For the buyer who wants a new home they can walk through today, bought from the developer in a building that is already standing, and who wants the whole path before making an offer.
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.
Buying a finished new condo from a developer takes weeks, not years, in six steps: the offer on a specific home, the purchase agreement with its 15 day window to cancel, the deposit into escrow, your inspection of the actual home, the closing, and the recording of your deed in Palm Beach County. In West Palm Beach, Alba Palm Beach is the finished building on our file; Olara's phases join it from late 2026.
Because the risks that dominate pre-construction are gone, and different ones take their place.
At Alba Palm Beach, completed in June 2026, there is no construction risk and no delivery date to wait for. Our own read of it is a close-out of the final developer homes in a 55 residence building. You can stand on the terrace, test the view from your floor and ride the elevator. What you lose is choice: the developer's remaining homes are what is left.
Olara sits between the two cases. Its 275 homes deliver in phases from late 2026 through 2028, so some lines will be finished and others still under construction at the same moment. Ask which phase a line belongs to. South Flagler House gives March 2027, so it becomes a finished purchase next year.
The paperwork also shifts. The association is already running at Alba, with real fees, a real budget and its first records. Our page on new construction or resale sets out how a developer sale of a finished home differs from buying from an owner.
You make an offer on a specific home, by line and floor. The developer answers with its purchase agreement, its own form, not a standard resale contract. Read it for the deposit amount, the closing date, what is included, and what the developer will finish or repair before closing.
Because you are buying from the developer, section 718.503 of the Florida Statutes still applies: you have 15 days after signing and receiving the required condominium documents to cancel. A finished building lets you use those days well. Ask for the current budget, the first board minutes, the insurance declarations and the developer's warranty terms. Our page on documents a buyer should request lists the core set.
The deposit goes to an escrow agent named in the contract. Section 718.202 sets how a developer holds buyer deposits, including the first 10 percent of the price. On a finished home, ask whether the deposit is one payment or a schedule; closing is near either way. Keep the escrow receipt. Our page on where your deposit actually sits explains the protections.
This is the step a pre-construction buyer never gets at signing. Hire an inspector and walk the actual home: windows and doors, the terrace and its drainage, the kitchen and bath fittings, the air conditioning, and the finish on every wall. Make a written list. The contract should say how the developer completes that list, and whether any amount is held back at closing until it is done.
At Alba, look at what you will use daily: the private elevator and vestibule, the summer kitchen on the terrace, the EV-ready covered garage, and the boat slip, if your home includes access to one. See what Alba offers.
If you are financing, the lender needs the building approved for lending and an appraisal of the finished home. A completed building with an operating association is easier to appraise than a rendering. Our note on Alba and lender approval explains what lenders ask of a building.
Before closing, the title agent issues a title commitment, and the association issues an estoppel certificate stating what is owed on the unit. You bind your own unit insurance. The title agent prepares the closing statement and tells you the balance to wire. You do not need to fly in; remote online notarization and a power of attorney are both used, and counsel picks the route that fits your country and title structure. Our page on LLC, trust or personal name explains the title choice.
At closing, the developer signs the deed, the balance is paid, and the title agent records the deed in the official records of Palm Beach County. The owner's title policy follows. If the home is your permanent residence on January 1, apply for homestead with the county property appraiser. Our page on what closing actually costs lists the lines on the statement, and the ownership file for a West Palm Beach condo lists what to keep afterwards.
The desk walks a buyer through this path for Alba's remaining homes or a delivered phase at Olara, with the developer's contract, the escrow details and the documents counsel needs, in order. See whether Alba is worth it, Alba or Olara and our note on who to call when buying in West Palm Beach.
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.
