Pre-Construction Deposits in Surfside: Payment Schedules and Buyer Questions

Buying off-plan in Surfside is not paid once: it is paid in instalments spread across the construction period. Knowing when each one falls due, where the money sits and what happens if you are late is the part that decides the risk.

Each instalment leaves your pocket on a fixed date while the building still produces nothing, and those dates do not move because construction slips. If the money comes from abroad you also have to allow for the sending bank's timing, source-of-funds documentation and the value date at the receiving end. And if an instalment misses its date, what happens to everything already paid is set by the contract, not by custom: which is why the schedule and the account holding the money are requested in writing before signing.

In Surfside you buy by asking the building for paperwork before you ask the unit, and that is what sets it apart along this coast. Structural scrutiny of oceanfront condominium stock is, on this stretch, the most demanding in the county, and the practical consequence is that the building's file outweighs the buyer's: the lender and the carrier want to see inspection history, the reserve study, and the minutes in which the board decided what to repair and how to pay for it, before they look at the solvency of whoever signs. For someone who cannot show up in person that means two separate, mandatory counterparts: the manager or the board, which holds the minutes, the budget and the assessments already voted, and the town counter, which keeps the recertification file and any open correction orders. Ask the manager which assessments are approved and which are still under study; ask the town whether there are open files on that address; ask your closing attorney what the estoppel says about debts and pending approvals; and ask the lender what it requires from the building, not from you, in order to approve.

What is specific to Surfside

What to verify, step by step

1. Request the full payment schedule in writing, with the trigger for each instalment: signing, construction start, a building milestone or closing.
2. Ask which account the money enters, whose name it is in and who may draw on it before delivery, and get the answer in writing.
3. Ask for the exact clause covering a late instalment: what cure period there is and what happens to money already paid if it is not cured.
4. Ask for the cancellation clause and the material-change clause, and ask in which cases the money comes back and in which it does not.
5. Confirm the wire route and the source-of-funds documentation with both your bank and the receiving bank before the first due date, not on the day.
6. Have the schedule and the deposit clause reviewed by a Florida-licensed attorney before you transfer the first instalment.

Mistakes that cost money

• Planning the instalments off the brochure schedule instead of the contractual one, which is the only binding version.
• Wiring without knowing whose name the receiving account is in or who can withdraw the money before delivery.
• Leaving source-of-funds paperwork to the week of the due date: a banking delay counts as your delay.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I am late on an instalment?

The contract clause defines it, usually with a cure period and a consequence if it is not met. Request it and have it reviewed before signing, because it is not the same across projects.

Where does the money sit until delivery?

It must state in writing which account it enters and under what arrangement it is held. That is a direct question for the developer and a check for your Florida attorney.

What if the project changes design or developer?

That is covered by the material-change clause and the assignment clause. Ask what counts as a material change in your contract and what right it gives you.

Does wiring from abroad change anything?

It changes the timing and the documentation the banks will ask for. Confirm the route and the requirements with both banks before the first due date.

Where to check it

• Miami-Dade Clerk of the Courts — deeds, liens, encumbrances and litigation on the property
• Florida DBPR — whether a broker, appraiser or contractor holds a current licence
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — borrower rights and how to compare mortgage offers
• FinCEN — reporting applicable to all-cash real estate purchases
• Town of Surfside — the rules of the municipality Surfside belongs to

Official bodies. Specific figures are requested there, not copied from a listing.

Updated 2026-11-06