Buying a Florida Second Home From Out of State

The title search, the commitment, and the deed. Florida title premiums follow the state rule. We do not add an out-of-state surcharge. Documentary stamp tax follows the consideration on the deed, not the buyer's home state. The deed records in the county where the land sits. You can sign at 3087 Anderson Snow Road in Spring Hill, including a Pasco or Citrus purchase. Signing here does not move the recording.

A financed purchase still needs the lender's Closing Disclosure at least three business days before you sign the loan. Cash skips that wait. It does not skip the search, an HOA estoppel if there is an association, or a municipal search.

Three ways, and the lender picks among them on a loan. You can sign in our Spring Hill office. You can sign on paper where you live, before a notary allowed by § 695.03, with two witnesses. You can sign by remote online notarization: under § 117.265, a Florida online notary who is physically in Florida may notarize you while you are somewhere else, on a recorded audio-video session. Section 689.01 lets the two witnesses sign electronically by that same audio-video technology. You cannot witness your own signature.

The clerk still needs each witness's name and address printed on the deed. A power of attorney is a fourth path, not a shortcut. Under § 709.2105 it must be signed by you, signed by two witnesses, and acknowledged. Under § 695.01 it has to be recorded to protect the deed against later creditors and purchasers. If the house is homestead, § 689.111 still requires the spouse to join, even when the joinder is done through a power of attorney. Read why both spouses sign. On a loan, ask the lender before you book a remote signing. We do not override the lender.

Homestead is a permanent residence. Section 196.031 allows the exemption for a person who, on January 1, owns the property and in good faith makes it their permanent residence, or the permanent residence of a dependent. The base exemption is up to $25,000. A further exemption applies to assessed value above $50,000 for levies other than school levies, and that further amount is adjusted for inflation. We do not calculate the bill. If you claim a residency-based property-tax exemption or credit in another state, § 196.031(6) says you are not entitled to the Florida homestead exemption.

A sale is a change of ownership. Homestead property is assessed at just value as of January 1 of the year after that change, under § 193.155, and only then does the Save Our Homes cap — the lower of 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index — limit later increases. You can transfer a Florida homestead benefit only if you had a Florida homestead exemption as of January 1 of any of the three immediately preceding years. An exemption from another state does not transfer.

A second home that is not homestead is nonhomestead residential property. Under § 193.1554, a change of ownership assesses it at just value as of the following January 1. After that, the annual increase is capped at 10 percent for levies other than school district levies. School taxes are not inside that 10 percent cap. If you later make the house your permanent residence, the homestead application is due by March 1 under § 196.011. The property appraiser decides it. We do not.

Wind and flood insurance are not title insurance. A policy from us insures ownership. It does not pay for a storm. Read what title insurance does not cover. The lender, if you have one, will require the hazard policy before funding. We do not bind it.

Wire instructions belong on a phone call you place, not in an email you received. Call (352) 792-1214 and read wire fraud at a Florida closing. Out-of-state buyers are the usual target because they cannot walk in and ask.