At The Links Estates, the advertised construction-payment schedule is only the beginning of deposit diligence. Buyers should examine Florida escrow rights, any written waiver, release triggers, surety-bond protection and the unexplained balance in the public schedule before committing capital.
The appeal of The Links Estates at Fisher Island is unusually specific: 12 custom single-family estates marketed as Fisher Island’s final new homesites. Located at 1005 Fisher Island Drive, the development has asking prices of approximately $25 million to $36.5 million and residences spanning roughly 13,000 to 26,000 square feet.
For buyers entering during construction, however, architecture is only one part of the acquisition. Deposit custody, release rights and refund conditions determine how much capital remains protected before the home is delivered. This is especially consequential on Fisher Island, where construction logistics can be complex and a single percentage point can represent a substantial sum.
The advertised construction-payment schedule calls for 10% at groundbreaking, 10% at top-off and 60% at a Q1 2028 closing. Those installments total 80%, not 100%. A purchaser should therefore require the complete payment schedule, including the timing and treatment of the remaining 20%, rather than infer its destination or due date.
The advertised payment schedule describes timing, but only the contract defines protection.
Because the offering is marketed as single-family housing rather than condominium units, Florida Statute §501.1375 is a central starting point for counsel’s review. It gives the buyer of a one- or two-family dwelling the right to place deposit funds of up to 10% of the purchase price in escrow. The sales contract must conspicuously notify the buyer of that right.
The right is meaningful, but it is not necessarily automatic throughout the transaction. A buyer may waive it in writing. Any waiver language should therefore be treated as an economic provision, not routine boilerplate. Counsel should determine whether a waiver applies to the entire initial deposit, only particular funds or a defined construction event.
For a $30 million purchase, the advertised 10% groundbreaking installment would equal $3 million. The 10% top-off installment would add another $3 million before the listed closing payment. The advertised schedule does not establish whether either amount remains in escrow, may be released against a bond or otherwise becomes available to the developer. The purchase agreement and escrow instructions must provide those answers.
An escrow clause should establish more than where the money is first deposited. It should identify the escrow agent, account structure, documents required for release, party authorized to certify satisfaction and buyer’s rights if a milestone is disputed.
Under §501.1375, the buyer must be notified when a contractor or developer seeks to use escrowed funds for construction. The statute prescribes a buyer-payable surety bond equal to the released funds, subject to its bond-availability provisions. Buyers should obtain and review the actual bond documentation rather than rely on a general contractual reference.
The review should test whether the bond amount always matches the funds released, who pays the premium, when coverage takes effect and which events permit a claim. It should also establish what happens if the required bond is unavailable. These details determine whether release merely changes the location of the buyer’s protection or materially reduces it.
This analysis belongs in the broader Pre-Construction plan. It is as relevant to a custom estate as design approvals or completion timing because deposit exposure can change at each milestone.
Fisher Island buyers may also compare the opportunity with condominium residences such as The Residences at Six Fisher Island, Palazzo del Sol or Palazzo della Luna. That comparison is useful for evaluating lifestyle and product, but it should not blur the legal structure.
Florida Condominium Act §718.202 separately requires payments of up to 10% on an incomplete condominium unit to be held in escrow by an escrow agent. Payments above 10% must enter a special escrow account. After construction begins, excess funds may be withdrawn only when authorized by the contract, and their use is limited to qualifying construction and development costs. A contract allowing that use must carry a conspicuous first-page warning.
Condominium law also requires distinct treatment of the first 10% and amounts above it, limiting commingling between deposit layers. Willful failures involving required escrow establishment, deposits or withdrawals can constitute a third-degree felony. Florida’s cooperative statute follows a comparable structure for the first 10% and excess deposits.
These regimes provide useful context, but they should not be assumed to govern The Links Estates. Florida counsel should confirm the ownership form, applicable statute and contract protections available for the specific estate purchase.
“Groundbreaking” and “top-off” may sound self-explanatory while remaining contractually imprecise. A disciplined agreement should define each event, specify the evidence establishing its occurrence and state whether the milestone concerns the buyer’s residence, shared infrastructure or a broader phase of development.
The buyer should also examine who issues the milestone certification and whether notice arrives before or after release. A meaningful review period matters when millions of dollars move based on a construction event. If the contract permits automatic release, counsel should assess whether the buyer receives sufficient documentation and time to challenge an error.
The same precision should govern extensions, outside completion dates, casualty, title issues and developer default. Deposit protection is incomplete unless the agreement specifies when funds are refundable, which deductions may apply and how disputes affect the escrow agent’s authority.
A sophisticated purchaser should assemble the purchase agreement, all addenda, the separate escrow agreement, escrow-agent details, proposed bond form and complete construction-payment schedule. Any conflict among marketing materials, the contract and escrow instructions should be resolved in signed writing.
For MILLION’s Buyer's Guides audience, the practical objective is clarity across four layers: the amount due, the account receiving it, the event permitting release and the remedy if delivery fails. This framework suits the scale of Estates & Single-Family acquisitions, where bespoke terms may carry more weight than standardized expectations.
Lifestyle considerations still matter. The island’s Golf setting and privacy may be central to the purchase rationale. Yet those attributes do not establish whether a deposit remains segregated during construction. Financial diligence should proceed with the same care as architectural and legal review.
Before execution, counsel should confirm whether the statutory first-10% escrow right is preserved or waived, define the treatment of the second 10% and verify whether every construction release is supported by an enforceable, correctly sized bond. The buyer should also reconcile the advertised 80% schedule with the full purchase price.
Other priorities include written notice before release, objective milestone evidence, clear refund events, outside dates and procedures for disputed instructions. None should be left to an informal understanding. At this price level, certainty is part of the asset.
This discussion is a planning framework, not a substitute for advice from Florida legal, tax and financial professionals familiar with the buyer’s circumstances and final transaction documents.
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Begin a quiet conversationPublic marketing lists 10% at groundbreaking, 10% at top-off and 60% at a Q1 2028 closing.
The listed installments total 80% of the purchase price, so the contract should explain the timing and treatment of the remaining 20%.
Each 10% installment would be $3 million, producing $6 million in advertised pre-closing payments.
Florida Statute §501.1375 gives buyers of one- or two-family dwellings the right to place deposits up to 10% of the purchase price in escrow.
Yes. The §501.1375 escrow right may be waived in writing, making the scope of any waiver a material contract issue.
The statute provides a process involving buyer notification and a buyer-payable surety bond equal to released funds, subject to bond-availability provisions.
No. The purchase agreement and escrow instructions must establish whether funds remain in escrow, are bonded upon release or become otherwise available to the developer.
They should not be assumed to apply because The Links Estates is marketed as single-family housing. Florida counsel should confirm the ownership structure and governing statute.
The buyer should obtain the purchase agreement, escrow agreement, escrow-agent details, complete payment schedule and applicable bond documents.
Focus on milestone definitions, required evidence, notice timing, bond coverage, refund events, outside dates and procedures for disputed instructions.
