What goes in the ownership file for a Fisher Island condo?

A Fisher Island ownership file has two halves: the building and the Club. The building half is what every new Florida condo carries: the developer's offering, the declaration, the budget, the purchase agreement, the escrow terms, and after closing the recorded deed and the title policy. The Club half is particular to the island: at Six Fisher Island, Club membership comes at closing subject to the Club's approval, the developer pays the initiation fee only, and the annual dues are the owner's. Collect both halves before you sign.

Start with the developer's offering. Florida's condominium statute requires the developer to give a buyer the documents that govern the building, and gives the buyer 15 days to cancel after signing or after receiving them, whichever is later. Collect and keep:

The prospectus or offering circular, with the declaration of condominium, the articles, the bylaws and the rules.

The proposed budget for the first year, with the reserve schedule.

The purchase agreement, with the deposit schedule, the escrow agent's name and the outside completion date.

The plans and specifications for your residence, including the finishes schedule and the terrace areas.

The developer's registration records. Six Fisher Island is registered in New York, Massachusetts and California in addition to Florida, which is unusual. A buyer in those states can ask for the filing that applies to them.

Our page on the five sections of the condominium documents explains how to read the set, and the documents a pre-construction buyer should request lists them in order.

This is where Fisher Island differs from every mainland building. The developer's material says membership in the Fisher Island Club comes at closing, subject to the Club's approval. The developer pays the initiation fee only. The annual dues and charges are the owner's cost, and the Club sets eligibility.

Before signing, ask the Club or the sales team for, and keep:

The current membership terms and the approval process, with the documents the Club asks of an applicant.

The current dues schedule and any other annual charges, so the first year's cost is known.

What happens if approval is not given before closing, and how the purchase agreement treats that case.

After closing, keep the approval letter and the membership certificate or its equivalent. A future buyer of your home will ask how membership passes to them, and the file should show what you were told. See Six Fisher Island: what to know before you buy, which reads the Club question in detail.

Closing on a new building comes at delivery. Before that day, add:

The deposit receipts from the escrow agent, one for each stage.

The closing statement draft, showing the balance, the credits and the closing costs.

The insurance binder for the interior and contents, since the association insures the building.

The access arrangements. The island has no bridge, so ask in writing how residents, vehicles, guests, household staff and contractors are registered for the ferry, the marina and the house car and tender.

Your walk-through notes and the punch list the developer agrees to finish.

Our page on the documents to have before closing on a new Miami condo adds the standard items, and where your deposit actually sits explains the escrow receipts.

The deed is recorded with the Miami-Dade County clerk, and the owner's title policy follows. Keep both. Then add:

The developer's warranty documents and the manufacturers' warranties for appliances and systems.

The association's contact sheet: the on-site general manager, the concierge desks in the three lobbies, and the residential butler's service terms.

Each year's adopted budget, insurance certificate and meeting minutes, as the association issues them.

The property tax bill and, if this becomes your permanent home, the homestead filing with the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, due by 1 March of the year you claim it.

A file kept this way answers a future buyer's questions in a day. Our page on the first year of owning a Miami condo covers the calendar after keys.

A family that buys through an entity or a trust usually has a family office or an attorney keep the original file and gives the household a working copy. Whoever keeps it, one person should own it, and the Club papers should sit beside the condominium papers, not in a separate drawer. If title is held through a company or trust, keep its formation and authority documents in the same file. See LLC, trust or personal name.

For the seasonal owner's view of the same island, read living part-time on Fisher Island or in South Beach; for a purchase held in a trust, how a trust buys from offer to recording. The island itself is weighed in the Fisher Island zone page, and the island question sets Fisher Island against Brickell Key, Bal Harbour and Key Biscayne. The desk reads the offering, the purchase agreement and the Club terms with you before the reservation, and builds the file with you as it grows; start with the Six Fisher Island dossier.