The Florida
Closing Process

Title state, not escrow state

Some states (California, Arizona, parts of the West) use escrow companies — neutral third parties that hold funds and documents. Florida (and most of the East) uses title insurance companies and attorneys. The functions are similar but the mechanics differ:

• Title company / closing agent handles the title search, title insurance issuance, and document preparation.
• Real estate attorneys often (not always) involved on either side. Less common in routine residential transactions, more common in commercial and complex deals.
• Funds flow through the title company's trust account. Buyer wires their cash to close; lender wires the loan amount; title company disburses to seller, pays off seller's mortgage, pays Florida doc stamps and recording fees, etc.

Typical Florida cost split

Florida has conventions about who pays what at closing — they vary slightly by county and are negotiable in the contract, but the typical defaults:

Seller typically pays

• Doc stamp tax on the deed (about $0.70 per $100 of sale price)
• Owner's title insurance policy (in most counties — Miami-Dade and Broward are exceptions where buyer pays)
• Real estate commissions (both sides typically come from seller side)
• HOA estoppel fee
• Their own pro-rated property taxes
• Existing mortgage payoff

Buyer typically pays

• Loan origination fees, lender fees
• Lender's title insurance policy
• Doc stamp tax on the mortgage ($0.35 per $100 of loan)
• Florida intangible tax ($0.20 per $100 of loan)
• Survey, inspection
• Recording fees (deed and mortgage)
• Prepaid items: insurance binder, property tax escrow, prepaid interest from closing date to month-end
• HOA capital contribution (if applicable)
• Pre-paid HOA dues

The week before closing

What happens between "clear to close" and the actual closing day:

1. Clear to close issued by underwriter. All loan conditions met, file is approved.
2. Closing Disclosure (CD) issued — federal law requires the buyer receive the CD at least 3 business days before closing. Shows the final dollar amounts.
3. Insurance binder delivered to title. The homeowners policy must be in force as of closing day.
4. Final walk-through — typically 24-48 hours before closing. Buyer confirms property condition matches contract.
5. Wire instructions sent. Title company sends wire instructions for buyer's cash to close. Always verify these instructions by phone with a known title company contact — wire fraud is a real and serious risk.
6. Buyer wires cash to close — typically 1-2 business days before closing.
7. Lender wires loan funds — typically the morning of closing.

Closing day — what actually happens

For a routine Florida residential closing:

• Location: Title company office. Sometimes the buyer's home or office for convenience. Increasingly, hybrid (some signing remote-online with notarization, some in person).
• Time: 30-60 minutes for a standard transaction. Longer for complex deals.
• Documents: Buyer signs ~30 documents — mortgage note, deed of trust, closing disclosure, various lender disclosures, insurance and tax documents.
• Funds: Already wired in. No cashier's checks at the closing table for the loan side. Small adjustments sometimes paid by check.
• Recording: The deed and mortgage are recorded with the county, typically the same day or the next business day.
• Keys: Buyer typically gets keys at closing or shortly after, depending on contract.

Florida-specific surprises

• Property tax pro-ration is unusual. Florida property taxes are paid in arrears (you pay the prior year's tax in November-March of the next year). At closing, the seller pre-pays their share of the current year's taxes through the closing date — buyer takes over from there. Sometimes the proration estimate at closing is wrong because the actual tax bill isn't out yet.
• Insurance binder timing. The homeowners policy must be effective the day of closing. Florida insurance can be delayed; lining this up early is critical. Some carriers won't issue policies less than X days before closing.
• HOA estoppel. The HOA issues a statement showing current dues, any pending special assessments, capital contributions due at transfer. The estoppel fee ($200-500) is paid by seller. The actual capital contribution (if applicable) is often paid by buyer.
• Septic / well inspections in rural counties. Required by some loan programs and contracts. Florida has many properties on septic; the inspection is its own line item.
• 4-point and wind mitigation inspections for insurance underwriting. Buyer typically pays these.
• The doc stamps. Florida's transfer tax (doc stamps on deed and mortgage) plus intangible tax adds up — typically 1-1.2% of purchase price total. Out-of-state buyers often miss this in their initial cost estimate.

Wire fraud — the modern closing-day threat

Wire fraud in real estate closings has become epidemic. The pattern: scammers compromise an email account in the transaction (sometimes the title company's), then send the buyer fake wire instructions just before closing. The buyer wires their cash to a fraud account; by the time anyone notices, the money is gone — usually unrecoverable.

Defenses that actually work:

• Verify wire instructions by phone with a known phone number for the title company before wiring. Never use a phone number provided in an email.
• Be suspicious of last-minute changes to wire instructions — that's the most common fraud pattern.
• Use a wire-transfer service with verified beneficiary controls if your bank offers it.
• If something feels off, pause. Closing can be delayed a day. A delayed closing is annoying; a wire fraud loss is potentially career-altering.

FAQ