Preparing Your Home to Sell in Jensen Beach, FL: Condo Records, Lagoon Docks, Sewer and Permits

Palm trees at the roundabout in downtown Jensen Beach, Florida, with a To Beaches sign and village buildings

The short answer: To prepare your home to sell in Jensen Beach, FL, first figure out which of three sales you have. A condo or co-op needs its milestone summary and reserve study in the buyer’s packet. A lagoon dock may sit in a state aquatic preserve. A mainland house needs its permit history and a clear septic or sewer answer.

By Jeremy Beckham, REALTOR®, SFR | Last updated: November 10, 2026

Jensen Beach covers more ground than most people think. One seller might own a 1960s block house a few streets off the downtown roundabout. Another owns a condo across the causeway on Hutchinson Island, and the mailing address still says Jensen Beach. Those two sellers need completely different files, and the one that gets a buyer to the closing table fastest is the one that’s assembled before the photos go up.

For the general Florida prep list (roof age, the 4-point inspection, wind mitigation, staging and the state flood disclosure), start with my Stuart seller prep checklist. For HOA estoppels and the HOA disclosure summary, see my Tradition seller guide. This post covers what’s specific to Jensen Beach. Every rule and number below comes from a state, county or town source listed at the bottom.

Key takeaways

  • Most of Jensen Beach is unincorporated Martin County, so the County Building Department holds your permit history. The Town of Ocean Breeze, inside the Jensen Beach area, runs its own permit office.
  • A condo seller in Florida must give the buyer the milestone inspection summary (if one applies) and the most recent structural integrity reserve study, or a statement that the study hasn’t been done. The contract needs matching language.
  • Co-op sellers have their own list under Chapter 719. It overlaps with the condo list but isn’t the same.
  • Much of the Indian River Lagoon off Jensen Beach is the Jensen Beach to Jupiter Inlet Aquatic Preserve. Docks there follow state design limits, and a dock that falls more than 50 percent into disrepair has to be rebuilt to current rules.
  • Martin County is converting Jensen Beach neighborhoods from septic to sewer. Know whether your street is on septic, already connected, or carrying a sewer assessment on the tax bill.
  • Downtown Jensen Beach sits in a Community Redevelopment Area with its own form-based zoning, which matters to buyers who plan to add on or change the use.

Jensen Beach seller checklist at a glance

Your property Pull this before listing Where it comes from
Any mainland house in unincorporated Jensen Beach Permit history, open or unfinaled permits Martin County Building Department
House in the Town of Ocean Breeze Permit records and any open permits Town of Ocean Breeze, 1508 NE Jensen Beach Blvd
Condo, 3+ habitable stories Milestone inspection summary, structural integrity reserve study, budget, financials, governing documents Your condo association
Co-op or resort-lot community Articles, bylaws, rules, Q&A sheet, milestone summary and reserve study if they apply Your cooperative association
Lagoon-front home with a dock or seawall County dock permit, DEP authorization or exemption, any state consent of use Martin County and Florida DEP
Home on septic Septic records, sewer availability, any connection letter or assessment Martin County Utilities and the Department of Health in Martin County
Home inside the downtown CRA Zoning and land use from the County property lookup Martin County Growth Management

Is Jensen Beach a city, and whose permits do buyers search?

Jensen Beach isn’t its own city. Most of it is unincorporated Martin County, so the County Building Department at 900 SE Ruhnke Street in Stuart issues permits, does inspections and keeps the records a buyer’s title company and inspector will look at. I walked through the County’s online permit search, unfinaled permits and dock permits step by step in my Palm City seller guide, and the same County process applies to unincorporated Jensen Beach.

The exception is the Town of Ocean Breeze, a small incorporated town inside the Jensen Beach area. The Town handles its own building permits: applications and plans go by email to the Town, and the office is at 1508 NE Jensen Beach Blvd., open Monday through Thursday, 9 AM to 2 PM, and closed Fridays. If your home is inside Ocean Breeze, the County search may not show your full history. Ask the Town for your records before we list.

My habit on every Jensen Beach listing is to run the address through Martin County’s Property Information Lookup first. It shows the flood zone, land use and zoning, building wind speed, school zones and utilities in one place. That one printout answers many of the questions a buyer’s agent asks in the first week.

What does a Jensen Beach condo seller have to hand the buyer?

This is where Jensen Beach sellers get caught most often. Jensen Beach has a long list of condo communities, like Island Dunes, Ocean Towers, The Princess, Islandia and Jensen Beach Club, plus mainland condos at Sailfish Village. Every condo seller has a state document list to deliver, and buildings three or more habitable stories tall also fall under Florida’s condo safety laws.

Under section 718.503 of the Florida Statutes, a buyer of a resale condo is entitled, at the seller’s expense, to current copies of:

  1. The declaration of condominium
  2. The association’s articles of incorporation
  3. The bylaws and rules
  4. The annual financial statement and annual budget
  5. The inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection report, if one applies
  6. The most recent structural integrity reserve study (SIRS), or a statement that the association hasn’t completed one
  7. The turnover inspection report, for turnovers on or after July 1, 2023
  8. The “Frequently Asked Questions and Answers” sheet

The contract also has to say whether the buyer got those documents more than 7 days before signing (weekends and legal holidays don’t count). If not, the buyer can cancel within 7 such days after receiving them. If the association is required to have a milestone inspection or SIRS and hasn’t finished it, the contract has to say that in conspicuous type. A contract that doesn’t conform is voidable by the buyer before closing.

When does a Jensen Beach condo building need a milestone inspection?

Under section 553.899, a condo or co-op building three or more habitable stories tall needs a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year it turns 30, counted from its certificate of occupancy, and every 10 years after that. The local building official sends the notice, and the association has 14 days to tell owners. For buildings in unincorporated Martin County, that’s the County Building Department. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) explains that Phase 1 is a visual look at the structure, and Phase 2 only happens if Phase 1 finds signs of substantial deterioration.

What I do before we list a Jensen Beach condo: I ask the manager for the milestone summary, the SIRS, the current budget, and any special assessment that’s been voted on or is being discussed. Then I price the unit with those numbers in hand. A buyer who finds out about an assessment from the documents on day five is a buyer who asks for a price cut on day six.

I’ll go deeper on beachfront buildings, wind insurance and elevation certificates in a separate Hutchinson Island post. For now, gather the condo documents before you do anything else.

Selling a co-op or resort-lot home: what’s different?

Not every Jensen Beach community is a standard condo or HOA. Resort-lot communities like Nettles Island have their own ownership setup, and some communities in the area are cooperatives, where you own a share in the association rather than a deeded unit. Before we list, I read the governing documents to confirm exactly what you own and what the association has to approve.

For a cooperative, section 719.503 entitles the buyer, at the seller’s expense, to the association’s articles of incorporation, bylaws and rules, the question-and-answer sheet, the milestone inspection summary if one applies, the most recent SIRS (or a statement that there isn’t one), and a turnover inspection report for turnovers on or after July 1, 2023. The same 7-day review window applies. There’s no declaration of condominium in that list, because a co-op isn’t a condo, and buyers and lenders treat it differently. Ask your association about any approval or interview process early, since that can set your closing date.

Is your Jensen Beach dock in an aquatic preserve?

If you live on the lagoon, probably yes. The Jensen Beach to Jupiter Inlet Aquatic Preserve is about 23,000 acres of the Indian River Lagoon across St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties. It was designated in 1973 and named an Outstanding Florida Water in 1979. Homes on the St. Lucie River side of Jensen Beach, around Rio and Skyline, may sit outside it, so check your exact shoreline on DEP’s Map Direct before you answer a buyer.

Why it matters: docks over state submerged land in an aquatic preserve follow Rule 18-20.004 of the Florida Administrative Code. For a private single-family dock, that means:

  • an access walkway no wider than 4 feet
  • a terminal platform no bigger than 160 square feet
  • the dock can’t extend past a depth of minus 4 feet at mean low water, or more than 500 feet or 20 percent of the waterbody’s width, whichever is less
  • in seagrass areas (Resource Protection Area 1 or 2), the walkway is raised at least 5 feet above mean high water, with spaced planking for light

DEP’s dock guide also notes that its free online self-certification for exempt docks isn’t available inside an aquatic preserve, and that you need written authorization to use state-owned submerged land.

Here’s the part buyers ask me about. Older docks built under earlier rules can be maintained, but if more than 50 percent of a nonconforming dock falls into disrepair or is destroyed, the whole structure has to be brought up to current rules. A buyer looking at a long, wide old dock wants to know whether it’s legal, whether it’s in good shape, and what happens after the next storm. Pull your County dock permit and any DEP paperwork, and get a marine contractor’s opinion on condition if the dock is tired.

Seawalls follow the same logic. The rule bars new seawalls built waterward of the mean high water line, but restoring a seawall at its old location, behind it, or within one foot waterward of it doesn’t need a consent-of-use application. If you’ve repaired your seawall, keep the permit and the before-and-after photos together.

Septic, sewer or something in between?

Parts of Jensen Beach are still on septic, and Martin County’s Connect to Protect program is converting neighborhoods to County sewer to protect the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon. Two of the testimonials on the County’s program page are signed by Jensen Beach homeowners. A buyer will ask which situation your house is in, so here’s how the program works, per Martin County Utilities:

  • In grinder-system areas (communities under 300 homes), the County installs a grinder tank and line on your lot. The cost is $10,000, cut to $8,000 if you connect within 365 days of the new force main being available. After that, the monthly sewer charge is about $18 plus usage. The County maintains the grinder; the owner supplies the electricity, and the grinder won’t run in a power outage without a portable generator.
  • In vacuum-system areas (communities over 300 homes), you pay for the connection through a special assessment on the annual property tax bill, spread over 20 years. It can be paid off at any time.

Work is still going on. In 2025, County staff asked the County Commission to accept 21 utility easements for a water and sewer project along NE Banyan Tree Drive in Rio, which the County describes as part of Jensen Beach, with service valued at about $10,100 per lot.

Before you list, I want to know three things: are you on septic, connected, or eligible; did you get a County letter saying sewer is available; and is there a sewer assessment on your tax bill? If it’s an assessment, we’ll talk about whether to pay it off or let the buyer assume it, and put that in the contract. If you’re on septic, pull your records from the Department of Health in Martin County (the same steps are in my Palm City guide).

Does the downtown Jensen Beach CRA affect a home sale?

It can. Downtown Jensen Beach is one of Martin County’s six Community Redevelopment Areas. The County’s Jensen Beach CRA plan was adopted in 2002 and revised in 2009, and the area has its own form-based zoning in Article 12 of the County’s Land Development Regulations. That code sets building types, build-to lines, parking, fences and walls, signs and architectural standards. Rio, along the St. Lucie River, is a separate CRA with its own division.

For a seller, this matters in two ways. If your house is near the village, buyers who are thinking about adding on or changing the use will want the zoning before they make an offer. And if you added a fence, a carport or an addition, the County’s CRA submittal guidelines show how much detail Article 12 reviews expect. That’s another reason to confirm your permits closed. I pull the zoning from the County lookup and put it in the listing packet so the buyer’s questions get answered in writing.

Single-family neighborhoods: what buyers compare

Mainland Jensen Beach runs from country-club neighborhoods like Jensen Beach Country Club to communities like Pineapple Plantation and Sugarhill, each with its own guide on my site. My pricing advice is the same everywhere: compare your home to sales in your own neighborhood and on your own kind of water (lagoon, river, canal or none), not to a Jensen Beach average that mixes beach condos with inland houses.

If your neighborhood has an HOA, order the estoppel and disclosure summary early. The steps are in my Tradition guide. If you’ve lived in the home for years with homestead, read my post on what happens to your Save Our Homes benefit when you sell in Martin County before you pick your next house.

Frequently asked questions

Who issues building permits for a Jensen Beach address?

For most of Jensen Beach, it’s the Martin County Building Department, because the area is unincorporated. Homes inside the Town of Ocean Breeze go through the Town’s own permit office at 1508 NE Jensen Beach Blvd. Check which one applies before you search for open permits.

What documents does a buyer get when I sell my Jensen Beach condo?

Under section 718.503, the buyer gets the declaration, articles, bylaws and rules, the annual budget and financial statement, the FAQ sheet, the milestone inspection summary if one applies, and the latest structural integrity reserve study or a statement that none exists. The seller pays for the copies. The buyer has 7 days (not counting weekends and holidays) to review them.

What if my condo association hasn’t finished its milestone inspection or reserve study?

If the association is required to have one and hasn’t completed it, the sales contract has to say so in conspicuous type. That doesn’t stop the sale, but expect buyers and lenders to ask harder questions. Get a status update and timeline from the manager before you list.

Why does it matter if my Jensen Beach dock is in an aquatic preserve?

Docks in the Jensen Beach to Jupiter Inlet Aquatic Preserve follow state design limits on width, platform size and length. If more than half of an older, nonconforming dock falls into disrepair or is destroyed, the whole dock has to meet current rules when it’s rebuilt. Buyers will want your permits and an honest read on its condition.

How much does it cost to connect a Jensen Beach home to county sewer?

In grinder-system areas, Martin County charges $10,000, or $8,000 if you connect within 365 days of service becoming available, plus a monthly sewer charge of about $18 and usage. In vacuum-system areas, the cost is a special assessment on the property tax bill spread over 20 years, which can be paid off at any time.

Is selling a co-op different from selling a condo in Florida?

Yes. Co-ops follow Chapter 719, and the buyer’s document list is shorter: articles, bylaws, rules, the Q&A sheet, and the milestone summary and reserve study if they apply. There’s no declaration of condominium. Check your association’s approval process early, because it can set the closing date.

Does the Jensen Beach CRA change what I can tell buyers about my property?

Downtown Jensen Beach uses Martin County’s form-based redevelopment code, so building types, setbacks, fences and signs follow Article 12 rather than standard zoning. Pull your zoning from the County’s Property Information Lookup and include it in your listing packet. Buyers planning changes will ask for it.

Ready to sell in Jensen Beach?

If you’re getting ready to sell in Jensen Beach, on the mainland or on the island, call or text me at 772.475.5371. I’ll pull your permits, condo or co-op documents, dock records and sewer status, and build the seller packet before we list.

Browsing homes in Jensen Beach? See my Jensen Beach homes for sale page.

About the author

Jeremy Beckham, REALTOR®/SFR with NextHome Treasure Coast, 17 years helping buyers and sellers from Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie south through Martin County and the Palm Beaches. His office is at 414 S Colorado Ave in Stuart. See how I source my numbers, what sellers pay at closing in Florida, what happens after you accept an offer, or my seller services.

This post is general information, not legal, engineering or insurance advice. Association rules, County programs and fees change. Confirm details with your association, Martin County, the Town of Ocean Breeze, Florida DEP and a Florida real estate attorney.

Sources

Featured photo: “Jensen Beach, Florida 002” by Stephen B Calvert (Clariosophic) on Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped from the original.