A finished condo in Miami is bought in weeks. A new one is bought in years. Buyers confuse the two constantly, and the confusion costs them either a residence they could have had or a deposit paid before they were ready.
This page lays out the two timelines side by side, what fixes each step, and where a buyer can move faster or slower than the default. Contact the desk at Miami Dossier for the current position on any building we cover.
An offer is made and accepted in days. The contract follows, and on a resale in a larger building the buyer has three business days to cancel after receiving the condominium documents. An inspection, an appraisal if there is a lender, the title search and the association’s approval of the buyer, which most Miami buildings require and which takes two to four weeks on its own, fill the middle. Closing is four to eight weeks from the accepted offer with a lender and can be three without one.
What slows it: the association approval, a lender, a title problem. What speeds it: cash, a building with a quick board, a buyer whose documents are ready before the offer.
A reservation holds a residence for days or weeks while the contract and the documents are prepared. The contract is signed and Florida gives fifteen days after signing and receiving the documents to cancel without penalty. Deposits follow in the stages the developer sets, usually tied to milestones in the construction, and closing happens when the building is finished and the certificate of occupancy is issued. That is typically two to four years from contract, and the developer’s stated delivery date is a statement, not a promise.
Buying new is not slower because anything is slow. It is slower because the building does not exist yet. The trade is a new residence at a price fixed today.
The fifteen day window on a new condominium and the three day window on a resale are set by Florida statute and they are for reading. The escrow rules on deposits are statute. The association’s right to approve a buyer is in the documents and is real. None of these is negotiable and none should be hurried through, because they are the only part of the timeline that protects the buyer rather than the seller.
The single largest variable in a Miami timeline is the buyer’s readiness. Proof of funds or a lender’s letter before the offer. The entity, if there is to be one, formed before the contract. The attorney engaged before the documents arrive, not after. The wiring instructions confirmed by voice. Buyers who are ready close in three weeks on a finished condo and sign in a day on a new one. Buyers who are not ready lose the residence to someone who was.
The desk at Miami Dossier knows where each new building is in its construction and what its developer currently states about delivery, and reports it as stated with the date. It also knows which buildings are close to delivery, which matters to a buyer who wants new but cannot wait three years. Bring the desk the timing you actually need and it will say which buildings fit it.
This is the desk at Miami Dossier, a real estate desk covering the Miami market. It reads the developer’s documents, keeps the current position on every new building it covers, and puts the buildings that fit a brief in front of you the same day.
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Nothing on this page is legal, tax or investment advice, and the timelines are the general Florida position, not your position. Contact the desk at Miami Dossier and we will go through the buildings that fit, the current position on each and what the next step actually is. Where a question is legal, tax or immigration, we introduce you to advisers who handle that properly rather than answering it ourselves.
