Who Pays Closing Costs in Florida

House set back on a wide lawn

 Northeast Florida custom

We write most Jacksonville, Clay, St. Johns, and Nassau resales on the FAR or Florida Bar contract. The custom on those forms is stable enough that a title company can draft a settlement before anyone argues.

Custom is a habit, not a statute that assigns every fee. If the contract names the other party, the contract wins. Read the title paragraph and the cost lines before you agree to a verbal split.

Deed stamps themselves are math, at $0.70 per $100 outside Miami-Dade. Who writes that check is the custom. The rate is on our Florida documentary stamp tax page.

 What the seller usually pays

In this custom the seller pays the deed documentary stamps, the owner's title policy, the listing commission, the HOA or condo estoppel, and the seller's mortgage payoff.

The owner's policy is the one that protects the buyer as the new owner. People sometimes call it the buyer's policy. On the settlement it is still the owner's policy, and in Northeast Florida the seller usually pays the premium.

Commission lives in the listing agreement. The payoff comes from the lender's letter through the closing date, not from the balance on a monthly statement. County taxes are prorated from the bill. Do not guess that proration off a homestead you have not seen.

 What the buyer usually pays

The buyer usually pays note stamps at $0.35 per $100 of the new mortgage, intangible tax at $2 per $1,000 of that mortgage, the lender's title policy, the appraisal, and the inspections.

The lender's policy protects the lender. It is a different premium from the owner's policy. A cash buyer has no new-loan stamps, no intangible tax, and no lender appraisal. A cash buyer still wants an inspection, and cash still does not skip title.

Prepaid insurance and escrow deposits show up on a financed file because the lender asks for them. The Loan Estimate is the document for those figures. This page is the map of who usually writes which check.

 The Amelia Island exception

Amelia Island is the local exception people ask about. Buyer-side title custom there. The rest of Northeast Florida custom has the seller paying the owner's title policy. On Amelia Island, ask before you assume that.

Fernandina Beach and the rest of Amelia Island are still Nassau County. Homestead still goes to the Nassau property appraiser. Deed stamps are still $0.70 per $100, because this is not Miami-Dade. The difference is who pays for title.

The checkbox still wins over custom. If the contract says the seller pays, the seller pays, even on the island. If it says the buyer pays, the buyer pays, even in Mandarin. Read the box.

 The title company checkbox

The contract has a place to name the title company. That checkbox is the deal. Custom is what we write when nobody has fought about it yet.

Who closes the file and who pays the owner's policy are two choices. On a Jacksonville, Orange Park, or St. Johns contract we usually see the seller pay the owner's policy and the buyer pay the lender's policy. On Amelia Island the custom flips toward the buyer. Either way, the signed contract is what title will follow.

Pick a company that will actually answer the phone when the deed is slow or the estoppel is late. We work these files every week. Call (904) 309-0609 if you want a name we already use.

 What you can negotiate

Deed stamps, the owner's policy, a survey, a home warranty, repairs, and a closing credit can all move. Listing commission stays in the listing agreement. The payoff is the seller's loan. Inspections and the appraisal start as buyer costs, and a seller can still agree to help.

HOA or condo estoppel is a seller custom here. If a CDD charges its own estoppel, ask the title company for that invoice. Do not guess the fee. The same goes for a bond payoff figure. Get it in writing.

VA and FHA files have limits on how a credit can be used. The lender on that file says whether the credit fits. We will not quote a cap on this page. Cash has more room, and the contract still has to say what you agreed.

 A seller credit versus a price cut

A price cut lowers the contract price. Deed stamps, the commission base, and the loan amount usually follow that price. A seller credit leaves the price where it is and comes off the seller's proceeds. The buyer may use the credit toward costs if the lender allows it.

They are different blanks on the contract. Buyers ask for a credit to cover note stamps and prepaids. Sellers sometimes answer with a price cut because it looks simpler. The walk-away check is not the same number.

Run both on the seller net sheet before you trade them. The seller closing costs calculator and the home sale calculator are the other two worksheets. All three are estimates, not a closing disclosure. Call (904) 309-0609 and we will put a real offer on the sheet.

 Keep going

• Seller net sheet
• Florida documentary stamp tax
• Seller closing costs calculator
• Home sale calculator

Call (904) 309-0609.