Buying or Selling a Condo in Melbourne, FL

Florida law gives condo buyers the right to receive the association's governing documents and a review period before the contract becomes binding. Use it. The declaration, bylaws, rules, current budget, and recent meeting minutes tell you what you can do with the unit and what it will really cost to own.

Sam reads them with you and flags what matters for your plans: pet limits, rental restrictions and minimum lease terms, parking, renovation approvals, and whether there is any pending litigation or special assessment discussed in the minutes. A beautiful view does not help if the rules say you cannot use the unit the way you intended.

After the 2021 collapse in Surfside, Florida passed new condominium safety laws in 2022 and strengthened them in later sessions. In general terms, condo buildings three stories or taller now need periodic milestone structural inspections, and associations must complete structural integrity reserve studies and fund reserves for key building components rather than waiving them.

For buyers, that means you should ask for the building's milestone inspection status, the structural integrity reserve study, and any planned or recent special assessments. For sellers, having those documents ready helps buyers and lenders move faster. Deadlines and details have been revised more than once, so confirm the current requirements for the specific building with the association.

Monthly association dues cover building insurance, common areas, and reserves — but not your unit's interior or your contents. You will still need an HO-6 policy, and possibly flood coverage depending on the building and your lender. Sam helps you line up insurance quotes during the review period.

Special assessments are the other piece. Building repairs, roof replacements, or reserve funding can lead to one-time charges. Reading the budget and reserve study tells you whether the association has been saving for what is coming or putting it off.

Not always. Lenders review the building as well as the buyer. Things like pending litigation, a high share of units in delinquency, short-term rental use, or incomplete inspections can make a building harder to finance. Sam asks the association for the lender questionnaire early so a financing problem shows up before you are deep into the contract.

If you are paying cash, you still want the same documents — they protect your resale, because your future buyer's lender will ask the same questions.

Many sit along A1A, facing the ocean or the river, in Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Satellite Beach, and Cocoa Beach. On the mainland, you will find riverfront buildings and townhome-style condos in Melbourne and Eau Gallie.

Each building is its own decision. Two towers next to each other can have very different budgets, reserves, and rules. Sam compares the building as carefully as the unit, and pulls recent sales in the same building when they exist.