A resale condo contract in Florida now has a cancellation clause that runs on documents. After a buyer signs and receives whichever of the building's current milestone inspection summary, turnover inspection report and Structural Integrity Reserve Study apply, the buyer has 7 days to cancel in writing, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. The right ends at closing. The 2025 condo bill, HB 913, extended that window from 3 days.
On Longboat Key, the two documents in that packet do different jobs. The milestone summary will almost certainly say the building is sound. The SIRS shows what keeping it sound will cost, and that cost is part of what buyers are paying when they make an offer.
The Inspection Every Building Passed
The town's Planning, Zoning and Building Director, Allen Parsons, told Your Observer that 198 Longboat Key buildings required milestone inspections and all of them passed. Only two needed the more intensive "phase two" inspection, where an engineer can look beneath the surface for structural concerns. Neither of those two had to pull follow-up permits for structural repairs.
That record is good news for the island's mid-rise stock. That includes the south-end row the Observer photographed: Longboat Key Towers (1970), the Beaches of Longboat Key (1984) and Regent Place (1995). For a buyer comparing two buildings, though, a test that all 198 passed doesn't help choose between them. Under state law, the milestone requirement covers condo buildings of three or more habitable stories once they reach 30 years old, then every 10 years after that. The inspection asks whether the structure is safe. It doesn't ask whether the association has saved enough to keep it that way.
Where the Cost Went
The reserve study answers that second question. Mayor Debra Williams described the change to Your Observer. Before Surfside, associations had to keep reserves for painting, paving and roofing, "and everything else was optional." She added that "quarterly payments have gone up quite a bit because there are a lot more of these reserve items that they have to fund."
David Novak of Longboat Private Services manages more than 900 residential units. He put it plainly in the same story: "Associations who have reserved funds all along are prepared; those who failed to adequately reserve are playing catchup...and the cost to catchup can be substantial to the point to where owners sell."
That quote explains why the SIRS shows up in prices. A building that funded its reserves steadily for years and a building that is catching up now can both pass the same inspection. Their quarterly bills will differ. A buyer who knows the higher bill is coming will offer less, and a seller who is leaving because of it has a reason to accept.
What the Weekly Ledger Shows
Your Observer publishes Longboat Key's top residential sales every week, and each entry includes the unit's previous sale price. Two late-August weeks of condo sales on the island, as reported September 6 and September 15, 2026:
| Building and unit | Built | Prior sale | Late-August 2026 sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Water Club at Longboat Key, Unit 408 | 1996 | $2.20M in 2022 | $3.10M |
| Grand Bay, Unit 195 | 1994 | $1.12M in 2004 | $1.6M |
| Inn on the Beach, Unit 4205 | 1982 | $1M in 2024 | $1.05M |
| Arbomar Apartments, Unit 804 | 1973 | $700,000 in 2005 | $960,000 |
| Grand Bay, Unit 312 | 1998 | $880,000 in 2004 | $910,000 |
| The Shore, Unit 205 | 1973 | $487,500 in 2012 | $875,000 |
| Harbour Villa Club at the Buccaneer, Unit 210 | 1985 | $985,000 in 2024 | $870,000 |
| Bayport Beach and Tennis Club, Unit 521 | 1980 | $125,000 in 1991 | $615,000 |
| Seaplace, Unit M2-404-B | 1978 | $230,000 in 1997 | $600,000 |
| Sutton Place, Unit 302 | 1973 | $550,000 in 2024 | $439,000 |
| Whitney Beach, Unit 139 | 1969 | $362,000 in 2020 | $405,000 |
Owners who held for decades did well. Owners who bought recently got mixed results. The Water Club unit gained about 41 percent on a 2022 purchase, and the Inn on the Beach unit gained about 5 percent on a 2024 purchase. The Harbour Villa Club unit sold for about 12 percent less than its 2024 price, and the Sutton Place unit sold for about 20 percent less than its 2024 price. Grand Bay Unit 312 sold for 3 percent more than it did 22 years earlier, while another Grand Bay unit gained more than 40 percent over the same period.
Age doesn't sort these results either. Sutton Place and The Shore were both built in 1973. One sold at a loss on a two-year hold, and the other sold for about 80 percent more than its 2012 price.
These are individual sales, and the ledger doesn't record fees, reserve balances, unit condition or views. It can't say why any one unit sold where it did. It does show that building age and inspection status don't explain the results. The variables that remain are the unit itself and the association's finances, and the seven-day window is a buyer's chance to check the finances.
The County Numbers Give You Time
According to the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, Sarasota County had 281 condo and townhouse closings in August 2026, compared with 247 in August 2025. The median sale price was $310,000, the median time to contract was 83 days, and active inventory was 1,659 listings, down from 1,882 a year earlier. Manatee County, which covers the north end of the island, had 241 closings, a $307,000 median, 72 days to contract and 1,171 active listings, down from 1,396.
Neither county breaks out Longboat Key, and every condo sale in the table above was well above either county median. These are countywide figures, not a read on the island. In both counties, closings rose and inventory fell compared with August 2025, but the median time to contract still ran past ten weeks. That pace leaves time to request documents and read them before signing. The next monthly release is scheduled for October 16, 2026.
What the Seller Has to Hand Over
Under Section 718.503(2), a resale seller must provide these documents at the seller's expense once a buyer is under contract:
- The declaration, articles, bylaws and rules.
- The latest annual financial statement and budget.
- The inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection, if one applies. This is the summary only, not the full report.
- The most recent SIRS, or a statement that the association hasn't completed one.
- A turnover inspection report, where one applies.
- The association's frequently asked questions document.
The contract must also state conspicuously when a required milestone inspection or SIRS hasn't been completed.
Associations with 25 or more units must post their most recent SIRS and their structural inspection reports on a website or app. An association required to have a website must also publish the full milestone report there, along with the summary. Those postings sit in a protected section of the site that is open to unit owners rather than the general public, so in practice a prospective buyer reads them through the seller. Asking the seller to share the full milestone report early, before the summary-only packet arrives, gives a buyer more than the statute requires.
Two dates in Section 718.112 affect what the budget shows. The general SIRS deadline for existing associations was December 31, 2025. An association whose milestone inspection is due by the end of 2026 may complete both together, but no SIRS may be completed after December 31, 2026. That puts the outer deadline less than three months away. For budgets adopted through December 31, 2028, an association that had a milestone inspection in the previous two calendar years can pause or reduce reserve contributions for up to two consecutive budgets to pay for recommended repairs. That takes a majority vote of owners, and the association must get a SIRS before contributions resume. If a budget shows reserve contributions paused or reduced, a buyer should find out which repairs the money is covering and when full contributions restart.
A Current Example of Association Decisions
Association decisions can stall even outside the milestone law. The nine-unit condo building at 380 North Shore Road, near the beach access for Greer "Beer Can" Island, is one story and outside the milestone requirement. Its roof has been damaged since hurricanes Helene and Milton. On September 28, the town's building official declared it unsafe and unfit for habitation and gave owners 30 days to apply for repair or demolition permits. Your Observer reported October 28 as the decision deadline.
The town's substantial-damage estimate was $2.9 million. The association submitted its own quote of $974,718, which falls under the threshold that would require bringing the building into full compliance with current flood regulations. The repair permit application stalled after town staff's questions went unanswered. Owners Gary Sheppard and Ellen Scotti-Belli described a year spent sorting through regulations, an insurance claim that required an attorney, and a board that is pushing to rebuild. For a buyer, the lesson is that two cost estimates for the same building can differ by nearly $2 million, and board minutes and estimates are what show which number an association is acting on.
Quick Answers
Does a passed milestone inspection mean low fees ahead? No. Passing the inspection means the structure is sound. Future fees depend on the SIRS and how well the association has funded its reserves, which is what Mayor Williams and David Novak described.
What if the seller's packet arrives after I sign? The 7-day cancellation window runs from the later of signing the contract and receiving whichever of the milestone summary, turnover report and SIRS apply to the building. It ends at closing.
Can I read the documents before making an offer? Not directly. Associations with 25 or more units must post the SIRS and structural inspection reports online, but in an area limited to unit owners. A buyer can ask the seller to share them before writing an offer.
Adnan Dedic reviews SIRS reports, reserve schedules and budgets for Longboat Key condo buyers before they commit, so the seven-day window is spent confirming a decision. Let's Connect before your next offer on the island.
