Miami, explained.
The version that also tells you about flood zones, insurance, taxes and which neighborhood actually fits your life. Written by a Miami broker, not a brochure.
Brickell vs Coconut Grove vs Coral Gables
Brickell vs Coconut Grove vs Coral Gables compared honestly: housing type, what owning costs each month, commute, flood map, schools, and who each fits.
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Buying Waterfront Property in Miami
Buying waterfront property in Miami: VE and AE flood zones, the elevation certificate that sets your premium, seawall condition, and dock and boat-lift rules.
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How to Become a Real Estate Agent in Florida
How to become a real estate agent in Florida in 2026: the DBPR requirements, the 63-hour course, the 100-question exam, fingerprints, and what it really costs.
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Buying a Foreclosure or Short Sale in Miami
Buying a foreclosure or short sale in Miami-Dade: how Florida's judicial foreclosure works, the clerk's auction, the right of redemption, and the risks of each.
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Miami Flood Zone Map
Miami flood zone map explained: how to check any Miami-Dade address on FEMA's map, what AE, X, VE, AH and AO mean, and what each one does to your insurance.
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Moving to Miami
Moving to Miami in 2026: what it really costs to live here, how to pick a neighborhood, property taxes, insurance, and how buying actually works.
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How Much Do Real Estate Agents Make in Florida?
How much real estate agents make in Florida, from BLS OEWS May 2025 data: median $49,310, mean $73,600, 90th percentile $153,200 statewide;
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Real Estate Broker vs Real Estate Agent
Real estate broker vs real estate agent in Florida: what each license lets you do, who holds the money, how a brokerage is organized, and which one to hire.
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Buying a Condo in Miami After Surfside
Milestone inspections, SIRS reserve studies, Miami-Dade recertification and the 7-day review right: what changed after Surfside and what to demand.
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ITIN Loans in Florida
How to buy a home in Florida without a Social Security number: ITIN mortgages, cash, DSCR loans, documents, homestead rules and FIRPTA when you sell.
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Down Payment Assistance in Florida and
Florida Hometown Heroes, Miami-Dade County and MDEAT programs, SHIP and FHA 3.5% down: published limits, stacking rules and how to apply.
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FHA vs Conventional Loan in Florida
FHA or conventional in Miami-Dade: down payment, MIP vs PMI, the FHA condo list, 2026 loan limits, appraisal rules and how sellers read each offer.
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First-Time Home Buyer Programs in Florida and
Step by step for first-time buyers in Miami-Dade: the real payment, pre-approval, the buyer agreement, the AS IS contract, inspection and closing.
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Flood, Windstorm and Roof Insurance in Miami
Flood, windstorm and roof age decide what a Miami home really costs to insure. The rules, the inspections and how to get quotes before you offer.
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The Florida As-Is Contract
The Florida AS IS contract explained: inspection period, deposits and escrow, financing and appraisal, title, walk-through, and how buyers lose deposits.
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Who Pays Closing Costs in Florida? What buyers
Every line on a Florida closing statement: doc stamps, intangible tax, promulgated title rates, recording, prepaids and who pays what in Miami-Dade.
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HOA vs Condo Association in Florida
Chapter 720 HOAs vs Chapter 718 condos: what you own, dues and assessments, estoppel certificates, cancellation rights, rental rules and red flags.
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Florida Homestead Exemption
Florida's homestead exemption, Save Our Homes 3% cap and portability for Miami-Dade buyers: the March 1 deadline, how to file and your real first bill.
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How Are Real Estate Agents Paid Now? Buyer
Florida's post-August 2024 rules: the buyer agreement before touring, what it must disclose, seller concessions, the Florida Realtors forms, what to ask.
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Mortgage Pre-Approval in Miami
Pre-qualification, pre-approval and underwritten approval for Miami buyers: documents, DTI with HOA dues, rate locks, how many lenders, and what to avoid.
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Moving to Miami from Puerto Rico, Colombia,
Relocating to Miami by origin, paperwork first: license and car deadlines, ITIN vs SSN, foreign-national loans, FIRPTA, parole status, school enrollment.
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Pricing and Staging a Home in West Miami
How to price and present a house in Doral, Hialeah, Miami Lakes, Kendall or Westchester: real comparables, what buyers check first, and when to cut.
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How to Sell a House in Florida
The Miami-Dade seller's timeline: pricing, insurance inspections, open permits, disclosures, estoppel and condo rights, repairs, FIRPTA and closing costs.
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Talk to ClearPathWhich guide should you read first?
It depends on which side of the table you are on and how far along you are. The order below is the one that saves the most money, because each row front-loads the thing that most often blows up a Miami deal late: the monthly payment nobody modeled, the flood zone nobody pulled, the association document nobody read, the permit that was never closed.
| If you are… | Start here | Then read |
|---|---|---|
| Buying your first home | Mortgage pre-approval in Miami | First-time buyer programs, then closing costs |
| Buying a condo | Condo milestone inspections and reserves | HOA and condo documents, then buyer representation |
| Buying a single-family house | Flood insurance and flood zones | Roof age and insurance, then the AS IS contract |
| Relocating from out of state | Moving to Miami | Property taxes and homestead, then neighborhoods |
| Selling | Selling your home in Miami-Dade | Seller closing costs, then pricing and preparation |
| Buying on the water | Buying waterfront property in Miami | Flood insurance, then seawall and dock permits |
| Looking at a distressed listing | Foreclosures and short sales in Miami | The AS IS contract and the inspection period |
| Investing | Reading a Florida investment deal | Rentals in Miami-Dade, then property taxes |
Each guide carries its own Updated line and links its sources.
Where the numbers in these guides come from
Every figure on this site traces to a primary source — a statute, a county page, a state agency or the monthly county statistics release — and each guide links the specific one it used. Nothing is an in-house estimate dressed up as a published statistic, and where no published number exists for a neighborhood, the guide says so instead of inventing one.
Primary sources used across the guides
- FEMA — flood zone definitions
- Miami-Dade County — flood zone maps
- Miami-Dade County — building recertification
- Florida Statutes §553.899 — milestone inspections
- Florida Statutes §475.278 — duties a broker owes you
- Miami-Dade Property Appraiser — homestead exemption
- MIAMI Association of Realtors — monthly county statistics
- Florida Department of Revenue — documentary stamp tax
Updated September 2026
Questions readers ask about the guides
What should I read before I start looking at houses in Miami?
Two things, in this order: the pre-approval guide, so you know the real monthly number with taxes, insurance and association dues in it, and the flood insurance guide, because in Miami-Dade the flood zone can move a monthly payment by hundreds of dollars on two otherwise identical houses. After those, read the neighborhood page for wherever you are considering.
Are these guides specific to Miami-Dade?
Yes. Florida law applies statewide, but the milestone inspection deadlines, the flood maps, the homestead filing and the association reserve rules all bite differently here, and the numbers in each guide come from Miami-Dade sources wherever a county-level figure exists.
How current are the guides?
Each guide carries its own Updated line, set from the date the file was last changed. Statutes and county rules are re-checked against the primary source when anything material changes — the 2024 buyer-agreement rules, the 2025 milestone inspection deadlines and the current homestead limits are all reflected.
Do I need an attorney as well as an agent in Florida?
Florida does not require one for a standard residential closing; a title company can close it. An attorney is worth the fee when there is a trust, an estate, a foreign seller under FIRPTA withholding, a short sale, a title defect, or an unpermitted addition — all of which are common enough in Miami-Dade to be worth asking about early.
Tell us what you are looking for.
Neighborhood, budget, timeline. A licensed broker replies within the day, in English or Español.
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