What a Florida FSBO contract is for
Selling your own home saves a commission, but it moves the paperwork onto you. The purchase agreement decides the price, the deposit, how long the buyer has to inspect and arrange a loan, who pays which closing cost, what happens if a storm damages the house before closing, and who keeps the deposit if the deal falls apart. Florida law also requires specific statements to be in or with that contract before the buyer signs, and some of them carry their own remedies: leave out the homeowners' association summary, for example, and the buyer can walk away up to closing.
This template is written for owners selling a single-family home, townhouse or other non-condominium property, including homes in a homeowners' association, without a broker on either side. It quotes the radon gas notice, the property tax disclosure summary, the flood disclosure form and the HOA disclosure summary in the words the statutes set out, and it includes a seller's property disclosure, the federal lead-based paint form and a closing timeline worksheet, so buyer and seller are working from the same dates.
When to use it
Use it once you and a buyer have agreed on the main terms and want them in writing, whether the buyer is paying cash or borrowing. It works equally for a buyer who found you through a yard sign or an online listing and for a sale to a friend, relative or tenant.
Do not use it for a condominium unit, which needs the section 718.503 documents and resale clause, for new construction sold by a developer, for vacant land, or for a short sale or foreclosure, where lender approval changes almost every clause. If a broker represents the buyer, they will usually ask to use their own form and a commission agreement.
What's inside
The full list of sections and fields in this template, in the order they appear.
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Parties
- Seller names and contact
- Buyer names as title will be taken
-
Property
- Address
- County
- Parcel ID
- Legal description
- Year built
- Association
- Included fixtures
- Personal property
- Exclusions
-
Purchase price and payment
- Initial deposit
- Additional deposit
- Financing amount
- Balance at closing
- Effective Date definition
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Escrow
- Escrow Agent
- Deposit handling
- Disputed deposits
-
Financing
- Cash with proof of funds
- or loan type and amount
- Loan Approval Period
- Appraisal option
-
Closing
- Closing date
- Closing agent
- Deed type
- Closing documents
- Closing cost allocation table
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Title and survey
- Title commitment
- Permitted exceptions
- Objection and cure periods
- Survey
-
Inspections
- Inspection Period
- Inspection types
- Sole discretion or repair limit
- Access and utilities
- Optional insurance contingency
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Property condition and Seller's disclosure
- Delivery condition
- Seller's statement of known defects
-
Permits
- Open and expired permits
- Closing or credit
- Remedy if not closed
-
Homeowners' association
- Association status
- Disclosure summary incorporation
- Statutory 3-day voidability clause
- Association approval
- Special assessments
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Prorations
- Taxes
- Assessments
- Rents
- Reproration
-
Possession
- Keys and access devices
- Walk-through
- Leases and tenant deposits
-
Risk of loss
- Repair threshold
- Insurance proceeds
- Cancellation
-
Default
- Buyer default and liquidated damages
- Seller default remedies
-
Disputes, brokers and general terms
- Mediation
- Attorney's fees
- No-broker statement
- Time computation
- Notices
- Assignment
- Electronic signatures
- Offer expiry
- Attachments
-
Required Florida disclosures
- Radon gas
- Property tax disclosure summary
- Flood disclosure
- Energy-efficiency rating
- Coastal construction control line
- Lead-based paint
- HOA summary
- Foreign principal affidavit
- FIRPTA
- Wire fraud warning
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Signatures and escrow receipt
- Buyers
- Sellers
- Escrow Agent's receipt
-
Seller's Property Disclosure
- Roof
- Water intrusion
- Mold
- Termites
- Sinkholes
- Plumbing and septic
- Systems
- Permits
- Defective materials
- Boundaries
- Assessments
- Code liens
- Insurance claims
- CDD
- Other conditions
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Lead-Based Paint Disclosure
- Sales lead warning statement
- Seller's disclosure
- Records
- Purchaser's acknowledgment
- 10-day inspection opportunity or waiver
- Certification
-
Homeowners' Association Disclosure Summary
- Nine statutory statements
- Current assessment amounts
- Purchaser signatures
-
Closing Timeline Worksheet
- Every contract deadline with its calendar date
Preview pages
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Page 1 -
Page 2 -
Page 3
How to fill in the contract
- Choose the escrow agent first. Contact a Florida title company or real estate attorney you have verified independently and confirm they will hold the deposit and close the sale.
- Identify the parties and the property. Use the names exactly as they appear on the deed and as the buyer will take title. Copy the parcel ID and legal description from the county property appraiser's site or the seller's deed.
- Complete the price table. Enter the deposits, any loan amount and the balance due at closing, and check that they add up to the total price.
- Set the contingencies. Pick cash or financing, decide whether the buyer may cancel on a low appraisal, and set the Inspection Period and the buyer's right to cancel during it.
- Tick the closing cost table. Agree who pays each item, following local custom where you have no strong preference.
- Deal with permits and the HOA. List any open permits in the seller's disclosure and decide who closes them. If the home is in a mandatory association, attach the completed disclosure summary and keep the 3-day clause in capitals.
- Complete the disclosures before the buyer signs. The seller ticks each item of the flood form and signs it, completes the Seller's Property Disclosure, and, for a home built before 1978, the lead-based paint pages, with the EPA pamphlet.
- Fill in the Closing Timeline Worksheet. As soon as the last party signs, write the calendar date of every deadline and send a copy to the escrow agent.
- Sign and deliver. The buyer signs the offer, the seller signs to accept before it expires, and the escrow agent signs the receipt when the deposit arrives.
Example: a completed contract excerpt
A fictional seller, Renata Osei, sells a 1998 three-bedroom house in a Tampa subdivision with a mandatory HOA to Callum and Joy Brennan:
Total purchase price: $412,000. Initial deposit: $10,000 within 3 days after the Effective Date. New mortgage financing: $329,600 (conventional). Balance due at closing: $72,400. Inspection Period: 15 days after the Effective Date, sole discretion. Homeowners' association: Westchase Meadows HOA. Disclosure Summary attached; current assessment $485 per quarter. Flood disclosure: (1) Seller has no knowledge of any flooding that has damaged the property during Seller's ownership. (2) has not filed a claim. (3) has not received assistance.
The buyers signed on Friday, March 6, 2026, and the seller accepted on Saturday, March 7, which made March 7 the Effective Date. Because periods of five days or fewer skip weekends and holidays, the deposit was due by Wednesday, March 11. The 15-day Inspection Period ended on Sunday, March 22, so under Section 19 it moved to 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 23.
Florida rules to know
These are the Florida statutes and decisions this agreement is built around. Local custom and your title company's requirements add detail, and the agreement does not replace advice from a Florida real estate attorney.
- Radon gas (section 404.056(5)). The notice must appear on at least one document signed at or before the contract.
- Property tax disclosure summary (section 689.261). Must be presented at or before the contract; the buyer's taxes are reassessed after a sale.
- Flood disclosure (section 689.302). The seller must complete the statutory form at or before the time the contract is signed. The requirement began on October 1, 2024; the current wording applies to contracts signed on or after October 1, 2025.
- Homeowners' associations (section 720.401). The disclosure summary must be given before signing, and the contract must contain the 3-day voidability clause in conspicuous type.
- Condominiums (section 718.503). Resales need their own document package and clause; use a condominium form.
- Energy-efficiency rating (section 553.996). Buyers must be told of the option for a rating at or before signing.
- Coastal construction control line (section 161.57). Property seaward of the line needs an affidavit or survey before closing unless the buyer waives it.
- Seller's duty to disclose. Johnson v. Davis requires sellers to disclose known facts that materially affect value and are not readily observable; section 689.25 excludes deaths and HIV status.
- Foreign principals (section 692.204(6)). Every buyer signs an affidavit at closing on the Florida Real Estate Commission's form.
- Documentary stamp tax (section 201.02). $0.70 per $100 on the deed in most counties.
Mistakes that derail FSBO sales
The costly mistakes in owner sales are usually about timing and missing paperwork. Sellers hand over the HOA summary after the buyer signs, which gives the buyer a free exit until closing. Deadlines are written as "15 days" without saying whether weekends count, and nobody writes the actual dates down. Open permits from a past renovation surface in the title company's municipal lien search a week before closing. The flood form is skipped because the house never flooded, even though the form is required either way. Wire instructions arrive by email from a spoofed address. Each part of this agreement, and the timeline worksheet at the end, is there to stop one of those problems before it costs the sale.
Frequently asked questions
Can you sell a house without a realtor in Florida?
Yes. Florida does not require a real estate broker or an attorney to sell your own home. You do need a written contract with the disclosures Florida law requires, and in practice a title company or real estate attorney to hold the deposit, search title, prepare the deed and conduct the closing.
What disclosures are required when selling a house in Florida?
The radon gas notice, the property tax disclosure summary and the statutory flood disclosure form (required since October 1, 2024, and revised on October 1, 2025) must be given at or before signing. Homes in a mandatory HOA need the section 720.401 disclosure summary, homes built before 1978 need the federal lead-based paint disclosure, and sellers must also disclose known latent defects that materially affect value under Johnson v. Davis.
What is the Florida flood disclosure for home sales?
Section 689.302 requires sellers of residential property to complete a set form at or before the contract is signed, stating whether flooding has damaged the property during their ownership, whether they filed a flood insurance claim, and whether they received federal or other flood assistance. The form also tells the buyer that homeowner's insurance does not cover flood damage.
What happens if the buyer did not get the HOA disclosure summary before signing?
The contract becomes voidable by the buyer. The buyer can cancel by written notice within 3 days after receiving the disclosure summary, or before closing, whichever comes first, and the right cannot be waived. The contract must say this in conspicuous type, which this template does.
Who pays closing costs in a Florida FSBO sale?
Everything is negotiable, but by custom the seller pays documentary stamp tax on the deed ($0.70 per $100 of the price in most counties) and, in many counties, the owner's title insurance policy; the buyer pays loan costs and recording. In Miami-Dade, Broward and some other counties the buyer customarily pays for the owner's title policy. The template has a cost table you tick line by line.
Does a buyer have to sign an affidavit about foreign ownership in Florida?
Yes. Since 2023, section 692.204(6) requires every buyer of real property in Florida to sign an affidavit at the time of purchase confirming they are not a prohibited person or entity under the law, on a form adopted by the Florida Real Estate Commission. Title companies collect it at closing.
