Launching in Miami and New York
The same tower would launch under two different rulebooks. Here is how the filing, the deposits, the threshold and the closing costs compare, and what each one changes in the sales plan.
Filing comes first
Neither state lets a developer sell before the paperwork is in. In Florida, section 718.502 (Florida Statutes, opens in a new tab) requires the developer to file its offering documents with the state before it offers purchase contracts, and it cannot close a sale until the state confirms the filing is proper. Reservations can start earlier, once the state has approved the escrow agreement and the reservation form, and a reservation deposit must be refunded whenever the buyer asks in writing.
In New York the developer is the sponsor, and under Part 20 of the Attorney General’s regulations (opens in a new tab) no unit may be offered at all until the Attorney General’s office accepts the offering plan for filing. There is no reservation stage to test prices on. The day the plan is accepted is the first day of the campaign, so it belongs on the launch calendar from the start.
| Topic | Miami | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Before selling | File the offering documents with the state. Reservations once the escrow agreement is approved. | The Attorney General accepts the offering plan. No offers of any kind before. |
| Buyer’s window | 15 days to cancel, from signing or receiving the documents, whichever is later. | 3 business days to review before signing, or 7 days to rescind after. |
| Deposits | The first 10 percent stays in escrow. Above that may fund construction if the contract allows. | Usually 10 to 20 percent, all of it in escrow until closing, never spent on construction. |
| Threshold | The construction lender’s pre-sale requirement, which each lender sets. | The lender’s, and the law’s: 15 percent of units under contract before the plan is effective. |
| Changes | An amendment that materially changes the offering against the buyer opens a new 15‑day window. | A first closing 12 months late, or a budget 25 percent higher, brings a right to rescind. |
| Transfer taxes | Deed stamp tax of 70 cents per $100, with a different rate in Miami-Dade. Often passed to the buyer. | State and city transfer taxes, often passed to the buyer, plus the buyer’s mansion tax from $1 million. |
| After closing | The law implies a 3-year warranty on each unit, from completion of the building. | The statutory warranty covers buildings of five stories or fewer. In a tower, the plan sets it. |
Deposits and the capital stack
This is the difference that reaches the financing. Under section 718.202 (Florida Statutes, opens in a new tab), the first 10 percent of the price stays in escrow until closing, and anything above it may go into construction if the contract says so. Miami deposit schedules often reach 30 to 50 percent before completion, so buyers’ money can carry part of the cost of the building.
In New York, deposits stay the buyer’s money until closing and may not be spent on construction. Equity and the construction loan carry the whole build. A sponsor planning both cities should expect the New York tower to need more capital behind it before the first sale, and the Miami tower to lean harder on the pace of contracts.
Two thresholds in New York
Lenders in both cities set pre-sale requirements of their own. New York adds a second one in law: under section 20.3 of the Attorney General’s regulations (opens in a new tab), a plan cannot be declared effective until buyers have signed for at least 15 percent of the units offered. Until then the sponsor may still abandon the offering, and every deposit goes back. In both cities the launch price decides when the threshold arrives, as our note on launch price and the pre-sale threshold shows.
Who pays at closing
Closing costs change the price a buyer actually compares. In Florida the documentary stamp tax on the deed is the seller’s by custom, though developer contracts often pass it to the buyer. In New York the state and city transfer taxes are also normally the seller’s and are often passed to the buyer in a sponsor sale, and the buyer always pays the mansion tax: 1 percent from $1 million, rising with the supplemental tax to 3.9 percent combined at the top of the New York City market. Taking on some of these costs is a real concession that leaves the price list where it is.
Selling one city to the other
Many Miami buyers live in New York. A Florida offering marketed to New York residents generally needs a New York filing or an exemption first, and the Attorney General’s advertising guidelines (PDF, opens in a new tab) describe how a website can avoid targeting New York until then. Settle it before the first event in Manhattan, not after.
One plan, two calendars
- In New York, the day the plan is accepted sets the earliest launch. Build the campaign to open on it.
- In Miami, a reservation program can test lines and prices before contracts, with deposits the buyer can recover on request.
- Count Miami deposits above 10 percent in the construction budget only where the contracts allow it. Count New York deposits as the buyer’s security.
- Track the 15 percent mark in New York, and the lender’s threshold in both, on the weekly report.
- Write the closing cost section of each contract as carefully as the price list.
If you are planning a launch in either city, or in both, we are glad to talk it through.
General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Florida and New York rules change, and every offering is different. Work with counsel admitted in each state before you file or sell.