Contracts FAQs

It depends on which contract you mean. Under a listing agreement you can usually part ways, though Florida's standard version lets the brokerage approve or deny your exit. A cancellation fee may apply. Under a signed purchase agreement with a buyer, the situation turns messy and rarely worth fighting. Contract language controls what is...

Yes, buyers in Florida can back out of a real estate contract during the inspection period for any reason at all. Under the standard AS IS contract used across South Florida, Paragraph 12 gives buyers "sole discretion" to cancel and receive their full deposit back. Most inspection periods run between 7 and 14 days. However, once that window closes, your options shrink fast, and...

Yes, and the estoppel certificate will reveal it even if you forget. Florida Statute 718.503 requires disclosure through the contract rider, and incomplete delivery lets a buyer void the deal entirely. The sharper move for a buyer is negotiating contract language that obligates the seller to pay every pending and levied assessment in full at...

Yes, MLS rules from the 2024 NAR settlement require your real estate agent to have a signed agreement before touring a home. Open houses remain a common exception. Florida law places that duty on the agent, not on you. Terms stay negotiable, and the form can cover one property, one day, or your full search. #video-do-i-have-to-sign-a-buyer-broker-agreement-in-florida-now# What...

No, Florida law does not require you to disclose that your neighbor is difficult, loud, or unpleasant. Neighbor conflicts are not material defects, and they have no place on the seller's disclosure form. What the law does require is disclosure of known issues that affect the property's value and are not obvious to a buyer, such as mold, structural damage, or unpermitted...

The seller pays both commissions in most South Florida residential transactions. Total commission ranges from 5% to 7% of the sale price and is fully negotiable. Since August 2024, buyer agent compensation can no longer appear on MLS listings. Instead, the buyer's agent submits a commission request alongside their offer. Then the seller and listing agent decide how to...

The contract structure matters more than the funding source. A financed buyer with a large escrow deposit, a 14-day close, and a shortened inspection window can stand toe-to-toe with cash. What sellers really want is certainty that the deal will close. A well-structured financed offer delivers that certainty when every detail is locked in before the contract gets...

Buyers protect their earnest money deposit in Florida by following the contractual deadlines written into the purchase agreement and canceling in writing before any contingency window closes. In South Florida, escrow deposits typically range from 1% to 3% of the purchase price. On a $500,000 home, that means $5,000 to $15,000 of your cash is sitting with a title company or closing...

A legitimate offer arrives in writing on a standard FAR/BAR contract. It includes a preapproval letter or verifiable proof of funds. The listing agent validates it by calling the lender directly and probing the buyer's financial qualifications. For cash deals, the escrow deposit amount tells the real story. A verbal promise or a PDF with impressive numbers does not make an offer...

You have two structural choices and two timing choices. You can lower your offer price or ask for a credit at closing, and both net the same. A credit puts cash in your pocket and does not show as a price cut on public records. You can also negotiate the roof up front or wait for the inspection, where sellers often concede more to save the deal. The strongest leverage comes from...

Real estate commission is fully negotiable, and the 2026 national average sits near 5.7% total, with about 2.9% going to the listing agent. Still, cutting the rate is rarely the winning move. A skilled agent nets you more through pricing and negotiation than a half-point discount ever saves. Hire value, not a...

Match your strategy to the buyer. A multifamily building sells well occupied, since investors want the income, though leases should roll month-to-month first. A house or condo belongs empty, since end users pay the most and need the keys at closing. Florida leases survive a sale, so plan your lease timeline several months ahead of...

You cannot list your half on the open market the way you would sell a home you own alone. Instead, you can transfer your interest to the other owner through a buyout agreement or a quitclaim deed. If the relationship has broken down, a partition action forces a court-ordered sale. The right path depends on the trust between you and the person on the other side of the...

Florida does not require buyers or sellers to hire a real estate attorney for a residential closing. Most transactions use a single title company or law firm as the closing agent, and no additional legal representation is involved. However, attorney involvement becomes more common and more valuable on deals above $1 million, on complex transactions, and for out-of-state buyers who...

Expect the IRS to hold back 15% of your gross sale price under FIRPTA, not your profit. That rate falls to 10% on sales between $300,001 and $1,000,000 when the buyer will live there, and to zero at $300,000 or less. Form 8288-B can reduce it before closing. Your specialist confirms the exact...

Yes, buying a home "as is" in Florida is completely legal. In fact, nearly every residential real estate transaction in the state uses the FAR/BAR "As Is" Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase. This standardized form, approved by Florida Realtors and The Florida Bar, means the seller has no obligation to make repairs. However, it does not strip the buyer of protections. You...

The biggest legal mistakes first-time homebuyers make are missing contract deadlines, skipping proper financing vetting, and not protecting their escrow deposit. In Florida, most residential purchase contracts are "time is of the essence" agreements, meaning every deadline carries legal weight. Miss the wrong one by even a day, and your earnest money deposit could be at risk. In...

The biggest red flags are not always obvious line items. They hide in the relationship between the escrow deposit, the inspection timeline, and the financing contingency. A $1,000 deposit paired with a 30-day inspection window and a financing contingency that runs to close gives the buyer every exit in the book. Meanwhile, the seller sits locked out of the market. The ability to...

When an appraisal comes in low, the lender funds only a share of the appraised value, not the higher contract price. That leaves buyers and sellers a few clear moves. Renegotiate the price, split the gap with extra cash, restructure the loan, dispute the value, or walk away under an appraisal...

A new map that places your home in a Special Flood Hazard Area triggers mandatory flood insurance on most mortgages. Buyers should budget $800 to $1,500 yearly in moderate zones and far more near the coast. Sellers face a smaller buyer pool and harder negotiations, though the designation rarely ends a...

A non-renewal rarely derails a closing. Florida mandates roughly 100 days of written notice, and most transactions finish inside that window with coverage still active. Sellers holding a mortgage can assemble general liability and hazard policies separately. Watch the buyer's side more closely, since a home you already insure may not qualify for a brand-new...

A transaction broker is a real estate licensee who facilitates a deal without owing fiduciary loyalty to either the buyer or the seller. Under Florida Statutes Chapter 475, every licensee is presumed to operate as a transaction broker unless a different relationship is established in writing. This comes into play in roughly 40% to 50% of home sales when a buyer shows up without...

An escalation clause automatically raises your offer above competing bids up to a maximum cap you set in advance. It is a legitimate tool, not a trap. The risk is that it reveals your ceiling on day one, and experienced listing agents often use that number to negotiate straight to your cap over the phone. #video-what-is-an-escalation-clause-and-is-it-a-trap# The Three...

An estoppel letter is a certified statement of what an owner owes an association, or of a tenant's actual lease terms. Florida associations get 10 business days to deliver one. Order it late and your title company cannot calculate payoffs or clear title. No lender funds a purchase without clear title, so your closing simply...

Buyers should review the title report for outstanding mortgages, liens, open notices of commencement, and exceptions to coverage before closing on a property. In Florida, the title commitment breaks down into three sections: Schedule A (property and ownership details), Schedule B-1 (requirements that must be cleared), and Schedule B-2 (exceptions the policy will not cover)....

Something shifted in your financial profile, your target property, or the mortgage structure your lender quoted. In South Florida, insurance is the leading cause. The state's average annual premium is $8,458, three times the national rate. When actual costs run $600 per month above the lender's estimate, that gap can erase $60,000 in buying...