Buying a condominium that doesn’t exist yet is a different transaction than buying a finished home, and the process trips up more first-time buyers on procedure than on price. Miami’s preconstruction market runs on a well-established sequence — reserve, contract, build, close — but each stage has its own terms, deadlines, and financial commitments that are worth understanding before a deposit ever leaves your account.
Step 1: The reservation
The process typically begins with a reservation agreement — an informal, non-binding hold on a specific unit, usually secured with a refundable deposit in the range of $10,000 to $25,000. Because it’s non-binding, either the buyer or the developer can walk away before the formal purchase contract is signed, and the deposit is fully refundable at this stage. This is the lowest-commitment point in the entire process, and the right moment to lock in a specific unit while continuing due diligence on the project and developer.
Step 2: The purchase contract and rescission period
Once a buyer decides to proceed, the reservation converts into a formal purchase contract. Florida law gives buyers of preconstruction condominiums a 15-day rescission period after signing the contract or receiving the condominium documents, whichever comes later. This window is the buyer’s opportunity to have an independent attorney review the entire contract — deposit schedule, cancellation terms, construction contingencies, and the condominium declaration — and walk away with the deposit fully refunded if anything looks wrong. After the 15 days pass, the buyer is contractually committed, and a decision to cancel typically forfeits the deposit already paid.
Step 3: Staged deposits through construction
Rather than a single deposit at signing, Miami preconstruction developers typically structure payments across several milestones tied to construction progress. Most luxury towers ask buyers to place roughly 30% to 50% of the total purchase price in staged deposits — commonly split across the reservation, contract signing, groundbreaking, and the building reaching “top off” (its full structural height) — with a final installment sometimes due shortly before closing.
This staged structure is deliberate: it aligns the buyer’s capital commitment with the developer’s actual construction progress, rather than requiring the full purchase price upfront. It also means a buyer’s total exposure grows gradually over what is often a two- to four-year construction timeline, not all at once.
Step 4: Construction and monitoring the timeline
Between contract signing and closing, the buyer’s main task is monitoring, not paying. Reputable developers provide regular construction updates, and buyers — or their advisors — should track whether the project is proceeding on the schedule disclosed in the original contract. Delays are common in the luxury segment, particularly for architecturally ambitious or branded projects, and most contracts include specific provisions for what happens if a project runs significantly behind schedule, including, in some cases, a buyer’s right to cancel and recover deposits.
Step 5: Closing
At closing, the buyer pays the remaining balance — typically the final 50% to 70% of the purchase price — often financed through a mortgage or a combination of cash and financing. This is also when standard closing costs apply: title insurance, documentary stamp taxes, attorney’s fees, and the prorated share of property taxes for the year. For international buyers, Florida’s Remote Online Notarization (RON) framework allows this entire closing to happen from abroad, without requiring travel to the United States.
What separates a smooth closing from a stressful one
The buyers who navigate this process most comfortably tend to do three things consistently: they retain an independent real estate attorney before the 15-day rescission period expires, rather than after; they compare the final closing floor plans against the original sales-gallery renderings for any material changes to layout or finishes; and they confirm financing arrangements — whether cash or a foreign national mortgage program — well before the closing date, since financing delays are one of the most common causes of closing complications.
Preconstruction buying rewards patience and process discipline more than it rewards speed. Understanding each stage before committing capital to it is the difference between a transaction that unfolds predictably and one that produces surprises at the worst possible moment.
Sources: MILLION — Miami Pre-Construction Deposit Structures: Typical Schedules and Strategy, MILLION — From Contract to Closing: Timeline of Buying a Pre-Construction Condo in Miami, Jose Munoz Real Estate — Miami’s Pre-Construction Condo Process: Deposits, Timelines & Risks.