Should an attorney review a builder’s purchase contract?

Yes. Builder and developer contracts are written to protect the builder, with broad rights to delay, substitute materials and keep deposits. An attorney can explain the risk in each clause and negotiate where the buyer has leverage, which is best done before signing or sending any deposit.

How are deposits on a Florida pre-construction condo protected?

Florida law sets rules on how developers escrow buyer deposits and when part of them may be used for construction, and the purchase contract states which applies. Your attorney should confirm how and where each deposit is held before it is paid, since a deposit can be at risk for years.

How can we verify that a custom home builder is licensed in Florida?

Search the builder’s name or license number on the State of Florida’s public license search, which shows whether a contractor license is active and any discipline on record. Ask for proof of liability and workers’ compensation coverage too, and visit homes the builder has completed.

Can a custom home be ready in time for next season?

Sometimes, but it should not be counted on. Permits, inspections, supplies and hurricane season all cause delays. Plan for completion in the offseason with a margin before camp, and keep a lease or other housing available until the certificate of occupancy is issued.

Does a brand-new home need an independent inspection?

Yes. Independent inspectors regularly find defects in new homes that were missed during construction, such as insulation gaps, flashing faults and plumbing leaks. Inspect before closing, and again shortly before the builder’s warranty expires, and submit both reports to the builder in writing.

Can a buyer’s agent be added after visiting a builder’s sales center?

Often not. Many builders require the buyer’s agent to be registered at the first visit and decline to recognize representation added later. If you plan to see a new community, let BreakThru Realty arrange or register the visit first.

Private Client · New Construction

New Construction & Custom Homes for Professional Athletes

Building on a schedule that has to fit around a season

Buying a new home or building one appeals to athletes for obvious reasons: everything is new, the layout can suit a training routine, and nobody else has lived there. The risks are less obvious. Builder contracts protect the builder, deposits sit at risk for months or years, and completion dates move. BreakThru Realty represents the buyer through each stage and plans the build around the season rather than hoping the two line up.

BreakThru Realty · Founder and Broker of Record: Tyson E. Sam, Florida License 3565210

Plan a New Build Privately · Our privacy standard

The Builder’s Contract Is the Builder’s

New homes are not sold on Florida’s standard residential contract. Builders and developers use their own agreements, and those agreements are drafted to protect them: broad rights to delay completion, to substitute materials and finishes of similar quality, to keep deposits on a buyer default, to limit warranties to what the builder chooses to offer, and often to send disputes to arbitration rather than court. None of that is unusual, and some of it is negotiable for a buyer with leverage. Your attorney should read the contract before you sign it, and BreakThru Realty will flag the clauses that matter most for someone whose schedule is set by a season.

Register Your Agent Before the First Visit

Most builders require a buyer’s agent to be registered at the buyer’s first visit to a sales center or model, and many will not recognize representation that arrives later. If a player, a family member or a business manager walks into a sales gallery alone, the buyer may lose the chance to have an agent negotiate for them on that community. Let BreakThru Realty arrange the first visit, or at least tell us before you go. Registration also lets us ask the questions a sales office tends not to volunteer: which lots back onto future phases, what the association will charge once the builder hands it over, and how many homes in the community are still unsold.

Where the Deposit Goes and What Protects It

Deposits on new construction are large and are held for a long time, so where they sit matters. For pre-construction condominiums, Florida law sets rules on how buyer deposits are escrowed and when a developer may use part of them for construction, and the contract states which option the developer has chosen. Single-family builders may be entitled under their contract to use deposits for construction costs, which means a deposit is only as safe as the builder. Your attorney should confirm how each deposit is held before any money is sent. If the purchase will be financed at completion, consult a mortgage lender early, since a loan approval issued today may not survive a long build.

Pre-Construction Condos and the Season Calendar

A new condominium tower can take years from sales launch to certificate of occupancy, and projected completion dates often slip with permitting, financing and hurricane season. A player should never plan a move around a developer’s projected delivery date. We plan housing for the intervening seasons separately, usually through a lease, and treat the new residence as a future arrival rather than a fixed one. Before signing we also read the building’s budget, the reserves the developer is setting aside, and the documents that will govern the association once owners take control, because the milestone inspection and structural reserve rules that apply to older condo buildings will one day apply to this one too.

Custom Homes: The Lot Comes First

A custom home succeeds or fails on the lot. Before buying land we check the zoning, the setbacks and lot coverage the code allows, the height limit, and any association architectural rules that sit on top. The FEMA flood zone and the base flood elevation set how high the finished floor must be, which changes the look and the cost of the house. Oceanfront lots sit under the Coastal Construction Control Line, and building seaward of it needs a separate state permit. A survey, a soil report and confirmation that water, sewer and power reach the lot complete the picture. Permitting timelines differ widely between municipalities, and in some they are measured in months.

Checking the Contractor’s License Yourself

Anyone building a home in Florida for you must hold a Florida contractor license, and you can check it on the state’s public license search before signing anything. The record shows whether the license is active and whether discipline has been imposed. Ask also for proof of general liability and workers’ compensation coverage, and visit homes the builder has finished. Florida’s construction lien law lets unpaid subcontractors and suppliers place liens on your property, so each payment to the builder should be matched with lien releases from those who were paid, and the final payment with a final release. BreakThru Realty can help you collect these checks; the contract itself belongs with your attorney.

An Owner’s Representative While You Travel

A custom build needs decisions every week, and a professional season takes the owner out of town for most of them. Many clients hire an owner’s representative, an independent construction professional who attends site meetings, reviews the builder’s payment requests against the work actually done, photographs progress, and brings decisions to you or your business manager in a form you can answer from a hotel room. You hire and pay that person directly. BreakThru Realty stays on the real estate side, from lot purchase and survey through to the final closing on the finished home, and coordinates with the owner’s representative so nothing falls between the two.

Change Orders, Delays and a Finish Date That Suits the Season

Most budget overruns in a custom build come from change orders, so every change should be priced and signed in writing before the work is done, and allowances for finishes should be realistic from the start. Delays come from permits, inspections, supply shortages and storms, and hurricane season can stop exterior work for days at a time. We suggest targeting completion for the offseason with a margin before training camp or spring training, and keeping a lease or other housing available until the certificate of occupancy is issued. A move during the season is possible, but no one should be choosing tile while preparing for a game.

Walk-Throughs and the Warranty Year

Before closing on any new home, have it inspected independently, even though it is brand new; inspectors routinely find missing insulation, roof flashing faults, plumbing leaks and grading that sends water toward the foundation. The builder’s orientation walk-through produces a punch list, and the closing should not happen until the list is agreed. After move-in, note every defect as it appears and send it to the builder in writing. Before the builder’s warranty period ends, schedule a second independent inspection and submit its findings, because repairs requested after the warranty closes are much harder to get.

Our Privacy Standard

A confidentiality agreement before the first conversation: Ask and a mutual non-disclosure agreement comes to you or your representative before any detail is shared, and it covers everyone at the brokerage who works on the file.
Your name stays out of our marketing: BreakThru Realty does not use a client’s name, likeness, team or transaction in its advertising, social media, website or press, before or after closing, unless the client asks for it in writing.
Showings by appointment with verified buyers only: When you sell, your home is shown only to buyers whose identity and proof of funds or pre-approval have been checked, by appointment, with personal items and photographs put away beforehand.
Address withheld from internet display where the MLS allows: A seller can ask for a listing’s address to be kept off consumer websites within the rules of the multiple listing service, and for interior photographs to leave out anything personal.
One point of contact: A single named contact at the brokerage runs the file, so your details are not passed around an office.
We work through your people: If you would rather we deal with your agent, manager, business manager, attorney or family office, that is the channel we use, and nothing is sent anywhere else.
Documents by secure link, wires confirmed by phone: Files are shared by secure link rather than as open email attachments, and wiring instructions are always confirmed by a phone call to a known number before any money moves.

Plan a New Build Privately

Tell us what you need, the timing, and how you would like to be contacted: directly, or through your agent, manager, business manager or attorney. You do not need to give a client’s name to start, and a confidentiality agreement can come before any detail is shared.

Direct and confidential: (786) 914-1017 · sales@breakthrurealty.com

Questions We Are Asked

Should an attorney review a builder’s purchase contract?: Yes. Builder and developer contracts are written to protect the builder, with broad rights to delay, substitute materials and keep deposits. An attorney can explain the risk in each clause and negotiate where the buyer has leverage, which is best done before signing or sending any deposit.
How are deposits on a Florida pre-construction condo protected?: Florida law sets rules on how developers escrow buyer deposits and when part of them may be used for construction, and the purchase contract states which applies. Your attorney should confirm how and where each deposit is held before it is paid, since a deposit can be at risk for years.
How can we verify that a custom home builder is licensed in Florida?: Search the builder’s name or license number on the State of Florida’s public license search, which shows whether a contractor license is active and any discipline on record. Ask for proof of liability and workers’ compensation coverage too, and visit homes the builder has completed.
Can a custom home be ready in time for next season?: Sometimes, but it should not be counted on. Permits, inspections, supplies and hurricane season all cause delays. Plan for completion in the offseason with a margin before camp, and keep a lease or other housing available until the certificate of occupancy is issued.
Does a brand-new home need an independent inspection?: Yes. Independent inspectors regularly find defects in new homes that were missed during construction, such as insulation gaps, flashing faults and plumbing leaks. Inspect before closing, and again shortly before the builder’s warranty expires, and submit both reports to the builder in writing.
Can a buyer’s agent be added after visiting a builder’s sales center?: Often not. Many builders require the buyer’s agent to be registered at the first visit and decline to recognize representation added later. If you plan to see a new community, let BreakThru Realty arrange or register the visit first.

The Division

For Professional Athletes

By League

For Agents, Managers & Advisors

Celebrities & Entertainment

High-Net-Worth Private Clients

Family Offices

Related on BreakThru Realty

BreakThru Realty is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS or any club named on this site. League, team and venue names are used only to describe locations.