New Construction Closings in Florida

The deed, the title search, and the funding are the same jobs as any purchase. The calendar is not. A financed resale often fits the 30-to-45-day path in how long a Florida closing takes. A new build is listed there at 45 to 90 days or more because the house and the builder's documents have to catch up to the contract. Send us the contract when it is signed, not the week the builder says the house is done.

Builders often convey by special warranty deed. That promise covers the builder's own time on title, not the whole chain. Compare that with a warranty deed in warranty deed vs. quitclaim deed. The buyer's protection after closing is the owner's title policy. Who pays the premium is the contract. Florida premiums follow the promulgated rule. We do not add a new-construction surcharge.

Fla. Stat. § 713.13 requires the owner to record a notice of commencement before improving the property, and to post it. The notice is effective when it is filed with the clerk. It is not a lien. It is notice that claims of lien may be recorded and may relate back to that recording. If the improvement does not actually start within 90 days, the notice is void. Unless the notice states another expiration, it stops being effective against a later purchaser one year after recording. A contract that calls for more than a year of construction has to say so in the notice.

A claim of lien under § 713.08 may be recorded during the work or after it, but not later than 90 days after that lienor's final furnishing of labor, services, or materials. Florida's definition of final furnishing is not the certificate of occupancy and not a punch-list return. An open notice of commencement at the closing table is a title requirement. We do not insure over it because the builder says the subs were paid.

The owner can shorten the notice by recording a notice of termination under § 713.132. The termination date cannot be earlier than 30 days after that notice is recorded. It has to say all lienors have been paid in full, and it has to be accompanied by the contractor's affidavit. The owner must serve it on lienors who have a direct contract or who served a timely notice to owner, before recording it. A waiver and release on final payment, under § 713.20, is what lets the owner skip service on that lienor.

The certificate of occupancy comes from the building department. We do not issue it, and we do not inspect the house. The contract and the lender usually will not let the file fund until that certificate is in hand, or until a temporary certificate is acceptable to both. A temporary certificate is still not a lien release.

A current survey is how boundary and setback questions come off the commitment when the lender or the commitment requires one. We do not measure the lot. A municipal search is still separate: open permits, utility connections, and charges that never hit the official records. An HOA estoppel, if the subdivision has an association, follows the 10-business-day clock. A community development district assessment is not that estoppel. It often shows on the tax bill. We do not invent either figure.

The deed is still subject to documentary stamp tax on the consideration. Ask for that figure in writing. If the home will be your homestead, the spouse generally joins the mortgage. The exemption itself is the property appraiser's decision after you own it. Read why both spouses sign.

Fla. Stat. § 501.1375 applies when a building contractor or developer constructs and sells a one-family or two-family home and sells or constructs at least 10 units a year statewide. Someone under that volume is outside the statute. A contractor who only builds on land the buyer already owns is also outside it, because that job does not transfer title at a closing.

When the statute applies, the contract has to tell the buyer, in conspicuous type, that deposit funds up to 10 percent of the purchase price may be placed in escrow unless the buyer waives that right in writing. The escrow holder can be a bank, a trust company, a Florida Bar attorney, a licensed real estate broker, or a title insurance company. The builder is entitled to the interest. After notice to the buyer, the builder may use the deposit for construction if a surety bond payable to the buyer is readily available, or by borrowing an equal amount. Money that has not already been released is paid to the builder at closing. Deposits above 10 percent follow the contract. FHA, VA, and Chapter 475 broker deposits follow their own rules.

Time to Close Title holds that deposit only when the contract names us. We do not sign the waiver for you. We release escrowed funds only as the statute and the contract allow.

Call (352) 792-1214 or contact us at 3087 Anderson Snow Road, Spring Hill, FL 34609. Say the county. The deed records where the land sits, even if you sign here.