The purchase price is not the number you pay. On preconstruction, the gap is wider than most buyers are told and several of the lines are negotiable.
This page covers the lines. The figures for a specific building come from the desk. Contact the desk at Miami Dossier for the current position on any building we cover.
Documentary stamp tax on the deed, charged on the sale price at a rate set by statute, which in Miami-Dade differs from the rest of Florida. Customarily the seller pays on a resale; on preconstruction the developer commonly passes it to the buyer.
Recording fees, modest and fixed.
If there is a mortgage, documentary stamp tax on the note and intangible tax on the mortgage, both borne by the borrower. A cash purchase avoids both, which is a real saving and rarely mentioned.
Title insurance. A significant line, priced on a published scale. Who pays is customary rather than fixed and differs by county, so on a Miami-Dade transaction it is a negotiable point.
Title search, examination and settlement fees. Charged by the closing agent.
Survey. Ordinary on a house, less relevant on a condominium unit.
Association estoppel and transfer fees. The association charges for a statement of what is owed and for processing the transfer. Capped by statute, and they appear on every condominium closing.
Developer closing contributions. Commonly expressed as a percentage of the purchase price, often in the region of one and a half to two percent, covering the developer’s legal and administrative costs. This is the line buyers are most surprised by.
Capital contribution to the association. A one-off payment, frequently two months of maintenance, to fund the association’s opening working capital.
Prepaid maintenance and taxes. Advance months of association fees and prorated property tax.
Utility connections and meter deposits. Small individually and they add up.
On preconstruction, budget these on top of the purchase price rather than assuming they are inside it. Together they are commonly several percent of the price.
Ask for a written estimate of buyer closing costs before you sign the contract, not before closing. Reputable sales offices will provide one.
Ask specifically which lines the developer is passing to the buyer, because documentary stamp tax and title insurance are the two where custom and contract most often diverge.
Ask what is negotiable. Developer closing contributions are sometimes reduced in a slow release, and title insurance placement is a legitimate discussion.
Then hold the estimate against the closing statement when it arrives, and query anything that moved.
On preconstruction the lines above commonly add several percent to the price. Ask the desk at Miami Dossier and we will get the estimate for the building in writing.
We hold no inventory of our own and we are not the developer. Ask the desk at Miami Dossier and we will tell you what applies to your situation, what does not, and where we would not proceed. Here that starts with a written estimate before signature, not before closing. Where the question is legal, tax or immigration, we will introduce you to advisers who handle that properly rather than answering it ourselves.