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A: There is no general right of rescission or cooling-off period for Florida real estate sales. That makes it important to be sure you want to purchase property before signing a contract, and that you fully understand all terms of the contract you do sign.

Florida's Legislature has been most concerned with purchasers of residential condominium units. The Florida Statutes provide, among other protections, a right of rescission for a buyer of a residential condominium from a developer.

This right of rescission may be exercised anytime within 15 days after the date the buyer signs the contract and receives various disclosure documents that are required to be provided. If the documents are not given to the buyer by the time the contract is signed, the 15-day deadline is extended until the buyer receives the last of the required documents. These documents include the declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation and bylaws for the association, estimated operating budget and a list of other documents, all of which must be provided by the developer pursuant to Section 718.503 of the Florida Statutes.

The right of rescission terminates with closing.

The right of rescission for buyers from developers first appeared in the Florida Statutes in the mid-1970s. Almost 20 years later, the Legislature extended a right of rescission to resale purchasers of residential condominiums. However, the rescission right is much more limited for resale buyers.

A resale buyer has three business days after signing a contract and receiving specified documents within which to terminate the transaction and receive a refund of deposit. Not only is the time frame shorter for rescission in a resale, but the seller does not have to provide as many documents to the buyer. Those documents are limited to the declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation and bylaws for the association, rules of the association and most recent year-end financial information.

Developers are very careful to provide all of the documents required by statute. Their attorneys usually draft their documents, which are included in the prospectus and provided to the developer's sales team for distribution at the time of contract.

Resale sellers are not so lucky. Resale sellers often rely on title companies to obtain a set of condominium documents from the public records and provide those documents to the buyer. This often omits some of the documents required, and actually gives the buyer a right of rescission up until closing.

By statute, the declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation and bylaws must be placed of record in the county where the condominium is located. Rules and regulations need not be recorded, unless they are part of the declaration, articles of incorporation or bylaws. Financial information is generally private, and it would be highly unusual for such information to be recorded in the public records.

The documents provided by the title companies usually do not include documents that are not in the public records. This makes it important that the seller and any Realtor involved in the transaction be sure that all of the required documents are provided to the buyer, and not merely those extracted from the public records. Otherwise, the buyer has an option to terminate the transaction at any time.

The Florida Statutes require disclosures in other limited situations. If the property being sold is in a community, a disclosure summary must be provided. The summary informs the buyer of the existence of restrictive covenants, obligation to pay assessments or other expenses, and the manner in which restrictive covenants can be amended. If the disclosure is not provided to a buyer before the buyer signs the contract, the contract is voidable by the buyer at any time within three days after the buyer receives the disclosure summary. Just as in the condominium purchase, the right to terminate ends with closing.

If the property is within a community development district (a special taxing district), another statute requires disclosure of the fact that the community development district may impose taxes or assessments. However, the statute mandating this disclosure does not include a penalty for failure to disclose.

It is arguable that failure to include this language in the contract for property within a community development district makes the contract violative of Florida law, illegal, and therefore unenforceable. It is also arguable that absence of a statutory penalty for failing to include the language indicates that there should be no penalty. I am unaware of any reported decisions as to a buyer's right to rescind where this language is absent, so, for now, the existence of such right is uncertain.

There are other disclosure and rescission rights under Florida law that can even include requirements of local ordinances. Disclosure requirements and rights of rescission can vary from one location to another. For these reasons, you should not only be sure of your decision to enter a contract, but also seek competent legal counsel with respect to your specific situation.

William G. Morris is an attorney with offices at 247 N. Collier Blvd. on Marco Island. The information in this column is not intended as legal advice and, of necessity, is generalized. For questions about specific circumstances, the reader should consult a qualified attorney. Questions for this column can be sent by e-mail to wgmorrislaw@earthlink.net , or by fax to (239) 642-0722.