How does a trust buy a Miami pre-construction condo, from offer to recording?

The trustee signs for the trust from the start: the reservation, the purchase agreement and every deposit instruction, each in the trustee's name as trustee of the named trust. The developer and the title company ask for proof of the trustee's authority, usually a certification of trust rather than the whole document. Deposits come from the trust's account. At closing the deed names the trustee, the owner's title policy follows, and the deed is recorded with the county. The point to settle early is who signs, because changing the buyer after signing can depend on the developer's consent.

Most pre-construction agreements limit assignment. A buyer who signs personally and later wants the trust to take the contract may need the developer's written consent, and some agreements charge for it or refuse it. Our page on whether you can assign a pre-construction contract explains the clause, and Kempinski's assignment terms show how one building treats it.

So the order is: speak with your estate attorney, confirm the trust can hold Florida real estate, confirm the trustee's powers, and only then reserve. Our page on LLC, trust or personal name sets out why a family might choose each, and buying a Miami condo through an entity or trust lists the questions for counsel.

The trustee signs, as trustee. The signature block names the trustee, the trust and its date, so the record shows the trust as the buyer from day one. Where there are co-trustees, ask counsel whether the trust lets one sign alone.

Florida law lets a trustee give a certification of trust instead of the full trust document, under section 736.1017 of the Florida Statutes. It confirms the trust exists, who the trustees are, and that they have power to buy and hold property. The developer's sales team and later the title company will ask for it, with the trustee's identification. Keep a signed copy in the purchase file.

From the trust's own account, in the trust's name. That keeps the money trail clean for the escrow agent and for the bank's source of funds review. Our page on source of funds documentation lists what a receiving bank may ask.

Deposits on a Florida pre-construction condo are paid in stages and held by the escrow agent named in the agreement. At Fouquet's Hotel & Residences, for example, the offering materials stage deposits across contract, groundbreaking and top off, with the majority at closing, held in escrow under the Florida condominium statute. Banyan Tree Residences published a staged schedule in May 2026 with the majority due at closing. Read where your deposit actually sits for what the escrow rules protect.

The buyer also has a 15 day window to cancel after signing or after receiving the required documents, whichever is later. The trustee exercises it, not a beneficiary.

Pre-construction runs for years. Over that time a trustee may step down, fall ill or die, and a successor trustee takes over under the trust's terms. Nothing about the contract needs to fail, but the developer and the escrow agent need to know who signs now.

Keep a short protocol in the file: the successor trustee's name, a fresh certification of trust when trustees change, and a letter to the developer's closing department with the new signatory. If the trust is amended or restated, ask counsel whether the change affects the certification already given. A financed purchase adds the lender, who will want its own review of the trust before closing.

Closing comes at delivery. The title company confirms the trustee's authority again, prepares the closing statement and collects the balance from the trust's account or the lender. The developer's deed conveys the home to the trustee of the named trust. The owner's title policy names the same insured.

The title company then records the deed with the county clerk, in Miami-Dade for Downtown and the Design District, in Palm Beach County for West Palm Beach. Recording puts the trustee's name, not the beneficiaries', on the public record. That is a measure of privacy, not anonymity.

After recording, bind the insurance in the trustee's name, and ask counsel whether the home can claim the homestead exemption if a beneficiary lives in it as a permanent residence; the answer turns on the trust's terms. Our page on documents before closing on a new Miami condo lists the rest of the closing file.

A buyer from abroad weighing a US company instead should read how a foreign buyer using a US LLC goes from offer to recording. For the buildings themselves, see Fouquet's Miami bought through a trust or entity and the Kempinski dossier. The desk reads the assignment clause and the deposit schedule with you before the trustee signs, and works alongside your attorney rather than in place of one; our note on how pre-construction in Miami works covers the stages in order.