Who pays for the owner’s policy in Lee County?
The seller customarily pays for the owner’s title policy in Lee County.
Owner’s policy The title policy that protects the buyer, issued for the full insurable value of the property, in a sale ordinarily the price. More in the glossary: Owner’s policy
Custom is not law. The purchase contract decides it, and in a negotiated deal either side can end up paying. Read the contract before assuming which line it falls on.
That is the custom as we see it on our own files, confirmed on September 24, 2026. It is a report of what is usual, not a rule, and not a promise about your contract.
How the custom runs in the other counties is on who pays for title insurance in Florida.
What does title insurance cost in Lee County?
The same as anywhere in Florida — the premium is promulgated.
Premium The price of a title insurance policy. In Florida it is set by rule, applies throughout the state, and no one may knowingly quote, charge or collect a different one; it runs per $1,000 of coverage, in bands. More in the glossary: Premium
- Owner’s policy, $500,000
- $2,575
- Original rate, R. 69O-186.003(1)(a)
- At the reissue rate
- $1,530
- Where the prior title was insured and conditions are met
- Lender’s policy alongside
- $125
- Our charge; the rule’s minimum is $25
The Office of Insurance Regulation sets the premium by rule under Fla. Stat. § 627.782, and an owner’s policy is written for the full insurable value of the property. The Florida title insurance rates, both schedules, are printed in full on the calculator; what each side pays is on the buyer closing costs and seller closing costs pages.
More detail on what title insurance costs
The reissue rate applies where the owner’s or the seller’s own title was insured and the rule’s conditions are met. The rule sets $25 as the least a lender’s policy issued at the same time can be. That $25 is a minimum, not a price: Bayit Title charges $125 to issue the policy alongside the owner’s, and that is the figure the estimate prints. Where the loan is larger than the owner’s amount, the coverage above it adds the difference between the original rate at the loan amount and at the owner’s amount.
Read from Fla. Admin. Code R. 69O-186.003 on September 14, 2026. The rule was last amended January 27, 2002. Tell us if a figure here does not match what you are quoted and we will check it against the rule again.
Documentary stamp tax on a Lee County sale
The deed is taxed by the state, not by the county.
Documentary stamp tax Florida’s tax on documents, paid at the closing. More in the glossary: Documentary stamp tax
The deed rate here is the rate in 66 of the 67 counties — Miami-Dade is the exception. The stamps are charged on each part of $100, so they round up. Which side pays is decided by the contract, not the statute.
A cash closing carries neither mortgage tax. The Florida doc stamp tax calculator works it out for a specific price and loan.
More detail on documentary stamp tax
Deed stamps. 70¢ per $100 of consideration, or part of $100. Charged on each part of $100, so the figure rounds up, not down.
Mortgage stamps. 35¢ per $100 of the amount secured, or part of $100. The $2,450 cap in § 201.08(1)(a) is on the tax on a note or other written obligation to pay money. There is no cap on the tax on a mortgage recorded against Florida property.
Intangible tax. 2 mills on each dollar secured — $2 per $1,000. One time, on the obligation the mortgage secures.
Each figure was read from the statute that sets it on September 14, 2026 and is linked to its section. Which county ch. 83-220 describes comes from the Department of Revenue’s documentary stamp tax guidance. Rates change by act of the Legislature — if one of these no longer matches what you are being charged, tell us and we will correct it.
Recording in Lee County
Deeds and mortgages record with the Lee County Clerk of Court.
Recording Entering a document in the county’s official records, which makes it notice to everyone. More in the glossary: Recording
- First page
- $10.00
- Then $8.50 a page
- A 3-page deed
- $27
- Same at every office
- A 25-page mortgage
- $214
- Same at every office
Set by statute and charged by the page — Fla. Stat. § 28.24(13) — so a Lee County deed and a Levy County deed of the same length record for the same money.
While in most cases, the Clerk processes all documents received for recording within 2 business days; the Clerk cannot guarantee same or next-day recording for documents received by mail, drop-box, or through eRecording.
More detail on recording
Recording, first page: $10.00. $5.00 service charge, plus $1.00 to the Public Records Modernization Trust Fund, plus $4.00. Fla. Stat. § 28.24(13)(a), (d)1., (e)
Recording, each page after the first: $8.50. $4.00 service charge, plus 50¢ to the trust fund, plus $4.00. Fla. Stat. § 28.24(13)(b), (d)2., (e)
Indexing, per name over four: $1.00. Reached by a deed with several grantors, or by a mortgage naming a trust. Fla. Stat. § 28.24(13)(c)
The office’s own fee schedule covers the other things it does — certified copies, searches, its own e-recording arrangements — and a third-party e-recording vendor may add a fee of its own, which is not the office’s charge and not this.
The turnaround above is the office’s own published statement, not a commitment it makes to us or a time we can promise you. Offices change these pages without notice. On a file where the recording date matters, ask us and we will check what the office is actually doing that week.
Read from the statute on September 14, 2026. If a charge here no longer matches what you are being charged, tell us and we will correct it.
How Lee County records, in its offices’ own words
What the office that records deeds and mortgages says about how it works.
- Same-day recording
- The Clerk processes most documents received for recording within 2 business days but cannot guarantee same- or next-day recording for documents received by mail, drop box or e-recording. For a time-sensitive document, it recommends recording in person at one of its offices. Source: Same-day recording
- Fraud alert
- The Clerk’s free Property Fraud Alert emails subscribers within 24 hours when a deed, mortgage or other land record with a registered name or parcel ID on it is recorded. Personal and business names, trusts and parcels can be registered; alerts are not sent for court-related documents. Source: Fraud alert
- Code liens
- Lee County’s Code Enforcement says Hearing Examiner fines, once recorded, attach to all property the violator owns, and the property cannot be sold with clear title until the lien is satisfied. Source: Code liens
- Lien mitigation
- Code Enforcement says the Hearing Examiner cannot mitigate liens for the county’s own abatement costs, such as lot mowing, removing a nuisance accumulation or demolishing an unsafe structure. Source: Lien mitigation
Each line restates what the page linked beside it said when it was read, on October 15, 2026: a page of one of the county’s own offices, or one it links to. Offices change these pages without notice; on a file where one of them matters, ask us and we will check it again.
All Lee topicsNext Liens and charges that stay with the property
County liens, utility charges and assessments in Lee County
What the county’s offices and its code say about charges and liens a buyer can inherit.
- Code lien lifespan
- A recorded code fine stays a lien for 20 years unless the County sues to foreclose within that time. It can foreclose once the lien has gone unpaid three months, but never on a homestead. Source: Code lien lifespan
- After a senior foreclosure
- When a senior lienholder forecloses, the new owner can ask the County to release its code lien. The County may charge the fee in its fee manual to process and record the release. Source: After a senior foreclosure
- Fine reductions
- The Hearing Examiner can cut or erase code fines and costs only after the violation is fixed, and only until the County files to foreclose the lien. Source: Fine reductions
- Junk cleanup liens
- If the County has to clear junk from a lot, its cost becomes a recorded lien at 12 percent a year. The lien runs with the land and is to be paid off when the property is sold or transferred. Source: Junk cleanup liens
- Lot mowing liens
- When the County mows an overgrown lot, it bills the cost plus a $150 fee. A bill unpaid after 30 days becomes a recorded lien carrying the highest interest state law allows. Source: Lot mowing liens
- Demolition liens
- Tearing down an unsafe building leaves its cost as a lien ahead of everything but taxes, at ten percent a year. If it stays unpaid two years, the County can foreclose. Source: Demolition liens
- Garbage liens
- Unpaid garbage bills are liens that rank with county taxes and come ahead of every other lien and claim. A new house owes the charge from the day it gets its certificate of occupancy. Source: Garbage liens
- Deferred garbage fees
- An owner granted a hardship deferment of garbage assessments carries a lien for the unpaid amount that runs with the land. It is paid off when the house is sold or transferred. Source: Deferred garbage fees
- Tenants’ water bills
- On County water accounts, a landlord owes any bill a tenant leaves unpaid. A customer with an unpaid final bill cannot open service at a new address. Source: Tenants’ water bills
- Road paving assessments
- Road paving assessments are liens paid in yearly installments with interest. Miss one, and the whole balance comes due and can be foreclosed like a mortgage. Source: Road paving assessments
Each line restates what the page linked beside it said when it was read, on October 16, 2026: a page of one of the county’s own offices, or the county’s code. Offices change these pages without notice; on a file where one of them matters, ask us and we will check it again.
Law particular to Lee County
What the county’s charter, its code or a Florida law sets for Lee in particular.
- CDD notice on resale
- In some community development districts, Savanna Lakes among them, every resale contract must carry the CDD disclosure state law asks for on a first sale. The rule lasts as long as the district does. Source: CDD notice on resale
Each line restates what the page linked beside it said when it was read, on October 16, 2026: the county’s charter or code, a page of the county government, or the Florida Constitution. Offices change these pages without notice; on a file where one of them matters, ask us and we will check it again.
How Bayit Title handles a Lee County file
Opened by the same four people who close it.
We order the search, examine what comes back, and put anything that could hold up the closing in writing — with what it would take to clear it — rather than waiting for it to surface at the table.
Wherever the signer is
We send a notary to the signer, including outside office hours.
About mobile notary signings →Remote online
Signed online with a Florida-commissioned online notary.
How remote online notarization works →
Each kind of file has a page of its own: home purchases and sales, refinances and commercial title. Everything we handle is on title, escrow and closing services in Florida.