How to Review a Florida Title Commitment Before Closing

Review your title commitment as soon as you get it. First, check the buyer, seller, property, and legal description.

Then sort items that need action before closing. Other items may remain as exceptions to title coverage.

An open lien, unclear ownership, missing payoff, survey concern, or unmet title requirement can delay closing. Know what needs action, who handles it, and what proof shows it is done.

This guide is for education only. It does not explain your title commitment or purchase contract.

Ask the title company, lender, real estate agent, or a Florida real estate attorney about your transaction.

What a title commitment does

A title commitment is a title insurer's promise to issue a title policy if its listed conditions are met. It is not the final title policy.

It is also not a mortgage commitment letter.

Your mortgage commitment letter concerns loan approval. A title commitment concerns title insurance and the property's recorded title history.

Both may matter before your lender clears the loan for closing.

The Florida Bar explains that a commitment lists the requirements for issuing the policy. It also lists exceptions that may appear in the policy.

Not every exception is a title defect. Common subdivision restrictions may limit property use without stopping closing or financing.

Read the Florida Bar's home-buying guidance.

Read the commitment in this order

Many Florida commitments use Schedule A, Schedule B Part I, and Schedule B Part II. The format and words may vary by form and underwriter.

• Schedule A: Check the basic deal and property details.
• Schedule B Part I: Find requirements to meet before the policy can be issued.
• Schedule B Part II: Review exceptions the final policy may not cover.

Keep the commitment, all attached documents, and later updates. Mark the title-review and closing dates in your contract.

Schedule A: check property and ownership details

Schedule A usually lists the commitment date, proposed insured, policy amount, land or property interest, and legal description.

• Check the buyer's name and spelling.
• Check the seller's name and current owner.
• Match the street address and parcel number to the contract.
• Read the legal description. It identifies the insured land.
• Confirm if it covers an owner's policy, a lender's policy, or both.

Tell the title company about any name issue right away. A trust, LLC, name change, missing middle name, or change in who takes title may need new documents.

A lender's policy protects the lender. It does not protect your ownership interest.

Ask what owner's coverage will be issued and which exceptions will apply.

Schedule B Part I: assign each requirement

Part I is often the action list. These requirements must be met before the title insurer issues the final policy.

Some are routine. Others can take time.

• Paying off an existing mortgage.
• Recording a satisfaction or release of a prior lien.
• Signing deed, trust, probate, or marital-status documents.
• Addressing a judgment, tax lien, code lien, or other recorded claim.
• Showing that the seller can sign.
• Providing construction-lien releases after recent work.
• Recording the deed and new mortgage correctly.

Do not assume sale money will solve every item. A payoff may need a current lender statement.

A lien may need a separate release. The title company may need documents before it can insure the lender's mortgage in the required position.

Ask three questions: What must happen? Who is responsible? What document will prove it is complete?

Also ask if the item may affect the closing date.

Schedule B Part II: review exceptions

Part II usually lists exceptions. An exception is a matter the final policy may not cover.

It is not always a title defect or a reason to cancel the purchase.

A recorded utility easement or subdivision restriction may be common. It can still affect your plans.

Ask for the full recorded document if it is not attached. Review where it applies and what it allows.

Easements

An easement gives someone a legal right to use part of the property for a stated purpose. Utility, drainage, access, and shared-driveway easements are common.

An easement may matter if you plan to build a pool, fence, addition, shed, dock, or other improvement. Ask if it appears on a survey and affects current improvements.

Restrictions and plat matters

Recorded restrictions may control setbacks, parking, rentals, fences, or other uses. HOA and condo rules may also apply.

Title review does not replace reading association documents.

For a condo or HOA purchase, review account and assessment information from the association process. See our guide to the Florida condo estoppel certificate and unpaid assessments.

Survey-related exceptions

Some commitments have standard exceptions for matters not shown in public records. These can include some survey matters.

The wording and coverage options vary.

Do not assume a survey is always needed or will remove every exception. Ask the title company and lender what they need for this property and loan.

Title issues that may delay closing

A delay can happen when the lender or title insurer needs an issue fixed, documented, or addressed before closing.

Old mortgages and payoff problems

An old mortgage may still show in county records after it was paid. The title company may need payoff proof and a recorded satisfaction or other accepted release.

This is often the seller's task, but it can delay the buyer's closing. See our guide to a Florida mortgage lien release after payoff.

Judgments, tax liens, and other claims

Title records may show judgment liens, tax liens, environmental liens, notices of pending legal action, easements, restrictions, or other claims.

The title company must decide if an item affects the property. It must also decide what proof or action is needed.

A similar name does not always mean a lien belongs to the seller. Ask the title company what it found.

Do not make that decision yourself.

If a lawsuit, judgment, or garnishment involves you as the borrower, ask your lender about the loan impact. See our article on a Florida mortgage with a judgment, lawsuit, or garnishment.

Survey, boundary, and encroachment concerns

A survey can show property lines, easements, improvements, and possible encroachments. It may show a fence, shed, driveway, pool, or structure near a boundary or easement.

Ask if a new survey, old survey, or survey affidavit is accepted. If a survey finds an issue, send it to the closing team quickly.

The next step depends on the facts, lender, title insurer, and contract.

Open permits and municipal issues

A title review is not a full permit review. A municipal lien search may also be part of closing, based on the contract and closing arrangement.

In Florida, the search may help find certain unrecorded municipal liens.

For a Pinellas County or St. Petersburg home, ask early which searches and permit checks were ordered. If you learn about an open permit, do not wait for the final walk-through.

See our guide to a St. Petersburg mortgage with an open permit.

Recent repairs and construction liens

Recent remodeling may need lien affidavits, paid invoices, waivers, or releases. This matters when work was done close to closing.

The closing team must decide if an unpaid construction claim could remain against the property.

Know who should answer each question

Ask the title company or closing agent for listed documents, payoff status, survey status, requirement updates, and the next closing step.

Ask your lender if an issue may affect loan documents, lien priority, an endorsement, borrower names, vesting, or the closing date.

The lender decides what it needs for the loan. The title company decides what title coverage it can issue.

Ask a Florida real estate attorney about contract rights, title objections, ownership, probate, marital interests, easement scope, access rights, boundary rights, or accepting an exception.

Raise questions before the contract deadline

Your signed purchase contract controls title deadlines, notices, cure periods, extensions, and closing rights. Do not rely on a general checklist for those rights.

Some Florida residential contracts require a title commitment and copies of listed exception documents before closing. Review periods and notice rules depend on the form, revision date, riders, and addenda.

The Florida Realtors and Florida Bar contract materials also address surveys and municipal lien searches.

Review the applicable contract language.

Save emails and ask for written updates. If an important question remains open, raise it before your contract deadline.

Your agent and attorney can help you follow the required notice process.

Buyer checklist before signing

• Is the buyer name and ownership form correct?
• Does the legal description match the property being purchased?
• Does each Part I requirement have an owner and completion plan?
• Have prior mortgages, liens, and payoffs been addressed?
• Did I receive and review important exception documents?
• Could an easement, restriction, or survey issue affect my plans?
• Is a municipal lien search, permit review, or association item pending?
• Has my lender confirmed the title conditions it needs?
• Have I reviewed the final costs in my Florida Closing Disclosure?

Early review gives the closing team time to get documents and answer questions. It also gives you time to get legal advice before signing.

Official resources

• The Florida Bar: Buying a Home
• Florida Department of Financial Services: Title Insurance Overview
• Florida Office of Insurance Regulation: Title Insurance Forms
• Florida Realtors: Residential Contract Resources

Compliance note: This article is for education only. It is not legal advice or a title determination. Loan programs, terms, title requirements, and closing steps vary. Mortgage financing is subject to underwriting and credit approval and is not a commitment to lend.