Hollywood Beach Condo Milestone Inspections: A Buyer Document Guide

Under §553.899(3), Fla. Stat., residential condominium and cooperative buildings of three or more habitable stories generally require a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year they reach 30 years of age, based on their certificate of occupancy, and every 10 years thereafter. A local enforcement agency may require the first inspection at 25 years when local circumstances, including saltwater exposure, justify it. Coastal location alone is not an automatic statewide 25-year trigger.

The statute also contains transition deadlines for buildings reaching 30 before 2025 and allows qualifying initial-inspection extensions. Request the certificate of occupancy and the building official's written deadline or extension. Do not calculate compliance from a listing's year-built field or assume every Hollywood Beach tower has the same deadline.

§553.899(7), Fla. Stat. describes two phases.

• Phase 1: a licensed engineer or architect visually examines habitable and nonhabitable areas for substantial structural deterioration. If none is found, Phase 2 is not required.
• Phase 2: if Phase 1 identifies substantial structural deterioration, further testing or evaluation is required; it may involve destructive or nondestructive testing. The inspector determines the scope needed to assess distress and recommend repairs.

Neither phase replaces a unit inspection, a reserve study or a lender's project review. Read the actual findings rather than treating “passed inspection” as a warranty.

1. The inspector-prepared milestone inspection summary and, for deeper review, the full report.
2. Any Phase 2 report, testing results and repair recommendations.
3. Building-official correspondence, deadlines and written extensions.
4. Board minutes addressing repair contracts and funding.
5. The current budget and structural integrity reserve study.
6. The estoppel certificate for adopted assessments.

§718.503(2), Fla. Stat. entitles a contracted resale purchaser, at the seller's expense, to governing documents, the annual financial statement and budget, the applicable milestone summary and the most recent SIRS or a statement that it has not been completed. Request documents in writing and have your attorney confirm the applicable delivery and cancellation provisions.

You do not need to interpret structural findings yourself. Look for three things: the list of conditions the engineer flagged, the recommended completion dates, and whether the board has a contractor and a funding plan. If repairs are recommended but no funding is identified, treat that as a likely future assessment and price it into your offer or your contingency.

If anything is unclear, ask your own licensed engineer to review the report during your inspection period rather than relying on a summary from the seller, the association or an agent.

Your lender makes its own project-eligibility decision. Send inspection findings, unresolved repair information, the budget and assessment schedule early. Do not assume that an inspection report guarantees loan approval or that every Phase 2 finding makes a building ineligible.

Use Hollywood buyer representation to coordinate requests, and a licensed engineer to interpret structural findings. Check special-assessment due diligence separately from the inspection record.