Selling Your Florida Home: Title Steps That Keep Your Closing on Track

Most delays are avoidable

When a Florida closing slips, the cause is usually not the buyer or the lender. It is a title item on the seller's side that took longer to clear than anyone planned for. The good news is that nearly all of these are predictable, and a seller who starts them early almost never gets surprised. Here is what to get moving as soon as you are under contract.

Order payoff statements early

If you have a mortgage, home-equity line, or any other loan secured by the property, the settlement agent needs an official payoff statement from each lender, good through the closing date. Payoffs can take time to issue and sometimes have to be re-requested if closing moves. Authorize the request early so the figures are in hand well before the table.

Clear liens and judgments

A title search will surface anything recorded against the property or, in some cases, against you personally that attaches to it: contractor liens, judgment liens, tax liens, code-enforcement liens, or association liens. Each has to be resolved or paid through closing for title to be marketable. Some are quick; some require obtaining a release or negotiating a payoff. The earlier these are identified, the more time there is to handle them without pushing the date.

Mortgage satisfactions and old encumbrances

Sometimes the search shows a mortgage or lien that was actually paid off years ago but was never satisfied of record. To a title examiner it still clouds the title until a recorded satisfaction or release exists. Tracking down a satisfaction from a prior lender (especially one that has merged or been acquired) can take weeks, so flag any old encumbrance immediately.

HOA and condominium estoppels

If the property is in a homeowners or condominium association, the settlement agent must order an estoppel certificate. It states what you owe the association (dues, assessments, fines, transfer fees) and must be paid or reconciled at closing. Associations control their own turnaround and fees, so order the estoppel early; it is a common late-stage bottleneck.

Permits and open-permit issues

Open or expired building permits can cause real friction. If prior work was done without a permit, or a permit was opened and never closed out (finalized), it can surface in due diligence and has to be addressed. If you know of past renovations, additions, roof work, or water-heater or electrical work, check permit status early rather than discovering an open permit days before closing.

Authority to convey: probate, marital, and entity

Whoever signs the deed must have the legal authority to convey the property:

• Estate or probate. If title is held in the name of someone who has died, or passes through an estate or trust, the proper estate, trust, or probate documentation must establish who can sign.
• Marital. Florida homestead and marital-property rules can require a spouse to join in the deed even if that spouse is not on title. Tell the settlement agent your marital status early.
• Entity. If the owner is an LLC, corporation, partnership, or trust, the operating agreement, resolution, or trust instrument must show who is authorized to sign for it.

These authority issues are among the most common sources of last-minute scrambling, and they are also the ones most easily handled with lead time. Curative or legal work is handled by the affiliated Law Offices of Thomas G. Sherman, P.A.; the title agency itself does not give legal advice, so consult your own attorney on legal questions about authority or estate matters.

Start early: that is the whole strategy

Almost every item above is solvable; the only thing that makes them dangerous is starting late. As soon as you are under contract, get payoffs requested, the estoppel ordered, permits checked, and authority documents assembled. For a fuller picture of how these fit into the overall transaction, see The Florida Real Estate Closing Process, Step by Step. To estimate your seller costs, use our Florida title and closing-cost calculator, see our title and settlement services, and contact Union Title Services early so we can start clearing title before it becomes urgent.