Letting a Buyer's Contractors In Before Closing: Access, Liens and Risk

Published October 9, 2026 · Recalde & Friedman, PLLC

The request

Buyers often want to get started early. They want to measure for cabinets, get flooring quotes, or even begin work so the home is ready on move-in day. Sellers want to be accommodating. But work by the buyer's contractors before closing can cause real problems for both sides.

What the contract allows

The Florida Realtors/Florida Bar AS IS contract gives the buyer access for specific purposes:

• Inspections during the inspection period (12(a)), with the buyer responsible for paying inspectors and repairing any damage the inspections cause.
• Appraisals, inspections and a walk-through, with the seller providing utilities and access on reasonable notice (Standard L).
• The walk-through itself, the day before closing or on the closing date, to confirm personal property is there and the seller maintained the property (12(b)).

Nothing in those provisions authorizes construction, demolition or installation by the buyer before closing. If the buyer is to take occupancy before closing, the contract points to a separate rider (Rider T, Pre-Closing Occupancy). Under Paragraph 6(a), a buyer who takes occupancy early assumes the risk of loss from that date, becomes responsible for maintenance, and is treated as accepting the property in its existing condition.

The construction lien problem

Under Florida's Construction Lien Law, a lien extends only to the right, title and interest of the person who contracted for the improvement, as it exists when the improvement begins or is later acquired (§ 713.10, Fla. Stat.(1)). Two consequences follow:

• A contractor hired by the buyer generally looks to the buyer's interest, including the title the buyer acquires at closing. Unpaid early work can follow the buyer onto the new title.
• If the deal falls apart, the seller is left with work it didn't order, possibly an open permit, and a contractor who may argue the seller consented.

For condominium units, labor or materials furnished to a unit can't be the basis for a lien against the unit of an owner who didn't expressly consent to or request it (§ 718.121, Fla. Stat.(2)). That's protection for the seller, but a signed access letter that looks like consent can undercut it.

The closing affidavit problem

At closing, the seller signs an affidavit that there have been no improvements or repairs in the 90 days before the closing date. If there have, the seller must deliver lien releases or waivers from everyone who did the work (Standard E, Liens). Title insurers rely on that affidavit to delete the construction lien exception from the policy (§ 627.7842, Fla. Stat.(1)(c)). Buyer work before closing makes the seller's affidavit harder to sign truthfully, and can leave a construction lien exception in the buyer's own policy.

Insurance and risk of loss

Until closing, the seller generally bears the risk of casualty under Standard M, Risk of Loss. A buyer's contractor who floods a bathroom or starts a fire creates a claim the seller's insurer may dispute, and a dispute between the parties right before closing.

Safer ways to get a head start

• Measurements and quotes only. Schedule visits through the listing agent with the seller's permission, attended, and with no work performed.
• Plans and permits after closing. Architects and contractors can prepare drawings before closing. Permit applications normally need the owner's signature, so file after the deed records.
• Written access agreement. If the seller agrees to more than measurements, sign a short agreement covering scope, insurance, indemnity, no-lien terms, and what happens if the deal doesn't close.
• Condos: check association rules for contractor registration, insurance certificates, and work hours.

Verify any contractor's license through the DBPR license search. For permit portals by city, see our city guides.

Hypothetical

A buyer asks to have a flooring installer start the week before closing so the home is ready on move-in day. The seller agrees by text. The installer removes the old floors, and then the buyer's loan is delayed. The seller now has a house with no floors, an unpaid installer asking who will pay, and an affidavit to sign at closing stating there have been no improvements in the last 90 days. Each of those problems is avoidable by limiting pre-closing visits to measurements and quotes, or by signing a written access agreement that addresses payment, insurance and what happens if the deal doesn't close.

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