Who pays for the owner’s policy in Sumter County?
The seller customarily pays for the owner’s title policy in Sumter 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.
How the custom runs in the other counties is on who pays for title insurance in Florida.
What does title insurance cost in Sumter 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 Sumter 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 Sumter County
Deeds and mortgages record with the Sumter County Clerk of Court & Comptroller.
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 Sumter County deed and a Levy County deed of the same length record for the same money.
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.
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 Sumter County records, in its offices’ own words
What the office that records deeds and mortgages says about how it works.
- Deed requirements
- The Clerk asks for a three-inch square of white space in the top right-hand corner of the first and each subsequent page of a document, and asks that the consideration or sales price be placed on the deed or in a cover letter. Source: Deed requirements
- The Villages assessments
- The Sumter County Tax Collector, whose site the Clerk links, says The Villages District’s infrastructure bonds are repaid on the annual tax bill, which shows a Municipal Bond Assessment (“B”) and a Maintenance Assessment (“A”) as non-ad valorem items. The Village District Office answers bond payoff inquiries. Source: The Villages assessments
- Restrictions and plats
- The Clerk keeps a complete list of developer restrictions and covenants for recorded subdivisions in Sumter County. Plats are not available online, but complete sets can be obtained through its Plat Subscription Service Plan. Source: Restrictions and plats
- Online records
- The Clerk says images of records from before April 1, 2024 are being evaluated and may not be available online until cleared through a new process; such a record shows “Image unavailable for viewing” while it waits to be re-processed. Source: Online records
Each line restates what the page linked beside it said when it was read, on October 7, 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 Sumter topicsNext Liens and charges that stay with the property
County liens, utility charges and assessments in Sumter County
What the county’s offices and its code say about charges and liens a buyer can inherit.
- Code lien letters
- A public records request only copies existing code violation and lien documents and won’t confirm there are none. For that, the County issues a verification letter at $25 per letter. Source: Code lien letters
- Towns the County covers
- County Code Enforcement handles Center Hill, Coleman and Webster as well as unincorporated Sumter. It also assists Wildwood with building without permits and unsafe structures. Source: Towns the County covers
- Lien orders and foreclosure
- The County files a lien order about 30 days after an affidavit of non-compliance. On property that isn’t homestead, it schedules a foreclosure inspection about 90 days after the lien is recorded. Source: Lien orders and foreclosure
- Nuisance lien deadline
- When the County abates a nuisance, it must record the notice of lien within 60 days of finishing the work or it has no lien. Once fixed, the lien ranks ahead of all others except taxes and County special assessments. Source: Nuisance lien deadline
- Nuisance lien interest
- A County nuisance lien can be paid without interest within 90 days of its published notice. After that it runs at 8 percent for the first year and 6 percent a year after. Source: Nuisance lien interest
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.
Property tax and the Tax Collector in Sumter County
What the county’s offices say about collecting the property tax and what goes on the bill.
- Villages public safety district
- The Villages Public Safety Department Dependent District, which the County created to run fire and EMS service, can levy up to 0.75 mills. Any special assessment it levies is collected on the tax bill and is a lien equal with taxes. Source: Villages public safety district
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, its code or its charter. 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 Sumter County
What the county’s charter, its code or a Florida law sets for Sumter in particular.
- Family lot deeds
- A parcel split off for a family member under Sumter’s lineal descent rule must say so on the face of the deed. For three years after the conveyance, only that family member or their heirs can get a building permit there. Source: Family lot deeds
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 Sumter 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.