Florida title guides

Reference pages written to be sent on: to a client before a closing, to an investor before an exchange, or to an editor with a story. Each one answers first and cites the rule or statute behind what it says.

Looking up a word? The glossary defines 77 Florida title and closing terms.

Las guías en español, para un cliente que lee primero en español.

• All 67 countiesWho pays for title insurance in Florida?Buyer or seller, county by county, on a map and in a table you can download.For Realtors, buyers, sellers and the press · Updated November 2026
• Florida Realtors/Florida Bar · Rev. 2/26Understanding the FAR/BAR contract: every deadline, and who pays whatEvery deadline and its default on one timeline, who pays each cost, and a line on every paragraph and Standard.For buyers, sellers and Realtors · Reviewed October 2026
• Florida Realtors/Florida Bar · Rev. 2/26FAR/BAR “AS IS” vs. standard contract: every paragraph comparedThe two forms side by side, a row for every paragraph and Standard: repairs, the right to cancel, permits, and what reads the same.For buyers, sellers and Realtors · Reviewed November 2026
• The out-of-state buyer's guideBuying a Florida home from another state: how do you close without coming to Florida?How a buyer outside Florida closes on a Florida home: who chooses the title company, the three ways to sign and what each needs, sending the money safely from another…For buyers, Realtors and lenders · Reviewed November 2026
• Paying cashDo I need owner's title insurance in Florida if I pay cash?Owner's title insurance is not required on a Florida cash purchase. What it costs by state rule, who pays, what it covers and what a cash buyer skips.For cash buyers, investors and Realtors · Reviewed November 2026
• The 2026 guideFlorida title insurance: the complete 2026 guide for buyers, sellers and RealtorsHow Florida title insurance works in 2026: what the owner's and lender's policies cover, what the promulgated premium comes to, the reissue rate, who pays by county, the…For buyers, sellers, Realtors and loan officers · Reviewed October 2026
• The for-sale-by-owner guideFor sale by owner in Florida: how does a sale close without a real estate agent?How a Florida home sale closes without a real estate agent: what the law asks of the buyer and the seller, who writes the contract, the disclosures a seller owes before…For sellers and buyers · Reviewed November 2026
• The timeline guideHow long does a Florida title search and closing take?Every deadline in a Florida closing, who holds it and where it is set: the contract periods, the title search and commitment, payoffs, estoppels, the municipal lien…For buyers, sellers, Realtors and loan officers · Reviewed October 2026
• The 2026 capsHow much can a Florida condo or HOA charge for an estoppel certificate?What a Florida condominium or homeowners' association may charge for an estoppel certificate in 2026 — $299, $119 expedited, $179 delinquent — why the statutes say $250,…For sellers, buyers and Realtors · Reviewed October 2026
• The verification guideHow to verify a Florida title company, and keep your closing money safeHow to check a Florida title agency's license, its agent in charge and its underwriter on the state's public records, what the law requires of it (bonds, escrow in…For buyers, sellers, Realtors and lenders · Reviewed October 2026
• The inherited property guideSelling an inherited house in Florida: does it need probate, and who signs the deed?Selling Florida real estate after its owner has died: when a probate is needed, who signs the deed in each case, the homestead rule, summary administration, an owner who…For heirs, personal representatives, Realtors and buyers · Reviewed November 2026
• For investors, CPAs and attorneysThe Florida 1031 exchange closing guideThe closing side of a Florida 1031 like-kind exchange: the intermediary, the assignment, where the proceeds go, the 45- and 180-day deadlines, identification, reverse…For investors, CPAs, attorneys and Realtors · Reviewed October 2026
• The title problems guideThe Florida Title Problems Guide: 25 issues that can delay a closingTwenty-five Florida title problems that can delay a closing — liens, lawsuits, estates, signing authority, gaps in the record and access — with the statute behind each…For Realtors, buyers, sellers and attorneys · Reviewed October 2026
• The condominium closing guideWhat does a Florida condo closing need? The SIRS, the milestone inspection, the estoppel and the approvalWhat a resale of a Florida condominium unit needs that a house sale does not: the documents the seller gives the buyer, the milestone inspection and the SIRS, the…For buyers, sellers, Realtors and lenders · Reviewed November 2026
• Amendment 3, November 2026What does Florida's Amendment 3 do to the homestead exemption, and what changes at a closing?Florida's Amendment 3 read from the closing table: which of the six documents at a closing it touches, the taxable value of the same house under 2026, 2027 and 2028…For buyers, sellers and Realtors · Reviewed November 2026
• The glossary · 77 termsFlorida title and closing terms: a glossaryEstoppel, lien, lis pendens, the commitment and its exceptions: each term in a sentence or three, cited, with a link to the page that explains it in full.For buyers, sellers and Realtors · Reviewed October 2026
• Our affiliated qualified intermediaryBayit Exchange: the qualified intermediary in your 1031 exchangeWhat the intermediary does at each step and where the money is between the closings, for property anywhere in the US. You may use it or any other intermediary.For investors, CPAs, attorneys and Realtors · Reviewed October 2026

Using them

• Send the link. Nothing sits in front of any of these pages: no form, no email address, no sign-up. A client you send one to reads it and nobody calls them.
• Print it, or save it as a PDF. Each page prints clean, with its address at the foot so a paper copy can be traced back to the current one.
• Quote it. Each page ends with a citation carrying the date it was last reviewed by a licensed agent, or for the county table the date it last changed. Credit Bayit Title and link to the page.
• Tell us when it is wrong. Florida practice changes. If a figure or a form on one of these pages no longer matches what you are seeing, write to shevy@bayittitle.com and we will correct it.

The tools they lean on

• FAR/BAR contract deadline calculatorEvery deadline in the contract as a date, from the Effective Date and the Closing Date, with weekends and federal holidays applied.
• Florida title insurance calculatorThe promulgated owner’s and lender’s premium for a price and a loan, cited to the rule.
• Florida title insurance ratesBoth schedules band by band and the owner’s premium at every price, to cite or send on.
• Florida doc stamp tax calculatorDeed and mortgage stamps, the Miami-Dade rate and surtax, and the intangible tax.
• Florida title insurance reissue rate calculatorWhen the reissue rate applies, what it saves, and how the price above the previous policy is charged.
• Florida closing cost calculatorBy sending the contract itself for the exact figure, or from an address or the contract numbers.
• The title problems libraryOne page for each specific problem, with what it does to a closing and how it clears.

Realtors and loan officers can introduce themselves on the contact form. Press and questions about Florida title practice: shevy@bayittitle.com · 754.253.2270.