Before You Buy on the Emerald Coast
What to Look For in a Condo
The building matters more than the unit. Here is what we check before we let anyone write an offer — and why there are buildings we will not sell in.
Start With the Uncomfortable Number
Half the condos for sale here are 25 years old or more
Of the 2,379 condominiums listed on this coast today, 1,247 were built 25 or more years ago — and 1,013 of those are past 30 years. That is not a criticism of them. Plenty are excellent buildings, well run and well funded.
That 25-year mark is not arbitrary. Florida sets the milestone inspection threshold at 30 years generally — but 25 years for any building within three miles of the coastline. On this stretch that is essentially every one of them. So more than half the condos for sale here are already inside the stricter rule.
Age drives the two things that actually go wrong in a condo purchase: an association that cannot afford what is coming, and a lender who will not finance it. Neither shows up in the listing photos, and neither is something you can assess from a walkthrough.
The First Thing We Check
Is the association financially sound?
There are buildings on this coast we do not sell in, and it is almost always because the association’s finances will not survive what the building needs. We would rather lose the commission than put someone into that.
What we read before you get attached to a unit:
The money
The paper
A healthy association with a $40,000 assessment coming is often a better buy than a struggling one with none announced. What matters is whether the money is there for what the building genuinely needs — not whether the current fee looks low.
What Changed After Surfside
Structural reports are now unavoidable
In June 2021 Champlain Towers South collapsed in Surfside and 98 people died. Everything below exists because of it, and that is worth stating rather than glossing. Florida put two requirements on condo buildings of three stories or more. A milestone structural inspection at 30 years — but 25 years if the building sits within three miles of the coastline, which on this coast means effectively all of them. And a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS), an engineering and financial evaluation covering roof, structure, fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, windows and doors, plus anything over $25,000 affecting those systems.
Two dates matter and both have already passed. The first SIRS was due by 31 December 2025. And since 1 January 2026, associations may no longer waive or underfund reserves for those structural components — the vote that kept fees artificially low for years is simply gone.
So this is no longer something coming. It is money being found, now, in buildings that deferred it for two decades. Fees are rising and assessments are landing, and where a specific building sits in that process is the single most important thing to establish before you write an offer.
The Consequence People Do Not Expect
Non-compliance can cost the building its insurance
Citizens Property Insurance — the insurer of last resort in Florida, and the one many coastal associations rely on — is prohibited from issuing or renewing a policy for an association that has not met both the milestone inspection and SIRS requirements.
That turns a paperwork question into a mortgage question. A building that cannot insure itself is a building your lender will not finance, and one you would struggle to sell later. “Has the association completed its SIRS?” is a question with a real answer, and it is one of the first we ask.
The One That Surprises People
A condotel is a different animal to finance
Many of the Gulf-front buildings here operate as condotels — on-site rental programs, front desks, nightly stays. Financing one is not the same as financing a condo, and it is nothing like financing a house.
Plenty of ordinary lenders simply will not do it. The ones who will typically want more down, and — the part that catches people — each lender maintains its own list of approved buildings and associations. A lender who closed for your neighbor last month may decline the building next door. We keep track of who is currently lending where, because the answer moves.
How This Usually Goes Wrong
Under contract, then declined
The common version: a buyer finds a unit, uses the lender they always use, and discovers three weeks in that the lender will not approve that building. Now they are re-starting financing against a clock, from a weaker position, having already paid for an inspection. Sorting the lender and the building together, before the offer, is the whole game.
Why We Say It
Experience Counts
It is our brokerage’s line and it is a pun on the name, but it is also the honest description of what this particular job requires. Anyone can send you listings. Knowing which associations are sound, which buildings have a report coming, and which lender will actually close on a given tower — that comes from having done it here, repeatedly, for years.
We have been selling on this coast since 2011. If we tell you not to buy something, that is the most valuable thing we will say to you all year.
Requirements summarized from Florida Statutes 553.899 (milestone inspections) and 718.112(2)(g) (structural integrity reserve studies), as amended by SB 4-D (2022) and HB 913 (effective 1 July 2025). This is general information, not legal or financial advice — for a specific building, the association’s own documents and your attorney are the authority.
Put It Into Practice
Buildings we have written up
Each of these carries what is for sale today, what it has actually sold for, and the questions worth asking on that specific building. Both were built in 2007, and both are worth reading against each other.
Gulf front, three pools including a heated indoor one.
Cheaper per foot and faster moving of the two.
More going up one at a time. Every building we track is listed here with live counts and rental permissions — and if there is one you want written up next, tell us and it moves to the front.
The Numbers Behind All of This
What every market actually did
Days on market, price per square foot, and how far below asking homes actually closed — for 22 markets from Alys Beach to Crestview, drawn from 13,271 sales in twelve months. See the full comparison →
Questions We Get Asked
Common questions about buying a condo here
What is a SIRS and does my building need one?
A Structural Integrity Reserve Study is a mandatory engineering and financial evaluation required for Florida condominium buildings of three stories or more. It covers the roof, load-bearing structure, fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, windows and doors, plus any other item over ,000 affecting those systems. The first one was due by 31 December 2025, so an association that has not completed one is already out of compliance.
When does a Florida condo need a milestone inspection?
At 30 years old for most buildings, but at 25 years for any building within three miles of the coastline. On the Emerald Coast that means effectively every condo building. Inspections repeat every 10 years afterwards. More than half the condos currently for sale on this coast are already past the 25-year mark.
Can a condo association still waive its reserves?
No. Since 1 January 2026, Florida associations may not waive or underfund reserves for the structural components covered by a SIRS. The vote that kept monthly fees artificially low for years is gone, which is why fees are rising and special assessments are landing across the coast.
What happens if a building has not done its structural reporting?
Beyond the compliance problem, Citizens Property Insurance is prohibited from issuing or renewing a policy for an association that has not met both the milestone inspection and SIRS requirements. A building that cannot insure itself is one your lender will not finance and one you would struggle to resell.
Why is financing a condotel different?
Many Gulf-front buildings here operate as condotels, with on-site rental programs, front desks and nightly stays. Many ordinary lenders will not finance them at all, and those that will typically want more money down. Critically, each lender keeps its own list of approved buildings and associations, so a lender who closed on one tower may decline the one next door. Sorting the lender and the building together, before you make an offer, avoids being declined three weeks in.
Are there buildings you will not sell in?
Yes. There are buildings on this coast we will not put a buyer into, almost always because the association's finances will not survive what the building needs. We would rather lose the commission. Send us an address and we will tell you what we know before you get attached to a unit.
Team Turner at Counts Real Estate
Send us the building before you fall in love with the unit
Give us an address and we will tell you what we know about the association, what the building has coming, and who is currently lending in it. No obligation, and no charge — it is a ten-minute conversation that saves people months.