Florida Statutes section 718.503 gives you a short cancellation window when you sign a resale contract on a Longboat Key condominium. Once you have received the required reports, you have up to seven days to cancel. Those reports are the association's milestone inspection summary, its most recent Structural Integrity Reserve Study, and a turnover inspection report where one applies. Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays don't count toward those seven. You can't waive this right, and it ends at closing.
Most buyers treat that week as paperwork. On Longboat Key it is where a condo's true price gets set. The structural question that followed the 2021 Surfside collapse has largely been answered here. What remains open is the cost of funding the building from this point on, and that answer sits in documents most buyers skim.
The Inspection Every Building Passed
Florida Realtors says Florida now requires milestone inspections for condominium buildings that are 30 years or older and three or more habitable stories tall. The first deadline has passed. Allen Parsons, the town's Planning, Zoning and Building Director, told Your Observer in April 2026 that 198 Longboat Key buildings needed a milestone inspection, and all 198 received passing grades.
Only two of those buildings were sent to a "phase two" inspection, where the inspector can look beneath surface materials for signs of structural trouble. Neither one needed follow-up building permits to correct structural issues.
That result covers the mid-rises along the south end of the Key, which date from different decades. The Observer's photo caption named three of them: Longboat Key Towers, built in 1970; The Beaches of Longboat Key, built in 1984; and Regent Place of Longboat Key, built in 1995. The article didn't report results building by building, so a buyer who wants specifics for one of those addresses will find them in the association's own records.
A pass doesn't mean the report found nothing to fix. The Observer described a milestone report on one Longboat Key building, prepared by the Tampa engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti. It included close-ups of support beams, roof, patios and staircases, and it recommended several repairs to keep the building safe. Each recommendation like that comes with a cost, and the association decides how to pay it.
Where the Cost Went
Mayor Debra Williams described how owners have experienced that cost. "Across the board when you talk to people that live in condos, quarterly payments have gone up quite a bit because there are a lot more of these reserve items that they have to fund," she told the Observer. Before Surfside, she said, associations had to keep reserves for painting, paving and roofing, "and everything else was optional."
The Structural Integrity Reserve Study, or SIRS, turned that optional list into a required one under Florida Statutes section 718.112. Owner-controlled associations subject to SIRS can no longer vote to fund less than the required reserves for SIRS items in any budget adopted on or after December 31, 2024. David Novak of Longboat Private Services, which manages more than 900 residential units, explained what that means for buildings that are starting from behind:
"The SIRS report can cause significant increases in owner assessments, and there is no magic to get around being a good steward of the property. Associations who have reserved funds all along are prepared; those who failed to adequately reserve are playing catchup...and the cost to catchup can be substantial to the point to where owners sell."
So two Longboat Key buildings can share a stretch of Gulf of Mexico Drive, a construction decade and a passing inspection, and still carry very different costs for the next owner. One has been setting money aside for years. The other has to catch up, and whoever owns a unit while it does will pay for that.
The 2025 legislature softened some of this but left the basic requirement in place. Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 913 on June 23, 2025. Among other changes, it raised the replacement-cost threshold for items a SIRS must cover from $10,000 to $25,000, and it gave associations room to put milestone-inspection repairs first. According to Florida Realtors, the law took effect July 1, 2025. It moved the SIRS deadline for existing associations from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025, and it limited coverage to buildings of three or more habitable stories.
Two parts of the current statute matter for a buyer this fall. An association whose milestone inspection is due by December 31, 2026 may complete its SIRS together with that inspection, but no later than December 31, 2026. For budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028, an eligible association that has just completed a milestone inspection may pause or reduce reserve contributions for up to two annual budgets to pay for the repairs the inspection recommended. That requires approval from a majority of owners, and the association must obtain a SIRS before it resumes contributions.
A temporary pause can make dues look low during the very years a buyer is comparing buildings. When dues look low, read the minutes to see whether reserve contributions have been paused.
Reading the Packet in the Right Order
In a resale, the seller must give the buyer these documents at the seller's expense:
- the current governing documents
- the annual financial statement and budget
- the inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection, if one applies
- the most recent SIRS, or a statement that none has been completed
- a turnover inspection report for turnovers after July 1, 2023, where one applies
For resale contracts entered after December 31, 2024, the contract must state clearly whether each required report has been completed, isn't required, or is still incomplete.
Under Florida Statutes section 718.111, the milestone document you are entitled to is the summary, which may not be the full report. The full report is an official association record. Associations with 25 or more units must post milestone reports, the latest SIRS and the past 12 months of approved board minutes on a website or app within 30 days. That website sits in a section protected for unit owners and association employees, so a prospective buyer usually reaches these records through the seller.
Since the inspection result is likely to be a pass, read the packet in an order that brings the cost question to the surface quickly:
- The milestone summary. Look for the list of recommended repairs, not the passing grade.
- The SIRS funding plan. Compare it with the current budget. If the plan calls for larger contributions than the budget collects, someone will have to make up the difference.
- Board minutes from the past 12 months. Look for discussion of special assessments, lines of credit or loans. A SIRS-related special assessment, credit line or loan requires approval from a majority of all voting interests, so a vote like that leaves a record.
- The financial statement. Check whether the reserve balances match what the SIRS assumes. The statute requires an updated SIRS to reflect the association's funding choices and their expected effect on regular assessments.
Timing affects how useful the window is. The contract can instead acknowledge that the reports were delivered more than seven excluded days before signing, and in that case the window may already have run. The statute also allows closing to be extended by up to seven excluded days after the buyer receives the reports. New-construction purchases from a developer have a separate 15-day cancellation rule, and it shouldn't be confused with the resale provision. These provisions are detailed, so have a Florida real estate attorney review the contract language before you sign.
Why the Market Won't Give You More Time
A year ago, a slow-moving condo market gave buyers room to raise questions after the fact. The August 2026 figures from the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, released September 16, show that room getting smaller. Longboat Key spans both counties, and RASM combines townhomes with condos at the county level, so these numbers describe the broader market around the Key rather than the Key alone.
| August 2026, townhomes and condos | Sarasota County | Manatee County |
|---|---|---|
| Closed sales | 281, up 13.8% year over year | 241, up 20.5% |
| Median sale price | $310,000, up 3.3% | $307,000, up 5.4% |
| Active inventory | 1,659, down 11.8% | 1,171, down 16.1% |
| Months of supply | 5.2 | 4.9 |
| Median share of original list price received | 91.6%, up from 88.5% | 93.4% |
Sarasota County's condo segment still has more supply than its single-family market, which had 3.7 months in August 2026. The direction is clear, though. Inventory is shrinking, sellers are keeping more of their asking price, and the top of the market is busy. Sarasota County recorded 21 condo and townhome sales of $1 million or more in August 2026, up 10.5% from a year earlier. Sales between $2 million and $2.99 million rose to six, compared with two in August 2025.
As the market tightens, there's less room to negotiate on price, and the seven-day document window becomes more important. The statute fixes that window no matter how quickly units are selling, and it's the point in the deal where an underfunded reserve shows up on paper. RASM's next monthly release is scheduled for October 16, 2026.
What the Inspection Doesn't Cover
A milestone inspection looks at structure. It can't tell you everything about a building's condition. At 380 North Shore Road, near the parking area for Greer "Beer Can" Island, the town declared a nine-unit, one-story condominium unsafe and unfit for habitation after storm damage to the roof. According to The Observer, a one-story building falls below the three-habitable-story threshold for milestone inspections and SIRS. The town's repair estimate was $2.9 million, and the association's was $974,718. The town set an October 28 deadline for a repair or demolition permit application. The Observer reported that delays in insurance reimbursements and difficulties with the permitting process slowed the work. The minutes and financials in a resale packet are where insurance claims, disputed estimates and stalled repairs would appear.
A Few Direct Answers
Does a passing milestone inspection mean no special assessment is coming? No. On Longboat Key, a passing report has still listed recommended repairs, and the SIRS funding requirements apply whatever the inspection grade.
Can I see the full milestone report before I make an offer? The resale statute guarantees you the inspector's summary. The full report and the SIRS are posted on the owners-only website of associations with 25 or more units, so you would need to ask the seller for copies.
Is a building with low dues a better value? Not necessarily. Compare the dues with the SIRS funding plan and check the minutes for any approved pause in reserve contributions or any pending loan.
Do the reserve rules apply to every condo on the Key? SIRS applies to buildings of three or more habitable stories. Smaller buildings, like the one at 380 North Shore Road, fall outside it.
If you're weighing a specific Longboat Key building, Sheldon, Gettel & Dahl can help you request the full document set early and line up your attorney before the seven-day window starts. We can also go through the reserve study, minutes and budget with you, so you understand what the unit will cost to carry over the next several years before you commit to a price.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
