Florida seller disclosure is not one universal form that answers every property question. A residential seller should begin with two separate tasks: disclose known facts that may materially affect value when they are not readily observable or already known to the buyer, and deliver the statutory notices that apply to the property and transaction. Flood, homeowners-association, condominium, coastal-control-line, property-tax, radon, and federal lead requirements do not all use the same form, timing, or applicability test.
For an Atlantic Beach seller, the practical goal is a disclosure-ready property file: a dated record of what is known, what documents support it, what remains uncertain, which legal regime applies, and when each required item was delivered. That file helps Maria Wilkes and Curated Luxury Homes position the home accurately while the seller's attorney, title professional, association, insurer, surveyor, inspector, municipality, and other qualified professionals address conclusions within their roles.
This guide is educational, not legal advice. The property's facts, current law, governing documents, contract, and professional guidance control.
Start with known facts, not a promise that the property is defect-free
A disclosure process should not become either a guessing exercise or a blanket warranty. Start with facts the seller actually knows and records the seller actually has. Separate five categories:
- Known history: prior leaks, repairs, insurance claims, flooding, permits, assessments, notices, or other events the seller can identify.
- Current observations: what is visible or operating now, described without diagnosing a cause.
- Documents: invoices, warranties, permits, inspection reports, surveys, association records, claims correspondence, and government notices.
- Unresolved questions: missing final inspections, incomplete association minutes, uncertain permit status, or facts that require a professional answer.
- Changed information: any answer that becomes inaccurate before closing, with the date and delivery record for the update.
Do not turn an old invoice into a conclusion that a condition is permanently cured. Do not describe the absence of a claim as proof that an event never occurred. Do not infer a parcel's flood zone, coastal-control-line status, permit compliance, or association obligation from its address or marketing description.
An “as is” contract does not make known material facts disappear
Florida's seller-duty rule is commonly associated with Johnson v. Davis. A Florida Bar Journal explanation attributes to that case the rule that a residential seller who knows of facts materially affecting the property's value, when those facts are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer, has a duty to disclose them. The same Florida Bar article explains that an “as is” provision is not an exception to that described duty.
That is secondary legal commentary, not a property-specific conclusion. Whether a fact is known, material, readily observable, already known to the buyer, or within the doctrine is a legal and factual question. The safe seller workflow is to give counsel the fact pattern and supporting records rather than deciding that an “as is” label makes disclosure unnecessary.
An “as is” contract can still allocate repair obligations and inspection choices. It should not be used as a reason to hide, minimize, or selectively describe known history.
Florida's flood disclosure is a distinct statutory step
Florida Statutes section 689.302 requires a seller of residential real property to complete and provide the statutory flood disclosure at or before contract execution. The current form asks about the seller's knowledge of flood damage during the seller's ownership, flood-related insurance claims, and flood assistance received for the property. It also tells the buyer that homeowners insurance does not include flood-damage coverage.
This is a disclosure of specified seller knowledge and history. It is not a flood-risk determination, elevation opinion, insurance quote, or statement that a property will or will not flood. Keep these lanes separate:
| Seller-file item | What it establishes | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Completed statutory flood disclosure | The seller's answers to the required questions | The property's complete flood risk |
| Claims and assistance records | Documented claim or assistance history in the file | Future insurability or premiums |
| Survey, elevation, map, or insurer material | The information stated by that source | A universal legal or engineering conclusion |
| Buyer and insurer diligence | Current transaction-specific review | A replacement for the seller's statutory form |
If the seller remembers water intrusion but is unsure whether it fits the statute's definition of flooding, preserve the facts and records and ask qualified counsel how to complete the form. Do not force uncertain facts into a yes-or-no conclusion without review.
HOA, condominium, and coastal-property rules are different lanes
An association name alone does not tell the seller which statute or document package applies.
For a covered parcel governed by a homeowners association, Florida Statutes section 720.401 requires the statutory HOA disclosure summary before contract execution. The section assigns delivery to the developer or, in a nondeveloper sale, the parcel owner. The summary addresses mandatory membership, recorded covenants, assessments, possible liens, and access to governing documents. The statute also says this Chapter 720 regime does not apply where Chapters 718, 719, 721, or 723 govern the disclosure.
A condominium resale therefore needs its own Chapter 718 analysis; the HOA summary is not a substitute. For a residential resale by a unit owner who is not a developer, Florida Statutes section 718.503(2) entitles the buyer, at the seller's expense, to current copies of the declaration; association articles, bylaws, and rules; annual financial statement and budget; the Frequently Asked Questions and Answers document; and the Division's governance form. When applicable, the package also includes the milestone-inspection summary, the most recent structural-integrity reserve study or a statement that none has been completed, and a qualifying turnover-inspection report performed on or after July 1, 2023.
The statute's nondeveloper resale notice distinguishes two document tracks, but the current saved text uses seven days for both. For the declaration, association articles, bylaws and rules, financial statement, budget, and FAQ document, the notice either acknowledges delivery more than seven days—excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays—before contract execution, or states that the agreement is voidable by written cancellation within seven excluded days after buyer execution and receipt of the specified materials if they were requested in writing. A written request for those materials may also support a closing extension of up to seven excluded days.
For applicable milestone-inspection, turnover-inspection, or structural-integrity reserve-study materials, the notice likewise uses delivery more than seven excluded days before execution, or written cancellation within seven excluded days after buyer execution and receipt. In that companion track, the written-request condition applies to the closing extension of up to seven excluded days. Contracts after December 31, 2024 require conspicuous notice when specified reports or studies are incomplete or when the association is not required to obtain them. Applicability, document currency, the exact written-request conditions, contract language, and the end of cancellation rights at closing require transaction-specific review by qualified counsel.
Coastal-control-line disclosure is another separate question. Florida Statutes section 161.57 applies when an interest in real property is located partly or entirely seaward of the coastal construction control line. When the section applies, it calls for written disclosure at or before both parties execute the contract. Unless the purchaser waives it in writing, the seller also provides the specified affidavit or qualifying survey at or before closing. The statute states that a seller's failure to deliver those items does not impair contract enforceability, create a rescission right, or impair title under that section.
Do not label every Atlantic Beach property a CCCL property. Confirm parcel-specific applicability from the appropriate official and survey evidence, then let counsel determine how the statutory language fits the transaction.
Other notices may belong in the contract file
The property and transaction may trigger additional disclosures. A seller-readiness review should identify applicability early enough to obtain current documents and professional guidance.
Property-tax disclosure
Florida Statutes section 689.261 requires the residential property-tax disclosure summary at or before contract execution. If the contract does not contain substantially similar text, the seller provides a separate summary attached to and incorporated by reference into the contract. The summary warns the buyer not to rely on the seller's current tax bill as the buyer's future amount because a change of ownership or improvements may trigger reassessment.
This notice is not a parcel tax estimate. Keep any valuation or future-tax estimate with the county property appraiser or the buyer's qualified tax adviser.
Radon notice
Florida Statutes section 404.056(5) provides prescribed radon notification language for at least one document, form, or application used at the time of or before a contract for sale and purchase of a building, subject to the section's scope. The notice is not a test result and does not state that radon is present at the property.
Federal lead-based-paint disclosure
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's current guidance says the federal Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule applies to most pre-1978 housing, subject to listed exceptions. Before a covered buyer signs a contract, the seller and agents as applicable provide known lead information and available records, the federal pamphlet, and the required warning statement. The buyer also receives the federally described opportunity for a lead inspection or risk assessment.
Year built is an applicability input, not proof that lead-based paint is or is not present. Use the current federal form and transaction-specific guidance.
Three Atlantic Beach seller examples
Example 1: a repaired roof leak
The seller remembers a roof leak, has a contractor invoice, and has seen no recent staining. The file should keep those facts separate: the known leak history, the work described on the invoice, any permit or final-inspection record, current observations, and any unanswered question. Marketing may accurately describe documented work, but it should not call the roof problem permanently cured without support.
Example 2: flood history and possible coastal-line applicability
The seller has a prior flood claim and believes the parcel may cross the coastal construction control line. These are two distinct workflows. Complete the current statutory flood disclosure from known facts and records. Separately obtain parcel-specific CCCL evidence and determine with the surveyor, attorney, and other relevant professionals whether the notice and affidavit-or-survey provisions apply. Do not infer one requirement from the other.
Example 3: incomplete association assessment information
The seller has heard that the association is discussing a special assessment but has no final notice. The file should distinguish confirmed minutes or notices, the seller's knowledge, missing records, the association's response, and unresolved timing. Do not publish an amount, approval status, or buyer consequence that the governing records do not support. First classify the ownership regime so the correct HOA or condominium disclosure path can be completed.
Build the seller-readiness file before the listing goes live
Use a controlled file rather than a loose folder of PDFs. Each row should identify the fact, source, date, current status, responsible professional, delivery requirement, and update trigger.
| File category | Assemble now | Escalate when |
|---|---|---|
| Known condition and repair history | Seller chronology, invoices, warranties, photos, inspection records | Cause, present condition, or materiality is uncertain |
| Flood and insurance history | Statutory answers, claims, assistance, insurer correspondence | The seller is unsure how an event fits the form |
| Permits and improvements | Permit search, plans, approvals, final inspections, contractor records | Records conflict or final status is unclear |
| Association | Current governing documents, notices, assessments, minutes, contacts | Regime, document currency, or timing is unresolved |
| Coastal and survey | Existing survey, title material, official parcel research | CCCL or boundary applicability needs a professional determination |
| Contract notices | Current flood, tax, radon, lead, and applicable association materials | The form, timing, exception, or amendment is uncertain |
| Delivery record | Recipient, document version, date, method, acknowledgment | A fact or document changes before closing |
The checklist is not a declaration that every item applies. It is a way to surface the applicability decision early, keep known facts accurate, and avoid relying on memory after the property is under contract.
Keep law, brokerage work, and specialist conclusions separate
The law or contract determines what must be disclosed and when. Maria and Curated Luxury Homes can help organize the seller's records, align marketing with documented facts, track open questions, coordinate delivery, and incorporate the file into pricing and negotiation strategy. They do not replace legal advice, an inspection, a survey, an insurance decision, an association certification, a title conclusion, or a government determination.
Before publication or buyer delivery, review the active contract, current statutory forms, association regime, property facts, and any law changes with the appropriate professionals. If an answer changes, preserve the earlier record, document the change, and obtain advice on any revised disclosure or delivery step.
Request an Atlantic Beach seller-readiness review
Request a confidential Atlantic Beach valuation and seller-readiness review with Maria Wilkes and Curated Luxury Homes. Bring the address, intended timing, known condition and repair history, flood and insurance records, permit documents, survey and title material, association records, and open questions.
Maria can help turn those materials into a property-specific pricing, preparation, marketing, and transaction plan while the appropriate professionals resolve legal, structural, insurance, survey, title, association, tax, and regulatory conclusions.