Escrow, Title and Closing Costs in Florida: A Condo Buyer's Map

Two columns on one settlement statement

Every Florida condo purchase ends with a settlement statement that has two columns: what you pay as the buyer and what the seller pays. Almost none of it is fixed by law. Florida assigns some charges by long-standing county custom and leaves the rest to whatever the contract says, which means closing costs in Miami are partly a negotiation and partly a matter of knowing which side normally carries which line. This guide maps the major items so nothing on that statement is a surprise. It deals in how the charges work, not in a dollar total, because the total depends on your price, your loan and your county — for current market figures, our report at /market-stats is the place to start.

Florida's documentary stamp taxes, and the Miami-Dade twist

Florida taxes the transfer of real estate through a documentary stamp tax on the deed. In every county except Miami-Dade the rate is $0.70 per $100 of the sale price; in Miami-Dade it is $0.60 per $100. By custom the seller pays the deed stamps in most of the state. Miami-Dade adds a wrinkle that catches condo buyers off guard: on top of the base rate, the county levies a documentary surtax of $0.45 per $100 on transfers that are not single-family residences, and a condominium unit generally does not qualify for that exemption. Ask your closing agent to show you the surtax line early — on a Miami condo it is a real number, not a rounding error.

If you finance the purchase, a second set of stamp taxes applies to the loan rather than the price, and these land on the buyer. Florida charges documentary stamps of $0.35 per $100 on the promissory note and an intangible tax of two mills — $2 per $1,000 — on the new mortgage. A larger loan means larger loan taxes, which is one reason a bigger down payment trims closing costs as well as monthly ones.

Title insurance: state-set prices, county-set customs

Title insurance protects your ownership against defects a search might miss — a forged signature in the chain, an unreleased lien, a missed heir. Florida is one of the states that sets, or promulgates, title insurance premiums, so the owner's-policy premium is the same whatever underwriter issues it. You are shopping service and reputation, not price. A lender will also require its own policy, usually issued at a lower simultaneous rate alongside yours.

Who pays for the owner's policy is the negotiation, and here custom flips by county. In Miami-Dade and Broward the buyer customarily pays for the owner's policy and chooses the title company; through most of the rest of Florida the seller pays and chooses. Because Miami sits on the buyer-pays side of that line, the owner's policy is often the single largest item in a Miami buyer's closing column — worth putting on the table when you write the offer.

Escrow, recording and the condo estoppel

Florida lets a title company or a real estate attorney conduct the closing and hold the escrow; unlike some states, an attorney is optional. The settlement agent charges an escrow or closing fee for handling the money and the paperwork, and the county charges to record the deed and mortgage — Florida's statutory recording fee runs about $10 for the first page and $8.50 for each page after.

One line is specific to condos: the estoppel certificate. Before closing, the association issues a signed statement of exactly what the seller owes it — dues, assessments, fees, fines — so the closing agent can collect and clear it. Florida law caps what an association may charge to prepare a standard estoppel and sets the window it must respond in, which keeps this from becoming a chokepoint. It is usually a seller-side charge, but confirm it appears where you expect.

Prepaids, prorations and the FIRPTA line for foreign sellers

Beyond taxes and title, a closing gathers the money that keeps the property running. Property taxes are prorated to the closing date because Florida bills them in arrears. If you finance, expect prepaid hazard, wind and, where applicable, flood insurance, plus reserves the lender collects into an escrow account. Association dues are prorated too, and a first purchase in some buildings adds a one-time working-capital or capital-contribution charge that varies by association.

Miami's international market adds one more. Under FIRPTA, when the seller is a foreign person the buyer is responsible for withholding a portion of the gross price — generally 15% — and remitting it to the IRS. The tax is the seller's, but the duty to withhold falls on the buyer's side of the table, so it belongs on your radar the moment a foreign seller is involved.

Putting a cash-to-close number together

Your cash to close is the down payment plus your side of the costs — in Miami-Dade that means the owner's title policy, lender fees, the loan stamp and intangible taxes, recording and prepaids — minus the deposit already sitting in escrow. None of it should be a mystery on closing day: your lender's Loan Estimate and the settlement agent's statement lay out every figure in advance, and you are entitled to review them before you sign. Read both, match each line to the map above, and ask about anything that does not fit.

Where to look next

Closing costs are the same arithmetic whether you buy in the urban core or on the beach, but the price they attach to is not. For current condo pricing and inventory across the city, start with our market report at /market-stats, then explore the neighborhoods where you are shopping.

Questions buyers ask about Florida condo closing costs