A deal does not usually fall apart at the offer. It falls apart in week three, over something nobody at the kitchen table was talking about on day one.
In Florida, that something is often insurance.
Here is the sequence I want every Central Florida seller to understand before they list, because once you see it, you can get in front of it.
The buyer's financing does not clear until the policy does
If your buyer is using a lender, that lender requires a bound homeowners policy before closing. Not a quote. A policy, in force on closing day.
Which means a carrier has to agree to insure your house. The buyer's credit, income and down payment have nothing to do with that decision. Underwriting is looking at the property.
So a contract can pass inspection, pass appraisal, clear the loan file, and still stall at the insurance step. The home appraised fine. No carrier would write it at a premium the buyer could absorb.
What underwriting is actually looking at
The specifics vary by carrier, by county and by the home itself. The list, though, is short and predictable.
The roof. Age, material, condition, and documentation. This is the most common sticking point in Florida, by a wide margin.
The four systems. On older homes, carriers typically ask for a four-point inspection covering roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC.
Wind mitigation. A wind mitigation inspection documents features like roof attachment, shutters and impact glass. It does not decide whether a home is insurable, but it can move the premium meaningfully, and premium is what decides affordability.
Older materials. Certain electrical panels, certain plumbing materials, and an aging water heater come up again and again.
The pool and the enclosure. Safety features and screen enclosures get underwritten on their own terms.
Notice what is not on that list. Nothing about you, and nothing about how beautifully the home shows.
Why it surfaces so late
Most buyers shop insurance after the inspection, sometimes after the appraisal. That is the normal order of operations, and it is exactly why this risk arrives at the worst possible moment. Weeks in. Buyer already committed. Your home already off the market.
At that point you have two poor options and one good one. The poor options are a last-minute credit negotiated under pressure, or a cancellation that puts you back on the market with days already spent. The good option is that you saw it coming in October and walked in with an answer.
What to handle before you list
This is a pre-listing exercise, not a contract exercise.
Know your roof's exact age and have the paper. Permit, final inspection, invoice, warranty. If you cannot find it, your county permit portal usually can.
Read your own policy honestly. What are you paying, with which carrier, and did anything at your last renewal hint at a problem coming?
Order a wind mitigation inspection now. It is inexpensive, it stays good for several years, and handing a buyer a current report removes a variable from their math.
If the home has some age on it, get the four-point done in advance. You would rather read that report yourself than read it inside a buyer's repair request.
Decide your position before an offer exists. Replace, credit, or price it in. Whichever you pick, pick it while you still have time and leverage, not on day twenty with a contract pending.
At the upper price points this matters more, not less. Replacement cost is larger, fewer carriers write the risk, and specialty underwriting takes longer. A home well above a million dollars with an older roof can be a harder insurance file than a starter home with the same roof on it.
One honest note. I am a REALTOR®, not an insurance agent. For what a specific carrier will do on your specific property, a licensed Florida insurance agent is the right call, and I am happy to point you to one. My job is making sure this is a conversation you have in advance instead of a surprise you absorb in week three.
Book a call with Corinne
If you are planning to sell in Central Florida in the next few months, let's spend twenty minutes on your property before anything goes live. I will tell you where the insurability questions are likely to land, what is worth handling first, and what I would leave alone. No pitch, just the read.
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