Eleven clauses to read before you sign a developer contract
The brochure is a promise and the contract is the deal
- Provisions an attorney reads first
- 11 clauses
- Provisions an attorney reads first
- Review window before the contract binds
- 15 days
- Review window before the contract binds
- Typical developer fee at closing
- 1.5 to 1.75 percent
- Typical developer fee at closing
- Edgeworth ground lease from Family Church
- 99-year lease
- Edgeworth ground lease from Family Church
A developer's purchase agreement is written by the developer's lawyers for the developer's protection, and Florida law allows that within the limits of Chapter 718. The 15-day review window exists so that someone on the buyer's side reads it. Below are the 11 provisions a Palm Beach condominium attorney reads first, what each one typically says and the question to ask about it.
The short answer
- The outside completion date and the remedy if it passes matter more than the estimated delivery.
- Material and adverse changes open a further 15-day cancellation window by statute, and the contract decides whether a redesigned floor plan allows cancellation.
- Substitution clauses let developers change finishes and amenities. The brochure is not the contract.
- The estimated budget is a disclosure and sets no cap on dues; Forté runs around $11,000 to $12,000 a month for a half floor.
- Assignment rights decide whether a buyer can sell the contract before closing, and at what fee.
Eleven clauses decide a pre-construction condo contract
- The deposit clause and its 718.202 legend: which dollars sit in escrow and which fund construction.
- Estimated completion against the outside date: the contract's definition of delivery controls, and only the outside date has teeth.
- Extension and force majeure rights: watch for repeated extensions with no meaningful outside date, notice requirement or cancellation remedy.
- Material and adverse changes: by statute a further 15-day cancellation window applies, and the contract may add rights if size, layout, views or amenities change.
- Substitution rights: most contracts reserve the right to substitute materials, revise layouts and reduce amenities; put the finishes that matter into a signed addendum.
- The estimated operating budget: a required disclosure that routinely rises after turnover; compare it with dues at finished buildings such as Forté, around $11,000 to $12,000 a month for a half floor.
- Ground lease, if any: Edgeworth sits on a 99-year lease from Family Church; read the rent, the escalations and the reversion.
- Rental and use rules: Mr. C's lower floors allow short-term rental and its upper floors require six-month minimums; the declaration governs.
- The developer fee and closing-cost allocation: typically 1.5 to 1.75 percent, with deed stamps and the owner's title policy shifted to the buyer.
- Assignment: whether, and on what terms, a buyer may sell the contract before closing, and the fee the developer charges.
- Brokerage registration: the clause that records the buyer's broker; without it the developer owes no co-broke and the rebate does not exist.
Read the contract with the declaration and the budget beside it
The three documents reference each other, so none of them reads correctly alone. Note the date each document arrives, because the statutory window runs from the last one.
Ask the sales team for a redline of any change it agrees to, and have it signed before the window closes. If a request is refused, the question is whether the refusal matters more than the building. If it does, cancel in writing.
A developer that will not fix a defined outside date is saying something about the project.
A Premier Listings advisor works with Palm Beach condominium attorneys who review developer contracts for a fixed fee inside the 15-day window, and attends the signing.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Statutes change and the sources are dated. For every new tower with its figures and floor plans, open the index.
Questions this article answers
Which clauses should a buyer read in a Florida developer condo contract?
Eleven provisions come first: the deposit legend, the outside date, extension rights, material changes, substitution rights, the budget, the ground lease, rental rules, the developer fee, assignment and the brokerage registration. A Palm Beach condominium attorney reads these before anything else, because each one decides part of the outcome.
How long does a buyer have to review a pre-construction condo contract in Florida?
The buyer has a 15-day review window so that someone on the buyer's side reads the developer's contract. The statutory window runs from the last document received, so note the date each one arrives. If a request is refused and it matters, cancel in writing within the window.
What is the outside date in a developer condo contract?
It is the only completion date with teeth. The contract's definition of delivery controls, and the outside date and the remedy if it passes matter more than the estimated delivery. Watch for repeated extensions without a meaningful outside date, notice requirement or cancellation remedy.
What does the 718.202 legend in a Florida condo deposit clause show?
It shows which of the buyer's dollars are escrowed and which fund construction. The deposit clause and its legend are the first of the 11 provisions a Palm Beach condominium attorney reads before a buyer signs a developer contract.
Can a buyer cancel a Florida condo contract if the developer changes the floor plan?
Possibly. Material-change provisions decide whether a redesigned floor plan allows cancellation. By statute, a further 15-day cancellation window applies to material and adverse changes, and the contract may add rights if size, layout, views or amenities change.
Can a condo developer change finishes and amenities after the buyer signs?
Yes, under most contracts. Most reserve the right to substitute materials, revise layouts and reduce amenities, so the brochure is not the contract. Put the finishes that matter into a signed addendum, and have any agreed change signed before the review window closes.
Does the estimated operating budget cap condo dues?
No. The estimated budget is a required disclosure that sets no cap on dues, and it routinely rises after turnover. Compare it with dues at finished buildings such as Forté, around $11,000 to $12,000 a month for a half floor.
What closing costs does a developer contract shift to the buyer?
The developer fee is typically 1.5 to 1.75 percent, and deed stamps and the owner's title policy are typically shifted to the buyer. Read the contract with the declaration and the budget beside it, because the 3 documents reference each other.
Can a buyer sell a pre-construction condo contract before closing?
Only on the terms the assignment clause sets. That clause decides whether the buyer may sell the contract before closing, on what terms and for what developer fee. Read it before signing if an early exit is a possibility.
SourcesShow
- Section 718.503, Florida Statutes: Developer disclosure prior to sale; voidabilityFlorida Legislature · 2026
- Section 718.202, Florida Statutes: Sales or reservation deposits prior to closingFlorida Legislature · 2026
- Pre-construction condo contract: a buyer's guideThe Maya Vander Group · August 20, 2026
- Can you get your earnest money back on a Florida pre-construction condo?J.P. Gonzalez-Sirgo, P.A. · 2026
