10-Day Inspection Period in Florida: AS IS vs Standard Contract

In a Florida residential purchase, the inspection period is the window after your contract’s Effective Date during which you can have the home evaluated and, depending on which contract form you signed, cancel or demand repairs. It runs 15 calendar days by default under the AS IS Residential Contract (ASIS-7) and 10 calendar days by default under the standard Florida Realtors/Florida Bar contract, unless you and the seller wrote in a different number.¹² Miss the deadline without delivering written cancellation, and you’re bound to the deal along with everything the inspection uncovered.

When the Clock Starts

The Effective Date isn’t the day you signed. It’s the date the last party signed or initialed the final version of the offer or counteroffer and that fully executed copy was delivered to the other side.¹ If you signed Monday and the seller signed and returned it Wednesday, Wednesday is the Effective Date. Counting begins Thursday.

Florida Realtors gives this example: both parties execute on Tuesday, April 1, with a 10-day inspection period. Counting starts April 2 and runs through April 11, weekends included.² Every time period in the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar contracts uses calendar days, not business days.³

One safety net exists. If the final day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or national legal holiday, the deadline rolls to the next day that isn’t one of those.³ Don’t plan around it. Schedule inspections early enough to review results and decide well before the deadline.

AS IS Contract vs Standard Contract

Which form you signed changes almost everything about how the inspection period works, so confirm it before you do anything else.

AS IS Residential Contract (ASIS-7)

The default is 15 days after the Effective Date if the blank is left empty. During that window, you can cancel for any reason at all. The contract language lets the buyer terminate “in Buyer’s sole discretion” if the property isn’t acceptable.¹ The tradeoff: the seller has no obligation to make repairs. You can walk, but you can’t compel fixes.

Standard Contract (FloridaBar-7 / CRSP-17)

The default is 10 days.² You have to hire a professional inspector and send the seller written notice of specific repair items within the period. In exchange, the seller carries repair obligations for structural components, major systems, and items like wood-destroying organism damage, up to negotiated cost limits. If those limits are left blank, each category defaults to 1.5% of the purchase price. Miss the written notice deadline and you waive the right to have anything fixed.

So the AS IS form trades repair leverage for broad freedom to cancel; the standard form gives you repair leverage but demands a stricter process.

What to Get Inspected

A general home inspection covers structure, roof, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical. In Florida it usually runs somewhere in the range of $350 to $550, depending on the home’s size and age. That’s the baseline, but Florida properties often call for more.

Specialized Inspections

Depending on the home, you may want separate evaluations for termites and other wood-destroying organisms, mold, radon, the septic system, or the pool and equipment. Each of these typically adds $125 to $250. The buyer pays. If the general inspector flags something outside their expertise, a specialist follow-up eats further into your timeline, which is why booking the general inspection in the first few days matters.

Four-Point and Wind Mitigation

Florida’s insurance market adds a layer that buyers in other states don’t face. Many insurers require a four-point inspection before writing a homeowners policy, especially on older homes. It looks at roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. Outdated wiring, polybutylene plumbing, or a roof near the end of its life can lead an insurer to refuse coverage or demand repairs first.⁴ Finding out the home is uninsurable after your inspection period has closed is a scenario you can prevent by ordering this early.

A wind mitigation inspection is separate. It examines features like roof-to-wall connections, roof covering, and secondary water resistance. Florida law requires insurers to offer premium discounts for hurricane-resistant features.⁵ Running this during the inspection period tells you what insurance will actually cost before you’re committed.

Pre-1978 Homes: A Separate Federal Window

If the home was built before 1978, federal law layers a 10-day period on top of your contract’s inspection period for a lead-based paint inspection or risk assessment.⁶ It runs independently, and the parties can agree in writing to shorten or lengthen it.⁷ You can waive it, though waiving on an older Florida home with original windows, trim, or siding is a gamble.

Your Three Options Before Time Runs Out

Move forward. Do nothing and the contract proceeds. Under an AS IS contract, you’re accepting the property’s physical condition, including any code violations, and taking on all future repairs.¹
Negotiate. Nothing in the AS IS contract stops you from asking. Buyers commonly request a price reduction or closing credit based on inspection findings. The seller can agree, counter, or refuse. If talks stall, you keep the right to cancel until the deadline hits.
Cancel. Deliver written notice to the seller before the inspection period expires. Do that and your earnest money is returned. You still owe your inspectors and are responsible for any damage the inspections caused to the property.¹

The operative word in the last option is “before.” A cancellation delivered the day after does not count. If you’re close to the wire, confirm the delivery method your contract permits and keep proof of when it went out.

What Missing the Deadline Costs

Once the period expires without a cancellation notice, the contract is binding no matter what the inspections turned up. Under the AS IS form, you’re deemed to have accepted the property’s physical condition, including any violations of building, environmental, or safety codes.¹ Refuse to close after that, and the seller can claim your earnest money deposit and, depending on the contract’s remedies provision, may have grounds to pursue a breach of contract claim.

The inspection period is a hard deadline. Good faith, a late specialist report, or an extra day of negotiations doesn’t move it.

A Realistic 15-Day Pace

Fifteen days sounds generous until it isn’t. A workable rhythm:

Days 1–3. Schedule and complete the general home inspection. In tight markets, line an inspector up before the contract is even executed.
Days 3–7. Book any specialized inspections the general inspector recommended, plus the four-point and wind mitigation if you haven’t yet. Request HOA or condominium documents and start reading.
Days 7–10. Read the reports. Decide what you want to negotiate. Send repair requests or credit proposals.
Days 10–14. Negotiate. Deals either come together here or fall apart.
Day 14 at the latest. Decide. If you’re canceling, deliver written notice with at least a day to spare, not in the final hours of Day 15.

If your contract runs shorter than 15 days, compress accordingly. A 10-day period leaves almost no slack for scheduling delays. A 7-day period means inspectors need to be booked before the ink dries.

1
Florida Realtors. AS IS Residential Contract For Sale And Purchase (ASIS-7)
2
Florida Realtors. Watching the Clock: New Time Rules, Updated Forms
3
Florida Realtors. Contracts – Section: Calculating Time Periods
4
Florida Department of Financial Services. Four-Point Inspection Guide
5
Florida Department of Financial Services. Premium Discounts for Hurricane Loss Mitigation
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 42 – 4852d
7
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards