Short answer: Florida is a title state, so a title company can close your deal without an attorney. That is the easy part. The hard part is doc stamps: Florida charges documentary stamp tax on the deed, and in a double close you pay it on both legs.
- Who closes: A licensed title company or agent can conduct the closing.
- What you pay twice: every duplicated cost lands on your spread, and in a double close there are two of everything.
- The real objection is almost never the law. It is that the underwriter will not insure a purchase funded with your end buyer’s money.
- “Investor friendly” is not a certification. It means the shop has closed these before and its underwriter has signed off.
If you are searching for an investor friendly title company florida, you have probably already been told no at least once. This page explains who is allowed to close your deal in Florida, what the structure actually costs here, and the questions that tell you in a couple of minutes whether a given closing agent can handle it.
Contents
Who can close a deal in Florida?
A licensed title company or agent can conduct the closing. An attorney is not required for a normal sale with title insurance. Florida law does require an attorney for an all cash purchase where no title insurance is issued, which is a case wholesalers hit more often than most buyers.
That matters because it tells you who to call. Calling the wrong kind of professional wastes a week and makes you sound like you have not done this before, which is exactly the impression you do not want to give the person deciding whether to take your file.
Documentary stamp tax, and why it hurts twice
Florida charges documentary stamp tax on the deed. Outside Miami-Dade the rate has long been $0.70 per $100 of consideration. Miami-Dade runs on a different structure, $0.60 per $100 plus a surtax on non single family property.
On a $150,000 contract that is roughly $1,050 in doc stamps. In a double close you transfer the deed twice, so you pay it twice. Budget close to $2,100 on that deal before you have paid a single settlement fee.
This single line item is why plenty of Florida wholesalers assign instead of double closing unless the spread is genuinely large. Confirm current rates with your closing agent, because they are set by statute and do change.
Work the duplicated cost into your offer before you give a seller a number, not after. A spread that looked fine on the contract can disappear entirely once you have paid two sets of closing costs.
Why the title company said no
In almost every case the refusal is not about Florida law. It is about funding.
In a classic wholesale double close you want to buy from the seller and sell to your cash buyer on the same day, using the buyer’s money to pay the seller. Most title insurance underwriters will not insure that, because for a moment the funds in the file do not belong to the person the deed says is buying. The industry calls it a dry close.
Seller A → You (B) funded by C’s money
Wet close, usually accepted
Seller A → You (B) funded by your own or borrowed funds
You (B) → Buyer C funded by C, you repay the loan same day
The fix is wet funding. You bring real money to the first table, usually through transactional funding, which is short term money often held only hours and priced as a flat fee rather than an interest rate.
Change the question. Not “do you do double closings,” which invites a policy answer. Instead: “I have transactional funding for the A to B leg, so it will be wet on both sides. Can your underwriter insure that?” Different question, different answer.
Six questions to ask on the first call
- Have you closed a back to back transaction in the last ninety days? If they hesitate on the phrase, you have your answer.
- Does your underwriter require separate approval for it? A good shop knows immediately.
- Will you close it wet if I bring transactional funding? This is the question that actually decides it.
- Two files or one escrow? Tells you how their process really handles the sequencing.
- What does the seller see on their settlement statement? Know the disclosure posture before you promise a seller anything.
- What are the total fees across both legs, in Florida? Ask for a number, not a range.
Where you are closing in Florida changes the answer
| Market | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | Different doc stamp structure plus a surtax on non single family property. Confirm the surtax applies before you quote a seller a net number. |
| Tampa and Orlando | Deep investor markets with title shops that see back to back deals regularly. Ask how recently, not whether. |
| Jacksonville and the Panhandle | Smaller shops, more variation in underwriter posture. Worth calling several. |
Florida runs a large volume of investor transactions, which cuts both ways. Title shops here have seen the structure before, and they have also seen every version of it go wrong. Expect real questions about your funding rather than a blanket no.
When you should just assign instead
A double close costs real money and adds a failure point. Use it when there is a reason:
- You do not want the seller to see your spread. The most common reason.
- Your contract is not assignable, or the seller will not permit an assignment.
- The property is bank owned or an REO where assignment is contractually barred.
- The spread is large enough that disclosure would kill the deal.
If none of those apply, assign it. You keep the fee, skip the second set of costs, and never need the underwriter’s blessing at all.
Frequently asked questions
Is a double closing legal in Florida?
Yes. Two back to back purchases are ordinary transactions. What draws scrutiny is funding the first leg with the second buyer’s money and failing to disclose properly. Several states have added wholesaler disclosure or registration duties in recent years, so confirm Florida’s current rules before you contract.
How do I find an investor friendly title company florida?
Referral first. Ask active investors in your market who they closed with, not who they called. Local investor meetups and the closing agent named on recent investor purchases in the county records are both better sources than a search result. Then run the six questions above.
Does “investor friendly” mean anything official?
No. There is no certification. It means the shop has closed these before, knows its underwriter’s position, and will not discover a problem on your closing date.
Do I need transactional funding?
Not if you have your own funds for the first leg. You need it when you do not, which is most of the time. It exists specifically for this structure.
Will the seller see what I made?
In a true double close the two settlement statements are separate, so the seller sees their own transaction rather than your resale. That is the main reason wholesalers pay for one. Disclosure duties still apply.
Can one company handle both legs?
Usually yes, and it is generally cleaner. One shop holding both files controls the sequencing, and some will discount the second title policy when the closings run back to back.
Stuck on a deal that needs a double close?
Finding the closing agent is the easy half. Structuring the deal so it survives the underwriter, and knowing when to assign instead, is what costs people the spread. That is what we work through every day inside the free group, with contract breakdowns and daily live coaching. No cash, no credit, no license needed.
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Florida closing agent and conveyancing practice
Florida real estate transfer and documentary tax statutes
Title insurance underwriter guidance on simultaneous and back to back closings
State wholesaler disclosure and registration statutes enacted 2024 to 2026
This article explains common practice and is not legal advice. Closing rules, tax rates, underwriter policy and wholesaler disclosure duties vary and change often. Confirm current figures with a closing agent or real estate attorney licensed in Florida before you contract.