For the buyer of a new home south of Brickell, in the Grove or the Gables, who wants every paper in one place before the deposits start and long after the keys arrive.
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.
Start with the condominium documents, the budget, the plans and the purchase agreement, then add the deposit receipts, title commitment, insurance and closing statement, then the recorded deed and title policy. The two new buildings on our file each add their own pages. At Four Seasons Coconut Grove: the brand licence and the service menu. At Cassia in Coral Gables: the furniture inventory, the short-stay and management terms, the parking assignment and the developer's exact legal name.
For a new condominium bought from the developer, Florida law gives you 15 days to cancel after signing or after receiving the required documents, whichever is later. Read these in that window:
The declaration of condominium, with the description of your home and the common elements.
The articles, bylaws and rules, including the rules on guests, pets and leasing.
The estimated operating budget, and what the developer contributes while it controls the association.
The plans by line, with the areas as the documents define them.
The purchase agreement and deposit schedule, naming the escrow agent.
Our page on the condominium documents in five sections shows where to look, and where your deposit actually sits explains escrow.
The brand terms. The Four Seasons name is used under licence from Four Seasons Hotels Limited, and the building is not owned, developed or sold by Four Seasons. File the summary of the licence and management terms: their length, who pays the fees, and what happens to the name and the services if the agreement ends.
The service menu. The developer names a Director of Residence, a residential concierge, a doorman and bellman, 24/7 security and valet, and 24-hour on-call emergency repair. It also lists services à la carte: in-residence dining, spa, housekeeping, grocery provisioning, butler, wellness programs, dog grooming, catering and car wash. File the list of what the budget includes and the price list for what is billed, because the two change over time.
The deposit schedule. The developer's fact sheet publishes 20 percent at contract and 20 percent at groundbreaking, with the balance per the purchase agreement. Keep the receipt for each payment and the escrow agent's letter. Our note on the Four Seasons Coconut Grove deposit schedule sets it out.
Cassia is a turnkey building, and that changes the file.
The furniture inventory. Every one of the 174 residences comes fully finished and furnished by RH. File the inventory for your line, the condition at delivery and any warranty on the furniture. A later buyer, an insurer and a tenant will each ask what came with the home.
The short-stay and management terms. The sales team describes flexible ownership with a minimum stay of three days and optional professional management. File the rules that allow short stays, any registration the association requires, and the management agreement if you sign one, with its fees and how to end it. Read Miami short-term rental rules and our note on Cassia's rental rules.
The parking assignment. Assigned parking is included. File the document that assigns your space, since the declaration decides whether it can be moved or sold.
The developer's exact name. Our file shows the sales team naming ATLA Coral Gables, LLC while the developer's brochure prints ALTA Coral Gables, LLC. The name on the purchase agreement, the escrow receipts and the deed must match the entity that owns the land. Ask the title company to confirm it from the public record before you sign.
The timing. The sales team gives about 69 percent sold and an estimated completion in the first quarter of 2027, with the building preparing for its temporary certificate of occupancy. File each written update.
Before closing: the closing notice, any amendments to the documents, the title commitment, the insurance binder for your interior and contents, the association's master policy summary, your inspection report and punch list, and the closing statement. Our page on documents before closing on a new Miami condo covers each.
After closing: the recorded deed, the owner's title policy, the developer's statutory warranties and the manufacturers' warranties, the association's yearly budgets and insurance summaries, each property tax bill, and the homestead filing if the home is your permanent residence. If you financed the purchase, add the recorded mortgage; from offer to recording with a mortgage in Coconut Grove walks through it.
You keep it; a property manager or adviser keeps a copy. A part-time owner who lets the home through Cassia's management will be asked for parts of it by the manager, the insurer and the county. A later buyer will ask for all of it.
The building notes on the Four Seasons Coconut Grove ownership file and the Cassia ownership file go deeper. The Coconut Grove zone page and the Coral Gables zone page place both buildings, and Coconut Grove or Coral Gables for a New York family compares them. For the bayfront version, read the ownership file for an Edgewater condo. The desk reads the declaration, the brand terms and the rental rules with you, and checks the developer's name against the record before the 15 days end.
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.
