Canadian Snowbird Buying a Condo in Florida

Why condo prices have softened and what that means for you

Condos have trailed houses for a reason. Since the 2022 condo safety law, older buildings have had to complete milestone inspections and fully fund structural reserves, and many owners have faced higher monthly fees or special assessments as a result. Single-family values statewide sit at $396,809 while condos sit at $262,592, and the condo index fell faster over the past year.

For a buyer that cuts both ways. Sellers in older buildings are often more flexible on price. The same buildings may also carry the costs that pushed those sellers to list. A unit that looks cheap next to its neighbors is often cheap because a large repair bill is coming, so the price only makes sense once you have read the association's numbers.

The documents I read before a snowbird client makes an offer

For a resale condo, you can cancel within 7 days (not counting weekends and legal holidays) after you receive the association documents. Use that week fully. These are the pages that matter most:

• The budget and reserve schedule. For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners can no longer waive or reduce reserves for the structural items in the Structural Integrity Reserve Study. A budget that looks low may be one the association has not yet brought up to that standard.
• The milestone inspection and SIRS. Buildings of three or more habitable stories need a milestone inspection by the end of the year they turn 30 (25 if the local building official requires it), then every 10 years, plus a reserve study every 10 years.
• Board minutes from the last year. This is where talk of roof replacement, concrete repair or a loan shows up months before an assessment is voted.
• The rules. Pet limits, vehicle and parking rules, guest policies when you are away, and any requirement that the board approve new buyers.

Older low-rise, older tower or newer building

Snowbirds tend to choose between three kinds of buildings, and each carries a different risk.

• Older two-story garden condos. Often the lowest prices and fees. Buildings under three habitable stories fall outside the milestone inspection and SIRS rules, though roofs, plumbing and insurance still have to be paid for.
• Older mid-rise and high-rise towers. Views and elevators, with the heaviest exposure to concrete restoration, reserve catch-up and assessments. The inspection reports decide these.
• Newer buildings. Higher prices, newer systems and stronger construction standards. Read the reserves anyway, since a young building can still be underfunded. If you buy new from a developer, you have 15 days to cancel and deposits up to 10 percent go into escrow.

Association approval, age rules and pets

Many Florida condo associations screen buyers. The process can include an application, a background check, a fee and sometimes an interview. Ask how long approval takes so the closing date allows for it, since a slow board can push a closing past your flight home.

Some buildings are 55+ communities under the federal Housing for Older Persons Act, which requires at least 80 percent of occupied units to have one resident aged 55 or older. That suits many snowbird couples, but it also limits who can buy from you later, so look at how quickly units in that building have sold.

If you travel with a dog, read the weight and breed limits before you fall for a unit. Pet rules are written into the condo documents, and boards enforce them.

Monthly cost of a winter condo, line by line

• Association fee. Covers the master insurance policy, reserves, common areas and often water, cable and building staff. Fees have risen in many older buildings as reserve rules took hold.
• Your own HO-6 policy. The association insures the building structure; you insure the interior, your contents and liability. Add loss assessment coverage, which can help if the association passes an insured loss on to owners.
• Property tax at the non-homestead rate. As a part-year resident who keeps a home in Canada, you get no homestead exemption, assessment increases are capped at 10 percent on non-school levies, and the assessment resets to market value after your purchase.
• Utilities and connectivity while you are away. Many owners keep power on for air conditioning and humidity control year round.
• Home watch. Someone who checks the unit regularly in summer and handles storm prep. Some associations require owners who leave for hurricane season to name a local contact.

Where winter condo budgets go furthest

Typical condo values from Zillow vary a lot by city:

• Gulf Coast: Bradenton $190,967, Cape Coral $191,095, Clearwater $194,891, Fort Myers $216,573, Punta Gorda $235,089, Venice $246,225, Sarasota $263,924, Naples $378,644.
• Atlantic side: Daytona Beach $153,811, Delray Beach $169,347, Vero Beach $187,154, Port St. Lucie $188,672, Pompano Beach $245,906, Fort Lauderdale $403,495, Sunny Isles Beach $620,883.

Census data shows how seasonal some of these places are. Residents 65 and older make up 61.4 percent of Venice, 55.8 percent of Naples and 53.6 percent of Punta Gorda. A city with a high share of retirees usually has quieter buildings and more services aimed at winter residents. It can also mean many units come up for sale at the same time in spring.

Taxes, days and paying for it from Canada

None of this is legal or tax advice, and a cross-border accountant should confirm your situation. In general, Canadians can stay up to about six months a year as visitors, and the 182-day practice at the border counts all U.S. days, including road trips to other states. The IRS uses a separate weighted 183-day test, and filing Form 8840 each year is how most snowbirds stay on the right side of it. Provinces each set their own limits for health coverage while you are out of the country.

Paying cash, often from a home equity line in Canada, is the most common route for condos in this price range. If you finance with a foreign national loan, plan on 30 to 40 percent down, and confirm early that the building is warrantable, because lenders decline many older and non-warrantable buildings. When you eventually sell, the buyer will withhold part of the price under FIRPTA until you file a U.S. return.

Tell me the months you plan to spend in Florida, the coast you prefer and your all-in monthly budget, and I can shortlist buildings whose reserves and rules match how you live.