Estoppel letters
The estoppel letter answers one question. It's not the one that costs you money later.
Every Florida condo sale produces an estoppel letter, and most buyers never see another condo document besides it. The letter is real and required — it's just answering a narrower question than most buyers think.
What an estoppel letter actually is
It's a certificate the association issues during a sale, mainly for the title company: the regular assessment, the paid-through date, anything unpaid, transfer fees, and any special assessment already approved. State law caps the fee and requires a response within about 10 business days. Its job is to make sure the right amount gets settled at closing — nothing more.
What it doesn't tell you
The estoppel is a snapshot of what's owed right now. It isn't built to show whether the association's reserves are underfunded, whether a SIRS found components near the end of their life, or whether a second assessment is likely in the next few years even though none has been approved yet. That's in the reserve study, the SIRS, and recent board financials — documents most buyers get but never read past the summary page.
Don't confuse it with the lender questionnaire either
A third document, the lender or mortgagee questionnaire, is a separate form the association fills out for the buyer's lender, mostly used to clear the building for financing. It's not a buyer disclosure document and it doesn't replace the reserve study either.
What's worth checking alongside it
If you already have the estoppel letter, you're most of the way through the paperwork stack — the reserve study, SIRS, budget, or recent financials are usually in the same packet from the seller or association. Send what you have. We'll check free whether there's enough there to calculate your unit's likely five-year cash exposure, not just what's owed today. If there is, the full report is $49.
Already looking at a specific number? What triggers a special assessment → Have the SIRS itself? What's actually in it →