construction is substantially complete, so your unit exists as a legal parcel. In phased projects such as Olara, check that the phase containing your unit has been added. Third, the title commitment from the title agent, showing what will be insured and any exceptions.
Your purchase agreement sets who chooses the title agent and who pays for the owner's title insurance policy. The developer usually conveys by special warranty deed; compare the deed with the sample deed in the documents you received when you signed. Our page on what a pre-construction buyer should request lists that original set.
Ask for a draft several days before closing, and check it against your contract. It should show the price, every deposit credited from escrow, the balance due, and each closing cost with who pays it. In new construction, look for the developer's charges that resale buyers rarely see: contributions to the association's working capital, prorated association fees, and any costs the purchase agreement shifts to the buyer, such as documentary stamp tax on the deed or the developer's attorney fees. Our page on what closing actually costs explains each line.
The first-year association budget and the monthly fee for your unit, compared with the estimate you received at signing. The certificate of the master insurance policy, so you know what the association covers. Your own unit owner policy, often called an HO-6, bound to start on closing day; a lender will require it, and a cash buyer needs it just as much. Our Miami condo insurance page covers the two layers.
Ask, too, for written confirmation of anything assigned to your unit outside its walls: parking spaces, storage, cabanas or slips. Olara, for example, assigns two full sized parking spaces with EV capability to each residence, and Alba gives owners boat-slip access from its private dock. Have the assignment in writing before closing.
A written list. Walk the unit before closing, ideally with an independent inspector, and record every defect, missing item and unfinished finish. Ask the developer to sign the list with a commitment to complete each item and a timeframe. Once you have wired the balance, items that are not on paper are harder to recover.
Florida law also gives buyers of new condominium units implied warranties from the developer under section 718.203, covering the unit and parts of the building for set periods. Ask counsel how long each runs for your home. Collect the manufacturer warranties and the operating manuals for appliances and systems at the same time. Our page on the first year of owning a Miami condo covers what follows.
Call the title company on a number you already have, before you send anything, and confirm the wire instructions word for word. Wire fraud targets real estate closings by sending false instructions by email. Also have your source of funds file ready; see source of funds documentation. If you are financing, the lender's commitment, appraisal and closing disclosure join the file; our cash or mortgage page explains the timing.
The desk builds the closing checklist for your building, requests the documents from the developer and the title agent, and walks the unit with you. Legal review comes from your attorney.
Contact the desk at Miami Dossier for the current plans, pricing and availability as the developer releases them, discussed one to one.
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We hold no listings and we are not the developer. Contact the desk at Miami Dossier and we will tell you what applies to your situation, what does not, and where we would not proceed. Where a question is legal, tax or structuring, we introduce you to advisers who handle that properly rather than answering it ourselves.
Samuel Strauch is the owner of Metrik Real Estate. His team of agents represents buyers in Miami pre-construction.
A person replies within 24 hours, usually much sooner. On weekends, back on Monday morning.
