Condo Inspections in Northeast Florida

Typically $300 to $675 in Northeast Florida, mostly driven by square footage. Small one-bedroom units sit at the low end; large multi-bedroom units in older buildings sit at the high end. Call 904-806-7679 with the unit size and building age for a firm number.

Usually one and a half to two and a half hours. Less exterior and no attic or crawl space means less ground to cover than a single-family home, but the interior systems get the same scrutiny and the balcony and envelope check adds time in older coastal buildings.

It is not a substitute for the association's structural or milestone inspection, and it does not evaluate the building's reserves, elevators, fire suppression system, roof interior, or below-grade parking structure engineering. Those live in the association's documents and its own engineering reports — read both.

Yes. The association maintaining the roof does not mean the roof is in good shape, and a deteriorating building means special assessments you will pay. Separately, everything inside your unit — panel, plumbing, water heater, air handler, windows in many declarations — is entirely yours.

Sometimes. Unit owner HO-6 policies generally cover the interior and personal property, and the building's wind features are usually reflected in the association's master policy. Some carriers will apply opening-protection credits for impact-rated windows and doors on the unit. Ask your agent what your specific carrier accepts before ordering the form.

Water intrusion at slider and window frames, corroded balcony railing anchors and concrete spalling on balcony edges, failed or missing water heater pans and condensate overflow switches, corroded electrical panel enclosures and condenser coils from salt air, and unpermitted interior renovations by prior owners — especially load-bearing wall changes and rerouted plumbing.

The declaration of condominium answers this and it varies building to building, so read it rather than assuming. A common arrangement puts everything inward from the unfinished surfaces of the perimeter walls, floors, and ceilings on the owner, including interior plumbing fixtures, the unit electrical panel and branch circuits, the HVAC equipment serving only that unit, and interior finishes. Windows, sliding doors, and balconies are frequently limited common elements, meaning you have exclusive use but the association handles structural maintenance, or sometimes the reverse. Plumbing risers, the building envelope, the roof, and structural elements are almost always association property. The practical test to apply during your inspection: if a leak started in this component, who pays? Get that answered in writing for the water heater, the air handler, the windows, and the balcony surface before closing.

The declaration and bylaws, the current budget and reserve schedule, the last two years of board meeting minutes, the association's insurance declarations page, and the estoppel certificate. For buildings of three or more habitable stories, ask for the Structural Integrity Reserve Study, and for buildings that have reached the milestone inspection age threshold, ask for the milestone inspection report and any phase two follow-up. Board minutes are the most underrated document in the stack, because that is where a pending assessment, an insurance non-renewal, a litigation matter, or an engineer's unwelcome finding shows up months before it becomes official. A unit inspection cannot surface any of this. Budget review time for the documents the same way you budget time for the inspection, and involve your attorney if anything reads as unresolved.

Only to the extent it is visible and safely accessible from common areas, and that is usually limited. On a low-rise garden-style building with an accessible roof and the association's permission, meaningful observation is possible. On a mid-rise or high-rise it generally is not: roof access is controlled, structural elements are concealed, plumbing risers are inside chases, and mechanical rooms are locked. What can be documented is what is observable from walkways, balconies, garages, and the grounds, which on Florida coastal buildings is often quite telling. Spalling concrete with exposed corroding reinforcement, rust staining below balcony edges, failed sealant at railing embedments, and efflorescence all point to envelope and structural maintenance issues. For anything more than that, the association's engineering reports are the correct source, not an inspection.

It depends on what you are insuring. The association carries the master policy covering the building structure, and that policy drives the building-level inspection requirements, not your unit purchase. Your own HO-6 unit-owner policy covers interior finishes, personal property, liability, and often loss assessment coverage, and carriers vary on what they require for it. Some will ask for a 4-point, focused on the systems inside your boundary such as the unit panel, plumbing, and HVAC, and we can include one with your inspection. A wind mitigation form is generally a building-level document since the roof, roof-to-wall attachment, and opening protection are association-controlled, so a unit-level form is often not applicable or not useful. Ask your agent what they actually need before ordering anything, and ask the association for a copy of the master policy declarations.