Sell your Florida condo with a special assessment without waiting for the repairs.
HBS buys condos directly for cash and as is. A special assessment does not stop a sale. The association's estoppel certificate lists what is owed and what comes due during its 30- or 35-day effective period, and the contract decides who pays. When building repairs make it hard for a buyer to get a loan, we can make an as-is cash offer on the unit.
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What condo do you want to sell?
Start with the property address. You do not need photos, repair estimates, or paperwork.
How Florida's condo rules affect a resale with an assessment.
Florida's condo safety laws added inspections, reserve studies, and new resale disclosures. Here is how they touch a sale.
Who owes the assessment
Florida makes each owner liable for assessments that come due while they own the unit, and a buyer is jointly and severally liable with the seller for anything unpaid at transfer. Installments that come due after closing are owed by the new owner, so who bears the cost is set in the contract and the price. On the June 2025 version of the standard Florida Realtors/Florida Bar condominium rider, if the box is left blank, the seller pays special assessments levied before closing in full, unless the association lets the buyer assume the later installments.
What the buyer must receive
At the seller's expense, a reselling owner must give the buyer the declaration, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and rules, the annual budget and financial statement, the condo FAQ sheet, the latest structural integrity reserve study or a statement that there is none, the inspector's milestone summary if one applies, any turnover inspection report from on or after July 1, 2023, and the state's condominium governance form. Since July 1, 2025, the contract must give the buyer 7 days, not counting weekends and legal holidays, to review the condo documents, either before signing or as a right to cancel that ends at closing, with a matching clause for any completed milestone summary or reserve study; it was 3 days before. Contracts signed after December 31, 2024 must also state whether the association is required to have, and has completed, a milestone inspection and reserve study.
Milestone inspections and reserve studies
Condo buildings three or more habitable stories tall need a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year they turn 30, or 25 where the local building department requires it because of conditions such as nearby salt water, then every 10 years. Owner-controlled associations that existed by July 1, 2022 had to complete their first structural integrity reserve study by December 31, 2025. Those whose milestone inspection is due by December 31, 2026 may do both together, but that first study must be done by December 31, 2026, and a new one is due at least every 10 years.
How special assessments are noticed and spent
Owners must get at least 14 days' notice of a board meeting where a nonemergency special assessment will be considered, stating the purpose and estimated cost. The money may be used only for that purpose, and any excess becomes common surplus the board can return or credit.
Why financed buyers get stuck
Fannie Mae treats a building that needs critical safety or structural repairs, or that failed a required structural inspection, as ineligible until the repairs are completed and documented, and Freddie Mac has a similar rule. A routine assessment within guidelines is usually acceptable, but an unfinished structural project can leave cash buyers as the main market. In August 2026, 51.0 percent of Florida condo and townhouse closings were paid in cash, according to Florida Realtors.
Reserve rules buyers watch
Associations may fund the structural reserves a reserve study calls for with regular or special assessments, loans, or lines of credit; a special assessment, loan, or line of credit for that purpose needs a majority vote of all voting interests. Fannie Mae is also raising its minimum reserve allocation for full project reviews from 10 percent to 15 percent of the budget for loan applications dated on or after January 4, 2027.
What can affect your as-is cash offer.
| Input | How it affects the offerPlain English |
|---|---|
| Assessment balance and schedule | We review the amounts owed and the installments scheduled to come due, and the written offer states how they are handled. |
| Building status | Milestone inspection findings, the reserve study, and the repair plan affect resale value and how long the work may take. |
| Unit condition | Interior condition, updates, and any water or storm damage still drive the as-is value. |
| Association rules | We check the declaration and rules for sale approvals, leasing limits, or other terms that affect the closing date. |
How the property and local records can change the sale.
Pinellas County
St. Petersburg runs a milestone inspection program with a public map for condo buildings three or more stories tall, and Pinellas County handles milestone reports for unincorporated areas and seven smaller cities, including Indian Rocks Beach, Oldsmar, and Safety Harbor.
Hillsborough County
The City of Tampa runs its own mandatory structural inspection program for condo and co-op buildings three stories or more under City Code 5-110.9. Ask the association for the inspector-prepared summary.
Pasco County
Associations must send each owner the inspector-prepared milestone summary within 45 days of receiving the report, so Pasco owners can ask the association for it and check DBPR's reserve study database.
Hernando County
Hernando condos follow the same state resale rules: the buyer must receive the budget, the reserve study or a statement that none exists, and the condo FAQ sheet, and the estoppel certificate shows what is owed.
What to gather before asking about a condo with an assessment.
You do not need every association document to start. These show what is owed and what the building still needs.
Assessment notice
The board's notice or letter with the amount, purpose, due dates, and any payment plan.
Account statement
A recent ledger, or an estoppel certificate if one was ordered, showing balances and scheduled installments.
Inspection and reserve study summaries
The inspector-prepared milestone summary and the reserve study, or a note that the association has not completed one.
Unit details and access
Photos, occupancy or lease status, parking and storage assignments, and how to schedule a walkthrough.
How the cash sale moves from first call to closing.
Send the unit and the assessment details
Share the unit address, the assessment notice or amount, and any inspection or reserve study summary you have. Partial information is fine.
Get an as-is cash offer
We review the assessment figures, the building's repair status, and the unit's condition and explain how the assessment affects what you would net.
Close with the association's estoppel
The title company orders the estoppel certificate, pays amounts due at closing, and handles the association's transfer requirements.
More help for this Florida condo sale.
Seller guides
Condo milestone and reserve rulesCheck the rules behind this page.
These primary sources explain the rules summarized above. They are not legal, tax, or insurance advice; an attorney, CPA, insurance professional, or building official should confirm how they apply to your property.
Florida Statutes, s. 718.503 (condo resales)
The documents a reselling owner must provide and the 7-day review clause.
Open official sourceFlorida Statutes, s. 718.116 (assessments and estoppel)
Who owes assessments at and after a sale, estoppel certificates, and use of special assessment funds.
Open official sourceFlorida Statutes, s. 718.112 (budgets, notices, reserve studies)
The 14-day notice rule, reserve funding options, and reserve study deadlines.
Open official sourceFlorida Statutes, s. 553.899 (milestone inspections)
Which buildings need milestone inspections, when, and the summary owners receive.
Open official sourceDBPR SIRS reporting and database
Whether an association has reported a completed structural integrity reserve study.
Open official sourceFannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-03
Why critical repairs or related assessments can block a buyer's loan.
Open official sourceFannie Mae Lender Letter LL-2026-03
The increase in the minimum reserve allocation from 10 to 15 percent for loan applications dated on or after January 4, 2027.
Open official sourceFreddie Mac: critical repairs and condo projects
Freddie Mac's rule that a condominium project needing critical repairs is ineligible.
Open official sourceFlorida Realtors August 2026 condo data
The 51.0 percent share of Florida condo and townhouse closings paid in cash in August 2026.
Open official sourceFlorida Realtors: Condo Law Changes Prompt New Forms (June 25, 2025)
Florida Realtors' notice of the June 2025 update to the CR-7 condominium rider for the July 1, 2025 condo law changes.
Open official sourceFlorida Realtors CR-7 condominium rider, June 2025 changes (redline preview)
The June 2025 rider's default for who pays special assessments when the box is left blank.
Open official sourceCity of St. Petersburg Milestone Inspections
The city's milestone program and building map.
Open official sourceCondo Special Assessments cash-sale questions.
Yes. Nothing in Florida's condo law prevents the sale. The association's estoppel certificate itemizes what is owed when it is issued and what comes due during its 30-day effective period (35 days if mailed), so ask the association for the full installment schedule. The contract sets who pays what.
Each owner is liable for assessments that come due while they own the unit, and the buyer is jointly and severally liable for anything unpaid at closing. Between buyer and seller it is negotiated in the contract, often through the price or a credit. On the standard Florida Realtors/Florida Bar condominium rider, if the box is left blank, the seller pays assessments levied before closing in full, unless the association lets the buyer assume the later installments.
A reselling owner must provide the budget and financial statement, the latest reserve study or a statement that there is none, the milestone summary if one applies, and other association documents. The standard condominium rider also asks the seller to list known special assessments levied or discussed at a board meeting in the 12 months before the contract, and the estoppel certificate shows what is owed.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac generally will not buy loans in buildings that need critical safety or structural repairs, or that failed a required structural inspection, until the work is completed and documented. A cash purchase does not need that project approval.
If the contract uses the cancellation option, the buyer has 7 days, not counting weekends and legal holidays, after signing and receiving the documents to cancel in writing. The right ends at closing.
Ask the association for the inspector-prepared milestone summary it must give owners within 45 days of receiving the report, check DBPR's reserve study reporting database, and in St. Petersburg use the city's milestone inspection map.
Get a cash offer for your condo as is.
727-497-7766Start with the address and what is going on. There is no obligation to accept the offer.
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