"Across the board when you talk to people that live in condos, quarterly payments have gone up quite a bit because there are a lot more of these reserve items that they have to fund," Longboat Key Mayor Debra Williams told Your Observer this spring. She explained the change in one line. Before Surfside, associations had to keep reserves for painting, paving and roofing, "and everything else was optional."
Her comment ran in the same April 1, 2026 article that brought good news about the island's buildings. If you're about to make an offer on an older Longboat Key condo, the two halves of that article point to the same thing. The structural question has mostly been answered. What's still open is the money, and it's spelled out in a document many buyers skim.
The exam Longboat already passed
Allen Parsons, the town's Planning, Zoning and Building Director, said 198 buildings on Longboat Key needed milestone inspections. The first deadline has passed, and every one of those buildings got a passing grade. Only two needed a Phase II inspection, the deeper look beneath surface materials. Neither one then had to get a building permit to fix structural issues.
That's a useful baseline for anyone shopping the island. Florida requires these inspections for condo buildings at least 30 years old and three or more stories tall. The town receives the reports and passes them to the state. Parsons described its role as being "kind of a librarian of those reports."
A passing grade doesn't mean a building needs nothing. The Observer looked at one Longboat Key milestone report, prepared by the Tampa structural engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti. It included aerial photos and close-ups of support beams, the roof, patios and staircases. It also recommended several repairs to keep the building safe. Those repairs and their costs end up in a second document. That second document is the one that explains the mayor's comment.
Seven business days and two separate documents
On a resale, Florida law says the buyer gets a specific package at the seller's expense once a contract is signed. Under the 2026 statute, it includes the declaration, the articles, the bylaws and rules, the annual financial statement and budget, the FAQ document, a turnover inspection report where one was performed on or after July 1, 2023, and two items added after Surfside. The first is a copy of the inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection, not the full report. The second is the association's most recent structural integrity reserve study, or SIRS, or a statement that the association hasn't completed one.
The contract has to give you time to read them. For contracts signed after December 31, 2024, the buyer can void the agreement by written notice within 7 days after signing and receiving the milestone summary and SIRS, not counting weekends and legal holidays. The buyer can also ask in writing to push closing back by up to 7 more business days after receiving those documents. The right to cancel ends at closing. This window used to be three days. HB 913, signed June 23, 2025, extended it to seven.
Here's what each piece covers:
| Document | What it answers | What it leaves open |
|---|---|---|
| Milestone inspection summary | Whether the inspector saw structural deterioration or unsafe conditions, and which repairs or further inspections were recommended | How the association will pay for those repairs |
| Structural integrity reserve study | Each component's remaining useful life, estimated replacement or deferred-maintenance cost, and a recommended annual funding schedule | Whether the board's actual budget matches that schedule |
| Annual budget and financial statement | What the association collects, its reserve position, and any approved loans or special assessments for SIRS items | What the next budget cycle will ask of owners |
On Longboat Key, the milestone summary will very likely say the building passed. The SIRS shows what passing will cost.
Baseline funding keeps the cash balance above zero
Every SIRS has to include a baseline funding plan. Under it, the reserve cash balance can get close to zero over the projection period but can't fall below it. "Fully funded" is a separate, higher standard used in reserve-study practice. It aims to keep reserves at or near 100% of what the components have already used up. Florida's Division of Condominiums says the state doesn't require the reserve account to be fully funded when the study is completed.
Two buildings can therefore meet the same law with very different cushions. The study covers the roof, the structural system, fireproofing and fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows and exterior doors, and any other costly item whose failure would hurt those components. For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners generally can't vote to waive or reduce the required reserves for those items.
HB 913 left boards some options on how to pay. They can fund reserves through special assessments, lines of credit or loans. With majority approval, they can also temporarily pause or reduce reserve contributions to pay for repairs recommended in a milestone inspection, in budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028. Any approved loan or special assessment for SIRS items has to appear in the annual financial statement.
David Novak of Longboat Private Services, which manages more than 900 residential units, explained what that means for owners.
"Associations who have reserved funds all along are prepared; those who failed to adequately reserve are playing catchup...and the cost to catchup can be substantial to the point to where owners sell."
A buyer coming in during that catch-up period inherits the plan's later years. The funding schedule in the SIRS and the funding method in the budget show which kind of association you're joining.
The December 31, 2026 deadline is 87 days away
For most existing owner-controlled associations, the SIRS deadline was December 31, 2025. There's one exception. An association whose milestone inspection is due on or before December 31, 2026 can complete the SIRS alongside it, as long as it's done by December 31, 2026. The 2026 legislative session didn't move those dates. Its bill on this chapter was a technical reviser's bill.
So this fall, some buildings will hand over a completed SIRS, while others will provide the statutory statement that one isn't done yet. When a required study hasn't been completed, the contract itself must say so in conspicuous type. A building in that position may be about to learn its funding schedule after you've closed.
Here's a sensible order for reviewing the package during the seven-day window:
- Check the contract for the conspicuous milestone and SIRS clause, and see which version it uses: completed, required but not completed, or not required.
- Read the milestone summary's repair recommendations and items flagged for more inspection.
- Compare the SIRS recommended annual funding against the reserve line in the current budget.
- Look in the annual financial statement for approved loans or special assessments tied to SIRS components.
- Ask the seller, who as an owner can log in, to pull documents from the association's owner portal if the building has one.
That last step matters because associations managing a condominium of 25 or more units with no timeshare units had to set up a website or app by January 1, 2026. It holds budgets, inspection reports and the latest SIRS in an area protected for owners. For those associations, the full milestone report goes on the site, not just the summary. If you want more than the statute requires, the association isn't obligated to provide it. It can also charge up to $150 plus copying costs for answering good-faith requests.
Where the county numbers fit
Buyers currently have time to read carefully. In August 2026, the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee counted 1,659 active townhome and condo listings across Sarasota County, down 11.8% from a year earlier, which works out to 5.2 months of supply. The median time to contract was 83 days. Sellers received a median 91.6% of their original list price. Closings rose 13.8% to 281, and the median sale price was $310,000, up 3.3%. Those figures cover the whole county and include townhomes. Nobody publishes a monthly Longboat-only condo series, and no local source has measured how reserve studies affect island sale prices.
Prices on the island vary widely. Your Observer's weekly top-sales columns this summer listed Sea Gate Club unit 14-E at $1.6 million and Grand Bay unit 155 at $1.08 million for July 27–31. They also listed Water Club unit 408 at $3.1 million and Sutton Place unit V-1 at $296,000 for August 24–28. The resale document rules apply the same way across that whole range. Wherever a building is in its funding plan, the per-unit share shows up in your quarterly payment.
FAQ
Does a passing milestone inspection mean no special assessment is coming?
No. The milestone inspection looks at structural condition and recommends repairs. The SIRS and the budget show how those repairs and future replacements get paid for, and special assessments are one of the permitted methods.
Is the seller required to give me the full milestone report?
The statute's resale list requires the inspector-prepared summary. Associations required to have a website must post the full report there for owners.
Can the owners just vote to skip reserves?
For SIRS items in budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, generally not. HB 913 does allow a temporary, majority-approved pause tied to milestone-recommended repairs through budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028. For questions specific to a building, an attorney or accountant can review the documents with you, since nothing here is legal or financial advice.
When we represent buyers on Longboat Key, Michelle Silva and Alex Stafford ask for the milestone summary, the SIRS and the budget as soon as a contract is signed. We line them up side by side so you can make good use of all seven business days. If you're planning a move from out of the area, download the Sarasota Relocation Guide and tell us which buildings you're looking at. We'll help you get the document package and go through it with you.
