The Palm Beach Post reports on issues facing preconstruction condo buyers. "Here are some of the things we’re hearing from new condo owners who bought pre-construction condos. Lessons learned? Number One: Know what you’re buying."

"Did you know 'decorator ready' means partly unfinished, as in, no flooring?"

"Number Two: Don’t be intimidated by those builder-friendly contracts, you know, the ones with all the terms construed toward the developer. One West Palm Beach condo owner says he was forced to close on his units before they were fully finished. But due to the contract 'that we were stupid enough to sign,' he had to close or face penalties."

"Now this same condo owner is dealing with issues that might very well end up in lawsuit. It might have been avoided in the front end. 'My attorney is ready to kill me,' this owner says."

"Number Three: Beware the dreaded Temporary Certificate of Occupancy. You might not be able to do anything about this one, but at least know it’s out there. West Palm Beach, for one, issues buildings a TCO on a floor-by-floor basis, rather than waiting until the whole building is finished."

"So those folks who were the first to move into 610 Clematis last December have had to put up with workers flowing in and out of the building for months to finish upper floors and common areas."

"Go ahead and kick yourself if you want to, but it won’t do any good now. Everyone was caught up in the real estate gold rush, and you didn’t want to be the only one left behind, did you? Besides, everyone knew that if you gave developers any reason not to do business with you, there were 20 people in line behind you, ready to sign with no questions asked."