Property condition
Put known property facts in a careful written file. That can include roof, water, structure, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, pests, mold, sinkholes, environmental issues, boundaries, and repairs.
Home & Money / Home selling
Start the disclosure file before the buyer signs.
Florida's home-selling rule reaches beyond one form: known hidden facts that materially affect value can require disclosure, and the statutory flood disclosure is due at or before the sales contract.
Gather the address, repair history, association papers, permits, title records, and insurance files early. Then let the signed contract control the dates while the closing office works through payoffs, title, tax, and final figures.
The useful order
Six stages keep a sale from becoming one large paper pile.
Open the narrower guide when the sale reaches that decision. The contract and the professionals handling the transaction still control the legal and financial steps.
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Stage 1
Before listing: make the address file match the house.
Start early. Pull the deed, property-appraiser record, survey, title policy, mortgage details, tax bill, and permits. Add warranties, insurance papers, and association records. Compare the names, parcel number, and legal description. Then check the records for additions, roofs, windows, pools, docks, generators, and other work. A mismatch found now is usually easier to handle than one found during title review.
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Stage 2
Before an offer: write down what you know.
Write it down. Florida case law can require a residential seller to disclose a known fact that materially affects value when it is not readily observable and is not known to the buyer. A repaired roof leak is a useful example: keep the repair invoice and the history together, because the repair, an as-is contract, and the buyer's inspection do not by themselves erase a known hidden material fact. Florida also requires a residential flood disclosure at or before the sales contract is signed.
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Stage 3
When the contract arrives: calendar the real dates.
The dates matter. The signed contract controls the deposits, inspections, financing, and title work. It also controls association papers, repairs, notices, occupancy, and closing. Florida does not give every sale one standard set of deadlines. Save the signed contract and every addendum. Keep proof that required papers were delivered. Put changes in writing through the people handling the transaction.
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Stage 4
During inspection: answer with records, not guesses.
Use the records. Keep the buyer's inspection separate from the disclosure, permit, insurance, and title files. If a question points to a leak, repair, claim, open permit, boundary, unpermitted room, code case, or association issue, find the paper and route it through the contract. Do not promise a repair, credit, permit result, or insurance outcome in a hallway conversation.
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Stage 5
Before closing: clear the money and title file.
Read this slowly. The closing team may need mortgage and lien payoffs, judgments, and association estoppels. It may also need permit or code follow-up, probate or trust papers, marital signatures, and wire instructions. Check the seller name and legal description on the draft statement. Check the payoff figures, credits, prorations, documentary stamp tax, commissions, and net proceeds too. Verify wire instructions using a trusted phone number.
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Stage 6
After closing: keep the proof and move the next records.
Keep copies. Save the signed closing statement, deed copy, payoff records, and release records. Keep the contract, disclosures, repair papers, association documents, tax forms, and proof of proceeds too. End utilities and insurance on the agreed dates, not from memory. If another Florida homestead is next, start a file with the new county property appraiser. Ask about portability rather than assuming the old benefit follows you.
Four disclosure files
A single form is not the whole disclosure job.
Flood history
Section 689.302 uses a set Florida form. It asks about known flooding during the seller's ownership. It also asks about flood-related insurance claims and flood assistance. It is due at or before contract execution.
HOA or condominium
An HOA sale has a statutory disclosure-summary lane. A condo resale has its own current document, inspection, reserve, contract, and cancellation rules. Use the right chapter and the actual contract.
Public and project records
Open or expired permits, code cases, liens, assessments, PACE financing, notices of commencement, and unfinished inspections can stay tied to the address until the proper office closes them.
Who answers what?
Route each question to the file that can settle it.
- Seller and agent
- Known property facts, listing information, access, documents already held, and the written response to buyer questions.
- City or county
- Permit status, inspections, code cases, zoning, local liens, utilities, and records held by the office serving the address.
- Association
- Dues, special assessments, violations, approvals, estoppel figures, governing documents, budgets, reserves, and required resale records.
- Title or closing office
- Title search, commitment items, payoffs, deed preparation, recording, tax lines, prorations, closing statement, and disbursement.
- Tax and legal professionals
- Income-tax treatment, FIRPTA questions, estates, trusts, divorce, bankruptcy, powers of attorney, disputes, and contract advice.
- Property appraiser
- The current assessment record and a later homestead or portability application. The office does not set the sale price or write the contract.
FAQ
Florida home-selling quick answers
Does an as-is contract mean I do not have to disclose a problem?
No. Florida case law can require a residential seller to disclose a known fact that materially affects value, is not readily observable, and is not known to the buyer. As-is language and the buyer's inspection rights are contract issues; they are not permission to hide a known latent problem.
Is there now a Florida flood-disclosure form for home sales?
Yes. Section 689.302 requires the seller to provide the statutory flood disclosure to a prospective purchaser at or before the time the residential sales contract is executed. Use the current statutory form, not an old summary saved from another transaction.
Should I close an old permit before listing?
First ask the building office that owns the record what the status means and what closes it. Some files need an inspection, correction, contractor record, fee, or other local step. Do not call it closed until the official address record says so.
Who usually pays Florida documentary stamp tax on the deed?
Read the contract and closing statement. Florida Revenue says parties to a taxable transfer document are liable for the tax even though the contract can allocate the cost between them. The closing office should calculate the current amount for the actual deed and consideration.
What is different when I sell a condo or HOA home?
The association file joins the property file, but the clocks are not interchangeable. For an HOA sale covered by section 720.401, a late disclosure summary can give the buyer a written cancellation window within 3 days after receipt or before closing, whichever comes first; the right ends at closing. A nondeveloper condo resale uses a separate 7-day window excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, and developer condo sales use different rules. Start early and keep proof of delivery.
Does my homestead exemption transfer to the buyer?
No. The buyer's eligibility is a new county property-appraiser decision. If you establish another Florida homestead, you may have a separate Save Our Homes portability path, but it requires its own facts and application.
Next steps
Keep the next page tied to the next task
These are the most useful handoffs while the sale moves forward.
Address file
Review the home documents
Put the deed, title, survey, tax, permit, insurance, association, and repair records in one working file.
Open checklist ->Local records
Check permits and code
Find the city or county office that owns the permit, inspection, code, zoning, and lien record.
Open local records ->Risk file
Gather flood and insurance history
Keep maps, claims, repairs, policy papers, wind reports, and the current statutory flood disclosure separate.
Open flood guide ->Next home
Check portability
A prior homestead benefit does not move by itself. Use the new county property appraiser and the current application path.
Open portability ->Official checks
Home-selling sources
Florida statutes and agencies cover flood disclosure, association resale papers, documentary stamp tax, property offices, licensing, and title insurance. Florida case law supplies the broader residential disclosure duty.
Last reviewed: July 22, 2026
- Florida Statutes 689.302 - residential flood disclosure for the current disclosure form and contract-timing requirement.
- Florida Statutes 720.401 - HOA disclosure before sale for the homeowners-association disclosure summary and buyer cancellation lane.
- Florida Statutes 718.503 - condominium resale disclosure for nondeveloper condo documents, contract language, and buyer rights.
- Florida Revenue - documentary stamp tax for taxable transfer documents, rates, consideration, and payment.
- Florida Revenue - local property officials for county property appraiser and tax collector paths.
- Florida DBPR - verify a license for real-estate, home-inspector, contractor, and other state license checks.
- Florida Office of Insurance Regulation - title insurance for title insurer and policy context.
- The Florida Bar - residential seller disclosure and public records for Johnson v. Davis disclosure context and known material facts.
Use this carefully: Use the signed contract, current statutory forms, official address-level records, and qualified Florida tax, title, real-estate, or legal help for a deadline, cancellation right, disclosure decision, payoff, deed, tax result, wire, or dispute. Independently verify wire instructions through a trusted contact method.
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