In force since 1 July 2026
An association that raised its deductible to hold premiums down may have repriced every owner’s resale market without telling them.
There is a number in your condominium’s master insurance policy that most owners have never read, and since 1 July 2026 it can determine whether a buyer with a mortgage is allowed to buy in your building.
A master property insurance policy carrying a deductible above $50,000 per unit now makes a project ineligible.
Why so many buildings walked into this
Coastal carriers have pushed deductibles hard. Faced with a premium increase that would have hit the monthly assessment, plenty of Florida associations did the arithmetic and accepted a higher deductible instead. It looked like the responsible choice. It held the budget flat.
What it did was move a financing threshold, quietly, for every owner in the building. Most boards that made that trade did not know they were making it.
What it does to a resale
Just under half of Miami-Dade condominium sales close in cash. The other half need a lender. A building that fails on the deductible does not become unsellable — it becomes cash-only, and roughly half of its buyer pool disappears.
In a market with 12.3 months of condominium supply, losing half your buyers is not a slow quarter. It is a repricing.
What to do about it
If you own: find the current per-unit deductible on the master policy and compare it to $50,000. If it is above, that is a board agenda item, not a filing-cabinet item. The renewal is your window.
If you are buying: ask for the declarations page of the master policy, not a summary. The deductible is on it. Ask before you are emotionally committed to the unit.
The wider point
This is a building-level question, not a unit-level one. The finish level of the apartment you are standing in has nothing to do with whether your buyer, three years from now, will be allowed to finance it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the $50,000 condo deductible rule?
Since 1 July 2026, a master property insurance policy with a deductible above $50,000 per unit makes a condominium project ineligible under the applicable lending guidelines.
What happens to a building that exceeds the deductible ceiling?
It does not become unsellable, but financed buyers are excluded, so the building effectively becomes cash-only and loses roughly half its buyer pool.
How do I find my building’s per-unit deductible?
Ask the association for the declarations page of the master property insurance policy. The per-unit deductible is stated on it.