A Miami pre-construction contract commits you to a future price today, and the single most important fact about it is that your 20 to 50 percent deposit — commonly staged across the construction timeline, per standard South Florida developer contracts as of 2025 — is often at risk if you cannot close. Delivery dates slip by quarters, not weeks; association budgets are written after you sign; and the contract is drafted by the seller's counsel. Reading it before you wire anything is not caution, it is the job.
Miami In News publishes information, not legal advice. This guide explains the clauses that carry the money risk so you can review them with your own Florida real estate attorney, whose review should precede any signature.
How does a Miami pre-construction deal actually work?
You sign a purchase agreement with a developer for a unit that does not yet exist, wire a reservation or first deposit, and make further deposits at construction milestones — a structure that can tie up tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for two to four years. At delivery, you close at the contract price, plus closing costs the contract assigns to you. Per the disclosure forms Florida law requires for new condominium sales as of 2025, buyers receive the proposed documents and a statutory window to rescind after delivery of the disclosures — a window measured in days, so the review happens at signing, not at closing.
What happens to your deposit if you cannot or will not close?
This is the clause to read first, because it defines the downside. Developer contracts typically state that if the buyer defaults, the developer may retain deposits — sometimes capped, sometimes not — and may resell the unit. Per standard contract practice in South Florida as of 2025, deposits are frequently held in escrow, but whether they earn interest, when they are released, and what happens if the project is delayed for years are all negotiable points. Ask specifically: Where is the escrow? Who holds it? Under what conditions is any portion refundable if the project is cancelled, and what happens if completion slips past a stated outside date?
Why do delivery dates move so much?
Miami towers have delivered late repeatedly across recent cycles — financing windows, permitting, and coastal construction logistics all push schedules. Per the pattern visible in South Florida project announcements from 2021 through 2025, groundbreakings commonly follow sales launches by a year or more, and completion dates stated at launch routinely move. Treat any stated delivery quarter as a planning estimate, and look in the contract for an outside completion date and the buyer's remedies — if any — if it passes. Many contracts give the developer unilateral extension rights; know how long those extensions run.
What is an assignment clause, and why does it matter?
Assignment lets you sell the contract before closing. In hot markets, developers restrict assignment or charge fees for it; per common Miami developer contract terms as of 2025, many now prohibit assignment without written consent or impose a fee. If your plan depends on reselling before delivery, an assignment restriction removes that exit entirely. Conversely, if you intend to own, assignment rights matter little — but understand which buyer you are before you sign.
Related stories: Deposits and move-in fees in Miami: what Florida law allows · Rent or buy in Miami: the math at today's mortgage rates.
What costs appear after signing?
Several, and they are the reason a contract that penciled at signing can strain at closing:
- Association budget and dues. The budget does not exist at signing. Post-2024, buildings must fully fund structural reserves per Florida law, so first-year dues in new Miami buildings have been running higher than launch brochures implied, per late-2025 association filings.
- Insurance. Master-policy premiums are repriced annually; coastal towers carry heavy lines that flow straight into dues.
- Closing costs. Contracts commonly pass developer-side items to buyers — check which transfer costs, impact-related items, and working-capital contributions the contract assigns to you.
- Finish allowances and changes. Upgrade credits in the sales office are marketing terms; the contract governs.
How do you verify the developer and the project?
Track record and title. Per public records available as of 2025: the developer's prior deliveries are checkable through Miami-Dade property records; the project's permits are visible on municipal permitting portals; and the land's ownership and any recorded financing appear in county official records. Per Consumer Financial Protection Bureau guidance as of 2025, buyers financing at closing should get pre-qualified early — construction timelines outlast rate quotes, and a two-year-old pre-approval is not a commitment.
When does a pre-construction deal make sense?
When the price works with today's costs, not hoped-for appreciation. Per the trade-off this cycle has made plain: buyers who signed in 2021–2022 at low rates' peak pricing and closed in 2024–2025 into higher dues and insurance sometimes found their units worth less than contract price at delivery. The defense is unglamorous — a price that pencils against comparable resale rents and ownership costs today, deposits you can afford to have locked up, an attorney-reviewed contract, and no plan that requires the market to cooperate.
This article describes common contract structures as of late 2025. Every developer contract differs; nothing here replaces review of your specific documents by a Florida attorney.
Frequently asked questions
How big is a pre-construction deposit in Miami?
Commonly 20 to 50 percent of the purchase price, staged across milestones, per standard South Florida developer contracts as of 2025. Luxury projects sit at the top of that range; the schedule of deposits is in the contract and is negotiable before signing.
Can I back out of a Miami pre-construction contract?
Only within the statutory rescission window after receiving required condominium disclosures, or if the contract's stated conditions — such as failure to close the project's construction loan — are triggered. Outside those, defaulting usually forfeits deposits under standard terms as of 2025 practice.
What if the developer cancels the project?
Escrowed deposits are typically returned if the project is cancelled, per standard escrow terms — but read the escrow agreement to confirm who holds the money and the release mechanics. Delayed-forever projects are the harder case; the outside-date and extension clauses govern.
Are new-construction condo dues higher than older buildings?
Often yes at first. New buildings carry full amenity staffing from day one, and post-2024 Florida law requires full structural reserve funding, so first-year dues have run higher than brochures implied, per late-2025 association filings.