Buyer
Will the title, condition, financing, and use restrictions fit the purchase? Keep the evidence beside the contract deadline.
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Katz & Associates / Florida real estate decisions
The same property can raise different legal questions for each party. Start with your next commitment and the evidence you need before making it.
One checklist does not fit every decision
A buyer needs to know what can be acquired and used. A seller must check what to disclose and deliver. An investor must test the planned use and tax plan. A landlord must handle rental duties after closing.
The useful question is: “What must be confirmed before I commit?” Bring the contract, title records, intended use, and next deadline to a real estate legal review. Agree who does each task. Do not let a key check fall between the agent, lender, inspector, title provider, and lawyer.
Four roles, four starting questions
Will the title, condition, financing, and use restrictions fit the purchase? Keep the evidence beside the contract deadline.
What must be disclosed, delivered, or resolved? Gather the records before making statements or promising a closing date.
Does the intended use work legally and financially? Verify zoning, restrictions, leases, financing, and any tax plan.
What duties begin or transfer with the rental? Confirm leases, deposits, repairs, notices, and management responsibility.
An original role-to-evidence map. You may have more than one role. Review each one that fits.
Before the deposit or review period is at risk
Read the contract’s conditions and notice rules. Mark the due dates for inspections, loan steps, title objections, and other decisions. Ask what happens if a check fails. A concern alone may not let you cancel after the deadline.
Review the actual planned use. A property may look right for a home business, rental, or addition. That does not mean the use is approved. Check public approvals and private restrictions separately. Association approval may not settle zoning. Zoning does not erase deed restrictions.
Keep the title commitment, survey, disclosures, and inspection reports together. Ask which findings need legal review and which need a technical expert. First-time owner-occupants can use our five-check home purchase guide for the purchase sequence.
Accurate disclosure starts with what is known
Florida residential disclosure law addresses facts the seller knows that materially affect value, are not readily observable, and are not known to the buyer. The Fourth District’s Lorber v. Passick opinion discusses that rule in an “as is” transaction. The contract label does not settle what must be disclosed.
Gather reports, repair records, permits, and past claims before answering questions. Be accurate about what you know and what you do not. Do not assume a past event no longer matters because repairs were done.
A separate current requirement matters at the contract stage: section 689.302 requires a residential flood disclosure at or before the sales contract is signed. It includes specified knowledge of flooding damage during the seller’s ownership, claims, and assistance. Do not postpone that check until the closing table.
This is not a claim that one statewide general disclosure form governs every sale and every defect. The property, facts, contract, and applicable law need to be reviewed together.
A title rule is not an automatic cancellation clause
The earlier version of this article treated section 712.02 as a universal requirement to deliver property free of every lien or restriction. That is not what the section does. It addresses marketable record title after a set period in the public records, with legal exceptions.
For a sale, check the contract’s title standard and allowed exceptions. Find the objection deadline, cure period, and available remedy. A cure period is time allowed to fix a problem. Not every title concern lets a buyer leave the deal at once without cost.
Ask how each required payoff, release, or correction will be documented. Review the title policy’s proposed exceptions as well. For other broad assumptions about liens and ownership, see our property-law myth check.
The business plan needs its own legal checks
Check zoning, permits, and private restrictions. Then check existing leases, loan terms, and insurance against the plan. Describe the actual use. “Investment property” alone is too vague. Check whether approvals are in place or merely hoped for.
A section 1031 exchange is not simply selling property and spending the proceeds on another one. The IRS explains that the rules concern qualifying business or investment real property. Property held mainly for sale does not qualify, and a personal home generally does not fit that use requirement.
The IRS exchange guidance also warns about receiving or controlling sale proceeds. Get tax and exchange advice before the sale. Check the deadlines and any need for a qualified intermediary to hold the proceeds. Putting off tax does not mean all tax disappears.
Keep legal permission and expected profit separate. Even an allowed use may not earn the rent or resale price you expect. This article does not promise investment returns.
The deal ends; the rental duties continue
When buying or managing a rental, get the signed leases and addenda. Collect payment records, deposit accounts, notices, and repair history. Confirm who holds the funds and who will handle messages after the change.
Do not assume a new owner can disregard an existing lease or use a lockout to resolve a dispute. The landlord and tenant duties guide covers maintenance and entry. The deposit guide covers custody and claim records.
Ask the insurer about the actual rental use and policy exclusions. A policy described as landlord insurance does not automatically cover every vacancy, unpaid rent, or tenant dispute.
Use one unresolved-issue log
For each open issue, write the question. Name the person responsible. List the needed record and the decision date. Mark whether the answer is a fact, an estimate, or a legal opinion. Close the item when the promised proof is in hand.
For example, “check permits” is vague. “Obtain the status of the listed open permit before the contract review deadline” is a task someone can complete and verify. This is a hypothetical workflow example, not a promise that a permit record resolves every construction issue.
Review dispute and attorney-fee terms before signing. A fee clause is not insurance that a breaching party will pay every expense. The wording, applicable law, claims, and outcome matter.
Focus the review on your next commitment
Discuss the role, property, contract, and deadline with Katz & Associates. Bring the open issues and the records already gathered.
Common questions
No. The known-fact disclosure rule and specific statutory duties still need review.
No. Qualifying use, structure, timing, and control of proceeds matter. Get advice before the sale.
Yes. Review both the acquisition plan and the duties of operating the rental after closing.
About the author
By Katz & Associates. Published by Katz & Associates Law Firm.
This is general information, not a transaction-specific title, tax, or land-use opinion.
Sources checked October 26, 2026. Confirm the actual contract, property facts, and applicable requirements.