"All time periods affected by the Force Majeure event, including Closing Date, will be extended a reasonable time up to 7 days after the Force Majeure event no longer prevents performance under this Contract." That sentence comes from Standard G of the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar AS IS Residential Contract. This weekend, every pending sale in Sandestin depends on it.
The phrase that matters is "no longer prevents performance." Hurricane Isaias made landfall in Destin at 8:33 p.m. CDT on Friday, October 9, as a Category 2, according to WJHG. The storm has moved on. The things that hold up a closing have not all cleared at the same time, though. In Sandestin, insurance reopened first. Physical access to the property is lagging behind. That gap is where a pending contract sits right now.
Three clocks, three timestamps
Each of these is a separate obstacle to closing, and each has its own published status. Here is where they stood as of Saturday, October 10.
| What a closing needs | Status | Source and timestamp |
|---|---|---|
| New wind and homeowners coverage from Citizens | Binding resumed | Citizens notice, 5 a.m. ET, Oct. 10 |
| Legal re-entry to South Walton | Evacuation orders for Zones A, B and C still in effect | Walton County FAQ, revised 8:00 a.m., Oct. 10 |
| Contractor access inside Sandestin | Not permitted Friday or Saturday; regular hours resume Monday, Oct. 12 | Sandestin Owners Association notice, Oct. 8 |
These three lines decide how each contract proceeds, and they are moving at different speeds.
The insurance clock already reset
Most people expect the insurance problem to drag on the longest. For the state's insurer of last resort, it was the first to clear. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation suspended binding statewide at 11:05 a.m. ET on October 7. During a suspension, agents cannot bind new policies or coverage increases while a National Weather Service tropical storm or hurricane watch or warning is in effect anywhere in Florida. Citizens lifted that suspension at 5 a.m. ET on October 10 and said regular operations had resumed.
Private carriers set their own rules. WINK News reported that some insurers pause binding statewide while others limit it to counties expecting impacts. Florida Peninsula's homepage showed a "Policy Binding Suspension due to Hurricane Isaias" notice, but the notice gave no start date and no geographic scope. A buyer whose policy is with a private carrier may still be on that carrier's own schedule, even though Citizens has reopened.
This matters for the contract because paragraph 5(b) of both Florida Realtors/Florida Bar forms points to Standard G whenever a Force Majeure event makes services essential to closing unavailable. The list of those services specifically includes issuing hazard, wind, flood or homeowners insurance. If a buyer's coverage can now be bound, that obstacle is gone. Under Standard G, affected deadlines extend for as long as the event prevents performance, and then for a reasonable time of up to 7 days after it no longer does.
The access clock is still running
The county's evacuation order is what's left. Walton County's Hurricane Isaias FAQ, revised at 8:00 a.m. Saturday, says the mandatory evacuation orders for Zones A, B and C remain in effect. Officials will announce when it is safe to return. The Sandestin Owners Association's October 8 notice confirms that those zones include the Sandestin community.
Even after re-entry opens, Sandestin has its own rules. The SOA notice says construction access and work were not permitted Friday or Saturday, and regular access hours resume Monday, October 12. The SOA administration office was also set to reopen that Monday at 8 a.m., weather permitting. One more line in the notice matters for anyone with a property under contract:
SOA staff is not able to provide property checks during or after the storm. For specific information regarding any impact to your home or neighborhood, please contact your Association Manager.
Sandestin is made up of many separate neighborhood and condominium associations under one owners association, so there is no single office checking every unit. The first damage report on a particular condo will come from that building's association manager, the seller's own contacts, or a walk-through. Standard L of the contract requires the seller, with reasonable notice, to provide utilities and access for inspections, "including a walk-through (or follow-up walk-through if necessary) prior to Closing." The buyer can't do that walk-through until someone can legally get through the gate.
Sandestin's own operations table, last updated Friday, October 9, listed beach and pool services, the Beach Club, the golf courses, the tram, tennis, the Baytowne Carousel and the Baytowne Marina Office as closed through Saturday, October 10. The table had the Fitness Center reopening Sunday, October 11, pending weather. As of that update, the resort had not posted a resort-wide reopening time.
When the delay outlasts the extension
Standard G has a limit. If the Force Majeure event keeps preventing performance more than 30 days past the closing date, either party can end the contract by written notice, and the buyer's deposit is refunded. The clause counts the event as starting on the first day it prevents performance or blocks access to services, insurance or approvals needed to close. For many Sandestin contracts, that start date falls around October 7, when Citizens stopped binding.
How each obstacle plays out is a question for the contract, the parties and their attorneys. The structure of the clause is simple, though. The extension lasts as long as the event keeps blocking the closing, plus a reasonable period of up to 7 days after that. Today in Sandestin, what is still blocking the closing is access, and access is what lets anyone measure the damage.
The 1.5% line, worked through
Once someone gets inside, Standard M takes over. It covers damage from "fire or other casualty" between the effective date and closing. In the standard and AS IS forms, the dividing line is 1.5% of the purchase price, and restoration costs include pruning or removing damaged trees.
Here is how the math works on a hypothetical $600,000 Sandestin condo. The price is for illustration only and is not a market figure.
- The threshold. 1.5% of $600,000 is $9,000.
- Damage at or under $9,000, repairs finished. Restoration is the seller's obligation, and closing proceeds under the contract.
- Damage at or under $9,000, repairs unfinished at closing. 125% of the estimated remaining cost goes into escrow at closing, capped at 1.5% of the price. A $6,000 estimate means $7,500 in escrow. An $8,000 estimate works out to $10,000, so the cap holds the escrow at $9,000. If actual costs run higher than the escrow, the seller pays the difference up to the same $9,000 cap. Any unused escrow goes back to the seller.
- Damage over $9,000. The buyer chooses either to take the property "as is" along with the 1.5%, or to get the deposit back, which releases both parties.
- Trees. For tree damage, the seller's only obligation is the cost of pruning or removal.
The estimate decides which of those paths applies, and there can't be an estimate until a contractor gets inside. That goes back to the SOA's Monday reopening for construction access and the county's re-entry announcement, which has not come yet. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation is encouraging licensed contractors offering post-storm work to register with the Florida Disaster Contractors Network.
Where a condo's damage splits
Many Sandestin properties are condominiums, and that affects who carries which repairs. Under Florida Statute 718.111, the association has to keep adequate property insurance. That policy leaves out specific items inside units, including personal property, floor, wall and ceiling coverings, fixtures, appliances, cabinets and window treatments. Those items are the unit owner's responsibility.
For a condo under contract, then, a damage report has two parts. Damage to the building and common elements goes through the association's policy and the association manager. Damage inside the unit, such as flooring, cabinets or drywall finishes, sits with the unit owner's coverage.
Florida law also links the two through assessments. Under Florida Statute 627.714, a unit owner's residential property policy has to include at least $2,000 of loss-assessment coverage for qualifying losses. That policy pays excess over amounts recoverable under other policies covering the same property. A buyer who is binding a new unit-owner policy this week, now that Citizens has reopened, is buying coverage designed around that split.
A few common questions
Does Citizens reopening mean my insurer has reopened? No. Citizens said its suspension was lifted at 5 a.m. ET on October 10. Private carriers decide their own binding restrictions, some statewide and some by county.
Is the beach open? WJHG's October 10 Walton County update reported that South Walton Fire District crews were assessing the 26-mile beach. Double-red flags close the water, hazardous surf and rip currents may last for days, and storm debris may be present. The report gave no date for the beaches to reopen.
Is the Baytowne Wharf Beer Festival still on? The festival's official site still listed October 16 and 17, 2026, as of our research. We found no announcement either canceling or confirming it after the storm.
Where do county updates come from? Walton County posts its Hurricane Isaias FAQ on the county website. The SOA directs owners to the Walton County Emergency Management Facebook page for further updates.
If you have a Sandestin sale pending and need a local team on the ground to coordinate the walk-through, association manager contacts and vendor referrals once the gates reopen, call Resort Real Estate Group. Our office sits right next to the Sandestin Owners Association, and we're ready to help you close.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
