How to Sell a Florida Condo That Failed Its Milestone Inspection

What a failed milestone inspection means for your sale

Florida's condo safety law requires structural milestone inspections for many older, taller condominium buildings, generally starting around the 30-year mark, along with a structural integrity reserve study that tells you what big-ticket repairs are coming. When your building fails a milestone inspection, an engineer has flagged structural concerns that need further evaluation or repair. You still own your unit, and you can still sell it. What changes is your buyer pool: many retail buyers and their mortgage lenders have concerns about open structural findings or a pending special assessment. With Cash Flow Deals, you can compare the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy your condo as-is and close, and the Premium Cash Offer, where a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you if the lender approves your unit and building. You choose. Confirm the exact inspection thresholds and timelines that apply to your building with your association and a Florida attorney before you rely on any specific figure.

Why traditional buyers and lenders walk away

A failed milestone inspection often triggers two things buyers fear: a special assessment to pay for repairs, and lender hesitation. Mortgage lenders and the agencies that back their loans review condo project eligibility, and open structural issues or underfunded reserves can make a building hard to finance. When financing dries up, retail offers fall through after the inspection contingency, and you're back to square one. That stop-start cycle is the real cost of selling a flagged condo the conventional way. It burns weeks, sometimes months, while assessment deadlines and carrying costs keep ticking. Cash Flow Deals works with a buyer who is already lined up to purchase under these conditions, so the deal doesn't collapse the moment the structural report surfaces.

How Cash Flow Deals handles a flagged condo

With Cash Flow Deals, you choose the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy your condo as-is and close, or the Premium Cash Offer, where a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you if the unit and building meet the lender's requirements. You disclose the milestone inspection results and any known special assessment before signing. We cover repair costs, and we figure out a way, so nothing comes out of your pocket. On Premium, only what the buyer's lender requires gets fixed, with repair costs settled from the sale proceeds from our share; on Fast Cash, we buy as-is with no repairs for you to make. Any assessment owed is addressed in the closing math rather than requiring you to front it. The number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens. The buyer's lender runs its own appraisal and underwriting, and Title Guaranty of South Florida prepares the closing statement so every number is visible before you sign.

One title transfer, with the findings disclosed

Your condo's title moves directly from you to the buyer in a single closing handled by Title Guaranty of South Florida. No investor buys the unit first and resells it, which means one contract, one closing, one title transfer. Disclosure stays honest throughout: the milestone inspection results and any pending assessment are on the table, not papered over. The title company runs the title search, confirms your right to sell, settles any existing mortgage payoff, records the deed, and disburses your proceeds. Selling as-is is legal in Florida as long as known material facts are disclosed, and that's the standard this structure is built to meet.

Where the special assessment and the fee land

Cash Flow Deals is free for sellers. The fee shows up as its own separate line on the closing statement prepared by the title company, not buried inside the price and not skimmed off your proceeds before you see the math. If your building has a recorded special assessment, how it gets handled at closing depends on the contract terms and the association's payoff figures, so confirm those numbers with your association and review them on the closing statement line by line. The point of the structure is plain-view math: the sale price, the mortgage payoff, any assessment, the Cash Flow Deals line, and your net are all listed before you sign anything.

What to do next as the seller

Start by gathering three things: the milestone inspection report, the structural integrity reserve study if your building has one, and any notice of a special assessment from your association. Those documents let a buyer evaluate the unit quickly and accurately. From there your part is simple. You sell as-is with no repairs, you sign a written contract, and the deal moves to one closing where title transfers and you collect your proceeds. There's no obligation before you sign. To find out whether your flagged Florida condo fits a real bank-financed buyer, call 786-891-9111. The check is free, and there's no pressure to move forward.

Florida Statute § 553.899: What the Milestone Inspection Law Actually Requires

Florida Statute § 553.899, enacted as part of the Condominium Safety Act following the 2021 Surfside collapse, requires structural milestone inspections for any condominium or cooperative building that is three stories or taller. The first inspection is due by December 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years of age, calculated from the certificate of occupancy. Buildings near saltwater within three miles of the coast face an earlier threshold.

The inspection runs in two phases. Phase 1 is a visual examination by a licensed Florida architect or engineer. If Phase 1 finds substantial structural deterioration, Phase 2 gets triggered and must finish within 180 days.

When Phase 1 or Phase 2 turns up findings of substantial deterioration, the association is legally obligated to notify all unit owners in writing. That notice creates the chain of disclosure that runs straight to any pending sale. Under Johnson v. Davis, you must disclose the findings to any buyer.

Why Fannie Mae and the GSEs Pull Back From Flagged Buildings

A failed milestone inspection doesn't just affect your unit. It affects your entire building's eligibility for conventional financing. Fannie Mae condominium project eligibility guidelines require lenders to review condo projects for known structural deficiencies, deferred maintenance, and underfunded reserves before approving a mortgage in the building.

The specific reserve-adequacy trigger compounds this. Under Fannie Mae guidelines, no more than 15 percent of the total units in a project can be 60 or more days past due on special assessment payments. A building dealing with a large post-milestone assessment where many owners are delinquent can breach that threshold and make the entire building ineligible for Fannie Mae-backed loans.

With Cash Flow Deals, you choose between the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy your condo as-is and close, and the Premium Cash Offer, where a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. On Premium, your condo may be listed through Silver Door Realty, a licensed Florida brokerage, with a licensed agent and scheduled showings. Cash Flow Deals is paid as a separate line item on the closing statement.

For your Miami-Dade or Broward condo in a flagged building, financing eligibility matters. A buyer's pre-approval does not establish your building's eligibility. Cash Flow Deals reviews the findings with you so you can compare the as-is purchase with a Premium sale that depends on lender approval. If the buyer's loan falls through, that is our problem, not yours, and you can still take the Fast Cash Offer at its own number or choose the Premium Cash Offer if financing becomes available.

Cash Flow Deals' Offer Process:

1. Send Cash Flow Deals your milestone inspection report, structural integrity reserve study, and any special assessment notice. We review your flagged condo and respond within 24 hours so you can compare your Fast Cash Offer and Premium Cash Offer.

2. Disclose the milestone inspection findings and any special assessment before signing your written contract. The number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens.

3. Review the closing date and financing requirements in your contract. The existing 45 days or less closing option depends on the offer you choose and the transaction's requirements; you help pick the date. Title Guaranty of South Florida handles one title transfer directly from you to the buyer named in your chosen sale.