Florida Real Estate Law
Voiding a Florida Real Estate Contract
In Princeton Homes v. Morgan, 35 Fla. L. Weekly D1293a (Fla. 4DCA 2010), the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal held that a Florida buyer of a town home could void or otherwise rescind a contract when the buyer was not provided a disclosure summary as required by Florida Statue 720.401. Florida Statute 720.401 requires that before a contract is signed, a developer or owner of residential property must provide a prospective purchaser with a disclosure summary when the property is subject to membership in a homeowners association. In this case, it was undisputed that the buyer was not provided with any such disclosure summary. However, at the time the contract was signed, the seller, Princeton Homes was merely the builder and not the owner or the developer of the property. The Fourth District ruled that it did not matter whether or not Princeton Homes was a developer or owner, rather the notice had to be provided to the buyer by whomever was the developer or owner and since that did not occur, the buyer could void the contract under Florida law.
