When does a Miami pre-construction reservation become binding?

A reservation is usually not binding on the purchase; the purchase agreement is. A reservation holds a home, a price and a place in line, and its deposit is typically refundable under the terms of the form. The commitment begins when you sign the purchase agreement, and even then Florida gives you 15 days after signing and receiving the condominium documents to cancel, under section 718.503. After that window, the deposit schedule is the commitment.

A place in line, on the terms written in the reservation form. Typically it names the home, the price in effect when you reserved, and your priority when contracts are released. It does not fix the final contract terms; those arrive with the purchase agreement.

Edgeworth, Related Ross's new tower at 1155 South Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach, shows the cleanest version. The developer takes a fully refundable reservation deposit now, ahead of a 2027 construction start, with staged payments tied to construction later and closings anticipated in the second quarter of 2030. Our own read of it: the cost of holding a position while diligence continues is close to zero. See Edgeworth, reservation or contract.

Read three lines on any reservation form before you sign it: when the deposit is refundable and how fast, when the reservation expires, and whether it converts to a contract automatically or needs you to act. A form that converts by itself deserves the same reading as a contract.

When you sign it. The purchase agreement is the document that obliges you to buy and the developer to deliver, on the terms it states: the price, the deposit schedule, the outside completion date and what happens if either side does not perform.

Two protections apply from that point. Under section 718.503, a buyer from a developer may cancel within 15 days after signing and receiving the required documents, and receive the deposit back. Under section 718.202, the developer must hold deposits up to 10 percent of the price in escrow; amounts above that may be used for construction if the contract allows it. Those two sections are why the order of reading matters: the documents first, then the deposit clause, then the signature.

After the 15 days, walking away has a cost that the contract sets. Our page on deposit forfeiture if you walk away explains how that clause works, and how buying pre-construction in Miami works gives the whole sequence.

Four buildings on our file, four ways of handling the same first step.

Edgeworth, West Palm Beach. A fully refundable reservation now; staged payments tied to construction milestones under the contract later; the balance at closing. Pricing is released on request.

Fouquet's Hotel & Residences Miami, Design District. Deposits staged across contract, groundbreaking and top off, with the majority at closing, held in escrow under the Florida condominium statute, per the offering materials. The offering is filed with the state under file CP26-0012. The schedule itself is held by the desk. See the Fouquet's deposit schedule.

Banyan Tree Residences, West Palm Beach. A developer-published schedule from May 2026: staged deposits at contract milestones, with the majority due at closing. See the Banyan Tree deposit schedule.

Faena Residences Miami, Miami River. Pre-construction, with completion around 2028 or 2029 per the project index. Deposit terms are not published in the material on our file, so ask for the reservation form and the contract before any payment. See Faena, reservation or contract.

The pattern is the same everywhere: a small, refundable step, then a contract with a cancellation window, then staged deposits in escrow, then closing. What differs is how much each stage asks and when. Our page on the pre-construction deposit schedule explained reads the stages side by side.

Before the reservation: the reservation form itself, with its refund terms and expiry, and the name of whoever holds the reservation deposit.

Before the purchase agreement: the developer's prospectus and the condominium documents, the estimated budget, the deposit schedule, the escrow agreement or the escrow agent's details, and the outside completion date. Ask counsel to read the clauses on deposits above 10 percent, delays and default. Our page on documents a pre-construction buyer should request lists the full set, and where your deposit actually sits explains the escrow side.

Then decide how you will hold title, since the name on the contract is the name the developer expects at closing. See LLC, trust or personal name.

The documents you keep from the reservation onward are listed in the ownership file for a West Palm Beach condo. The desk reads the reservation form and the contract with you, for Edgeworth, Fouquet's, Banyan Tree, Faena or any building on our file, and flags the clauses for counsel before you sign either. Our note on who to call when buying a new condo in Miami explains how that works.