Two documents can undo your Naples condo sale after you are already under contract. The milestone inspection summary and the structural integrity reserve study. If your association cannot produce them, Florida law lets your buyer cancel, at their option, whatever else the contract says.
Most sellers find this out in week three, from the buyer’s attorney. That is the worst possible moment, because by then you have turned down other showings and your leverage is gone.
What the milestone inspection is
Florida Statute 553.899 requires a milestone structural inspection of condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories tall, once the building turns 30. For buildings within three miles of the coastline, the trigger is 25 years.
That three mile line matters more in Naples than almost anywhere in the state. Park Shore, The Moorings, Old Naples, Vanderbilt Beach and Pelican Bay all sit inside it, and a large share of that condo stock went up in the 1980s and 1990s. A building that feels well kept to the people living in it has usually crossed the age line already.
Phase 1 is a visual review by a Florida licensed engineer or architect. If it turns up substantial structural deterioration, Phase 2 follows within 180 days, and repairs have to begin within 365 days of the Phase 2 report.
What the reserve study is
The structural integrity reserve study, which everyone calls the SIRS, covers eight things. Roof. Load bearing structure. Fire protection. Plumbing. Electrical. Waterproofing and exterior painting. Windows and exterior doors. And any other item over $25,000 that affects those systems.
Two dates changed the math this year.
As of January 1, 2026, reserves for SIRS components have to be fully funded, and owners can no longer vote to waive them or reduce them. That option is gone. And December 31, 2026 is the outside deadline for associations whose milestone inspection falls in the same window, under the timeline House Bill 913 set in 2025.
An association that has been keeping dues low by underfunding reserves cannot keep doing it. The money has to come from somewhere, and the two places it comes from are higher dues or a special assessment.
Here is what it does to your sale
Under Florida Statute 718.503, a buyer under contract on a resale condo is entitled, at your expense, to the inspector prepared summary of the milestone inspection report if one applies, and the association’s most recent SIRS, or a written statement that the association has not completed one.
If those do not arrive in time, the contract is voidable at the buyer’s option. Not renegotiable. Voidable. Your buyer can walk and take their deposit, and nothing you wrote into the contract changes that.
So the question is not whether a buyer will see this paperwork. They will. The only question is whether they see it from you in week one, or from their attorney in week three.
What I would do before listing
Call the association and get three things in writing.
One. The milestone inspection status. Has Phase 1 been done, what did it find, and is a Phase 2 pending.
Two. The SIRS status. Completed, in progress, or not started. If it is completed, you want the actual document, not a summary of it.
Three. The current reserve funding level, and whether a special assessment has been voted on, proposed, or discussed at a board meeting. Discussed counts. Buyers’ attorneys read minutes.
Then decide, with your agent, whether to put it in front of buyers before they ask.
Why disclosing early is usually the stronger play
A known assessment, priced in from day one, is a number a buyer can plan around. An unknown assessment, discovered in week three, is a reason to renegotiate everything or leave.
The same principle runs through every listing I take. You cannot negotiate from a number you were never sure of. A condo with a $28,000 assessment that everybody knew about on day one sells. A condo where that figure surfaces after inspection becomes the listing that has been sitting, and every buyer who opens it after that starts by asking what is wrong with it.
This is step one of the Power Move Method. Diagnose before you list, not after a buyer does it for you.
Questions I get about this
Does this apply to my building if it is only two stories?
No. The milestone inspection requirement in Statute 553.899 applies to condominium and cooperative buildings of three or more habitable stories. Many Naples villa and low rise communities fall outside it. The SIRS requirement is worth asking your association about regardless.
My building is 26 years old and a mile from the beach. Am I past the deadline?
Within three miles of the coastline the trigger is 25 years, so at 26 years your building is inside the requirement. Ask the association where they are in the process and get the answer in writing.
Can I sell a condo that has not completed its SIRS?
Yes. The law does not block the sale. What it requires is that your buyer receives either the completed study or a written statement that the association has not completed one. The disclosure is what protects the contract, not the study itself.
Will a pending special assessment kill my price?
It affects it, and how much depends on whether the buyer learns about it early or late. A disclosed assessment gets negotiated once. An undisclosed one gets negotiated after the buyer already feels misled, which costs more than the assessment.
Who pays for the documents the buyer receives?
Under Statute 718.503 the seller does. Budget for it before you list.
Where do I find what condos have actually sold for in my building?
Closed prices are public. Every closing I have handled is published with the price on my recent sales page.
If you are thinking about selling this year
Start with the association paperwork, before the photos, before the price. It is the one thing that can undo everything downstream, and it is the easiest to get ahead of.
If you want a read on where your condo actually stands, what the paperwork says about it, and what it would take to protect your equity, that is what the Equity Protection Audit is for. You keep the findings either way.
I am a Realtor, not an attorney. This is general information about Florida law as it stands in September 2026, not legal advice about your building. For anything specific to your association, your association’s attorney is the right call. Sources: Florida Statutes 553.899 and 718.503, and House Bill 913 (2025).
