Buying a Boca Raton-Area Condo: Which Building Records Should You Ask For?

HomesByKian · Published October 29, 2026

A condo purchase involves more than the condition of one unit. For an older Boca Raton-area building, three different record trails may be relevant: a Florida milestone inspection, the association’s structural integrity reserve study (SIRS), and local building recertification or milestone records.^[1][2][4] They answer different questions.^[1][2][4] None is a substitute for an address-specific inquiry or a qualified professional’s assessment.

First, find the building’s jurisdiction

A Boca Raton mailing address does not necessarily mean the property is within City of Boca Raton limits.^[5] Start with the City’s residency map, then confirm the actual building address and responsible building department.^[5] For a City building, ask about the City’s Building Recertification Inspection Program; for a building in unincorporated Palm Beach County, ask the County about its milestone-inspection program.^[4][6] The City and County describe different local processes, so do not use one agency’s records to infer the other’s status.^[4][6]

Ask the association and the applicable building department which requirements apply to this building, what notices or reports have been issued, and where the current file can be reviewed. The building’s ownership form, height, age, certificate-of-occupancy record, and local determination matter; this article does not assign it an inspection deadline.^[1][2][6]

Trail 1: The state milestone inspection

Florida Statutes §553.899 describes a structural inspection performed by a Florida-licensed architect or engineer.^[1] Its first phase is a visual examination that results in a report.^[1] A second phase is required if the inspector identifies substantial structural deterioration in phase one.^[1] The inspector provides a sealed report and a separate summary of material findings and recommendations to the association and the building official with jurisdiction.^[1]

For a building where a milestone inspection applies, request the inspector-prepared summary and ask the association for the full signed-and-sealed report, the phase and report date, recommendations for further inspection or repair, and any later reports or documented work. Ask the appropriate local official about the agency’s file and status. Do not interpret a summary—or silence in an online search—as a personal safety clearance. Technical findings belong with the inspecting architect or engineer or another appropriately qualified professional.^[1][3]

Trail 2: The SIRS and the current budget

Florida Statutes §718.112(2)(g) sets out a different task for covered residential condominium associations: a structural integrity reserve study based on visual inspection, with component-level estimates of remaining useful life and replacement or deferred-maintenance expense and a recommended reserve-funding plan or schedule.^[2] It addresses anticipated maintenance and funding; it is not the same document as a §553.899 milestone report.^[1][2]

Ask for the latest SIRS and its date/version, then compare its components and recommended funding schedule with the association’s annual budget and financial statement. Ask the association whether approved projects, repair scope, funding methods, assessments, loans, or a more recent study have changed the picture. An estimate in a study is not a contractor’s firm price, and a recommended schedule does not establish that today’s reserve balance will cover future work or predict a particular buyer’s dues or special assessment.^[2][3]

The trails can overlap without becoming interchangeable. Under §718.112(2)(g), a qualifying recent milestone inspection or similar local inspection may be used in place of the visual-inspection portion of a SIRS if the statutory conditions are met; that does not itself turn an inspection report into a completed reserve-funding study.^[2] Separately, §553.899 allows a local enforcement agency, under specified conditions, to accept a qualifying pre-July 2022 structural report as a milestone inspection.^[1] Have the association and responsible professionals identify what was actually accepted or used for this building.

Trail 3: The local recertification or enforcement file

Boca Raton has a City Building Recertification Inspection Program with structural and electrical report materials; Palm Beach County describes a milestone submission and status process for its unincorporated area.^[4][6] Ask the correct department whether the building has a recertification or milestone file, what reports and correspondence are available, and whether later submissions, permits, or responses exist. A City recertification entry is not, by itself, proof of compliance with the separate state milestone and SIRS provisions.^[1][2][4]

Use the resale disclosure path, then resolve gaps

For a nondeveloper condominium resale, §718.503(2) entitles a purchaser under contract to specified seller-provided documents, including the declaration, association articles, bylaws and rules, annual financial statement and budget, the inspector-prepared milestone summary if applicable, the most recent SIRS or a statement that the association has not completed one, a turnover inspection report for an inspection performed on or after July 1, 2023, and the statutory FAQ and governance materials.^[3] Developer transactions are addressed separately in §718.503(1).^[3] The statute also has distinct contract language for different disclosure categories; ask a Florida real-estate attorney to review the actual contract, delivery history, applicability statements, and any time-sensitive rights rather than borrowing a generic deadline from a blog.^[3]

Keep a one-page question sheet: document requested | date/version | what it says | missing or conflicting item | association response | professional or agency to resolve it. If a report is missing, the study and budget do not align, or a local status is unclear, leave that question open until the association, the appropriate building official, your attorney, or a qualified architect/engineer answers it. Use the review process in your actual contract with counsel; this educational guide is not legal, engineering, financial, tax, insurance, or lending advice, and it cannot certify building safety, reserve sufficiency, financing eligibility, or future assessments.^[1][2][3]