Selling a Florida Condo During a Termination Vote Fight
5 min read · Last updated 2026-08-03 · Reviewed by Camilo Palacio, Licensed Florida Real Estate Professional (License #3280644, REALTOR®)
A fight over your condo building's termination vote doesn't freeze your right to sell your unit, and Cash Flow Deals is one option sellers in that exact position use to lock a price while it plays out. A condominium termination is the legal process that ends every owner's individual unit ownership in a building at once, usually so a developer can buy out the whole property and redevelop it. Florida's condominium-termination statute, Section 718.117(3) of the Florida Statutes, sets 80% owner approval as the default threshold to trigger one, but your building's declaration, the original recorded document that sets your specific condominium's own rules, can require a higher bar instead. A buyer's lender will not fund a purchase of your unit while a lawsuit over that threshold is open, because mortgage guidelines require clear, marketable title before closing, per Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, and the case leaves it legally unclear whether your ownership survives on the same terms once a judge rules.
| Factor | Traditional Listing | Cash Flow Deals |
|---|---|---|
| Timeline | A buyer's lender will not fund a purchase while a lawsuit over your condominium's termination, the legal process ending every unit owner's ownership in the building at once, is still active, since mortgage guidelines require clear title before funding, per Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, so closing waits on the case, which can run years through a trial court and multiple appeals. | Net price gets locked while the termination fight plays out, and closing is scheduled once the litigation actually resolves, not before. |
| Repairs / Compliance | A retail buyer's lender still wants a clear answer on whether your unit's ownership survives the termination case, since mortgage guidelines require marketable title before funding, per Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, on top of any repair negotiation a normal sale would add. | Net price is locked before repairs are scoped, independent of how long the termination dispute takes to resolve. |
| Fees / Costs | Legal fees for defending your ownership in the termination case keep accruing while the litigation runs, on top of a standard listing commission once a sale can even close. | [Cash Flow Deals](/)' fee is one line item at closing, set in writing, not stacked on top of ongoing litigation costs. |
What a Condo Termination Fight Actually Does to Your Unit
A condominium termination is the legal process that ends every owner's individual unit ownership in a building at once, typically so a developer can acquire the whole property and redevelop it under one new owner. Florida condominium law, Section 718.117(3) of the Florida Statutes, lets a termination move forward with 80% owner approval, but your building's declaration, the original recorded document that sets that specific condominium's own governing rules, can require a higher bar instead, and the statute does not override an older declaration automatically. Three things determine how much a termination fight actually threatens your ownership: whether your declaration demands unanimous consent from every owner or lets the 80% statutory threshold apply instead, whether a developer or the board already controls enough units and votes to force the question into court, and how long a termination lawsuit is realistically expected to run before a judge settles it. You cannot make the fight resolve faster by listing your unit for sale. You can only find a buyer path that does not require your ownership to be settled before it will close.
The 2025 Ruling That Shows How High the Bar Actually Is
Florida's Third District Court of Appeal, the appellate court that reviews Miami-Dade trial court rulings, put this exact fight on display in Avila v. Biscayne 21 Condominium, Inc., a Miami waterfront condo case, in a revised opinion issued July 10, 2025. Biscayne 21's original 1974 declaration, the building's own founding governance document, required unanimous agreement from every unit owner and every mortgage lender before the condominium could be terminated. TRD Biscayne, LLC, a developer that bought up a majority of the building's units, took over the board and amended the declaration in August 2022 to lower that threshold from 100% owner agreement to 80%, matching the statutory default under Section 718.117(3) of the Florida Statutes. The Third District Court of Appeal ruled that change invalid, holding it materially altered the remaining owners' voting rights and could not override a declaration that never required anything less than unanimous agreement. The Florida Supreme Court declined to hear the developer's further appeal on October 14, 2025, ending the case for good. So what does it take to settle whether a single vote-threshold number in an old declaration still controls? In Biscayne 21's case: a board takeover, a declaration amendment, a trial court ruling, an original appellate opinion in March 2024 later revised in July 2025, and a Florida Supreme Court decision, spread across more than three years.
What This Means If Your Building Is Fighting Over a Termination Vote Right Now
A real 2025 Florida case, Avila v. Biscayne 21 Condominium, Inc., a Miami waterfront condo whose owners fought a termination-threshold dispute for more than three years, does not tell you how long your specific building's dispute will take, or which side will win it. Only your attorney and the facts recorded in your own building's declaration, the document that sets your condominium's specific governing rules, can answer that. What the case does show is that a termination fight is rarely resolved quickly: Biscayne 21's dispute ran from an August 2022 declaration amendment through a Florida Supreme Court decision in October 2025, more than three years start to finish. If a lender will not fund a purchase of your unit while a termination lawsuit over your building is open, since mortgage guidelines require clear title before funding, per Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, a traditional listing effectively sits on hold for as long as that litigation runs, unless you find a buyer who does not need your unit's ownership question fully settled on the exact closing date you want.
What Cash Flow Deals Offers a Seller Facing a Termination Fight
Cash Flow Deals is a Florida real estate investor that locks in a net price for a seller's house before repairs are scoped, using a novation-based, flat-fee process arranged through its licensed FL brokerage partner, Silver Door Realty — not a traditional listing, and not a brokerage itself. Think of the novation like refinancing a mortgage: a new lender steps into the existing loan instead of the homeowner starting the deal over from scratch. If your building is caught in a termination fight right now, the currency that actually matters is not top-dollar bragging rights. It is a real number in writing while your attorney handles the litigation, instead of a listing that cannot close until a judge settles who actually controls your unit's future.
Cash Flow Deals' Offer Process for a Termination Fight
Cash Flow Deals' Offer Process: 1. Cash Flow Deals reviews your building's termination status, including any open lawsuit over your building's termination-vote threshold (unanimous owner consent versus the state's 80% default) or the language in your declaration, the document that sets your building's own termination rules, before setting a number. 2. Cash Flow Deals locks that number in writing now, so you know your net proceeds while the litigation runs its course. 3. Closing is scheduled once your unit's ownership question actually clears, whether that takes months or years, and you are not left guessing what your unit is worth in the meantime. If a termination fight is the reason you have not listed your unit yet, the fastest way to find out what it is worth right now is to ask Cash Flow Deals directly.
The One Exception That Can Move the Number
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. This exception has nothing to do with a termination fight itself. It only applies if a separate structural problem turns up inside your unit after you sign that nobody could see going in.
Common questions
What is a condominium termination in Florida?
A condominium termination is the legal process that ends every owner's individual unit ownership in a building at once, typically so a developer can acquire the whole property and redevelop it under one new owner. Florida's condominium-termination statute, Section 718.117(3) of the Florida Statutes, sets an 80% owner-approval threshold as the default, but an individual building's declaration, the original recorded document that sets that condominium's own rules, can require a higher bar instead.
Can I sell my Florida condo while a termination lawsuit over my building is open?
A termination lawsuit, a court case over whether your building's condominium can legally be ended and every unit bought out at once, clouds your unit's ownership status, and a buyer's lender will not fund a purchase until that question clears, since mortgage guidelines require clear, marketable title before funding, per Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, through a court ruling or a settlement. You can still find a buyer path that locks a price now and closes once your ownership is settled, rather than waiting to list until the case ends.
How long can a Florida condo termination dispute take to resolve?
It varies by building, but a real 2025 example shows it can run years: Avila v. Biscayne 21 Condominium, Inc., a Miami waterfront condo case, involved a developer's August 2022 amendment to the building's declaration, the condominium's original governing document, that was still being fought over when Florida's Third District Court of Appeal, a state appellate court, ruled on July 10, 2025, and the Florida Supreme Court closed out the case on October 14, 2025, more than three years after the amendment that started the fight.