The price of a Miami condo is on the listing. The cost of owning it is not, and it is the number that decides whether the building fits. Four lines make up almost all of it, and each can be read before a contract is signed.
This page goes through the four lines, what sits behind each, what moves it, and where it is read. It does not give numbers, because every building’s numbers are its own and the desk reads them for the building in front of you. Contact the desk at Miami Dossier for the current position on any building we cover.
The fee pays for the building: the staff, the amenities, the common insurance, the maintenance and the reserves. In a new luxury tower it is the largest line and it is quoted per square foot per month, so a larger residence pays more. What sits behind it is the association budget, which in a new building the developer writes for the first year and the owners inherit.
What moves it: the building’s insurance, which has risen sharply in Florida; the reserves, which since the 2021 reforms must be funded rather than waived; and the amenities, which cost what they cost whether you use them. The desk reads the budget and says which lines usually move and which way.
Miami Dade assesses every property each year and applies the local millage, so the tax is roughly a percentage of the assessed value, and on a new residence the first assessment is close to what you paid. If the condo is your permanent residence and you file for homestead, the annual rise in assessed value is capped by law. If it is a second home, there is no cap and the tax follows the market.
The tax on a new building is not known until the county assesses it after completion, which is why the desk gives a range from comparable buildings rather than a number, and says so.
The building insures the structure and the common areas through the association, and that cost is inside the fee. You insure the inside of your residence and your contents, and in a Miami tower that policy is smaller than a house policy but not small. Flood insurance depends on the building’s elevation and the map; a new tower on the beach may need none for the residence and plenty for the building. Quotes are obtained before a contract is signed.
Florida’s insurance market has been hard for several years and the desk describes it rather than forecasting it. What it can do is show what comparable buildings are paying now.
When a building needs more than its budget and reserves hold, the owners are assessed, once, for the shortfall. In older buildings that has meant structural work after the inspections Florida now requires. In a new building it is rarer but not unknown: a first year budget that was optimistic, an insurance renewal that doubled. The documents show whether an assessment is pending, and the reserves show how likely one is. Both are read inside the cancellation window.
The fee is what the building says it costs. The reserves are whether that is true.
For any new building it covers, the desk at Miami Dossier puts the first year budget, the reserve schedule, the insurance position and the fee per square foot in front of you, with what comparable buildings are paying, so the carrying cost is a number before the contract is signed and not a surprise after the keys.
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.
A private report on the Miami market, sent when there is something worth knowing. No noise, no listings, no pressure.
Received. A note from the desk is on its way. If it has not arrived within a few minutes, please check your spam folder and mark it as not spam, so we can reach you.
Nothing on this page is legal, tax or investment advice, and every carrying cost is the building’s own number, read for that building. 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.
