One: Who Owns It, on Paper
Straightforward on most files and not on all. Inherited property with no probate completed, a deceased co-owner, a divorce that never separated title, a name that does not match.
Where it is found: the deed in the county clerk's records, immediately. This is the first thing any title company looks at and it is the most common reason a Florida closing takes longer than the parties expected.
Two: What Is Already Recorded
Mortgages, tax positions, code liens and, on a fire-damaged property, construction liens under Chapter 713.
Where it is found: the same search, minutes later. A recorded lien does not stop you agreeing a sale and it does stop that sale closing until it is paid, released, bonded or resolved. The full position is on our page covering liens and the assignment.
Can I Find This out Myself?
Three: Who Could Still Record
The part that is invisible in a search, because it has not happened yet.
Anyone who has furnished labour, services or materials since the fire may serve a Notice to Owner before commencing or within 45 days of commencing, and may later record. Unpaid subcontractors and suppliers can attach to the property even where you have paid your contractor in full.
Where it is found: in your own paperwork and your own post. Every Notice to Owner names a party from whom a written release should be obtained.
Four: Who Controls the Claim
If a valid assignment of benefits exists on a pre-2023 policy, the assignee has authority to enforce the insurance contract and the scope of repairs may not be yours to direct.
On a policy issued or renewed on or after 1 January 2023 no new assignment is available, which means the contract for the work is between you and the contractor, and any shortfall between the estimate and what the insurer pays is yours.
Does an Assignment Stop a Sale?
What We Do With Your Address
The parcel record. First, to establish which county, because a search in the wrong index proves nothing.
The clerk's official records. Deed, liens, notices, and whatever else is there.
Your documents. Whatever you have signed and received, read for what kind of documents they are.
The building. Whether the frame came through, which decides which market you are in.
What Comes Back
A written figure with each line visible: finished value, cost of the work, carrying cost and margin. Plus a plain list of anything we found recorded against the property, whether or not you sell to us, because you should have that either way.
What If Repairing Beats Selling?
What Never Happens
No fee at any stage. No request that you clear the site, board it beyond making it safe, commission a report or repair anything first. No requirement that your claim be settled. No assignment of the contract to a third party. And we never pay a contractor, settle a lien or deal with a restoration company on your behalf before closing, because payments made outside a closing without proper releases are the exact situation the statutory warning describes.
Common Questions About the Process
How Long Does It Take?
Address to written figure is usually a few days. Closing depends on what title finds. The insurance claim does not have to be settled first.
Do I Need to Be in Florida?
No. Out-of-state owners are very common here and remote closing is routine.
Something Is Already Recorded Against My House.
Then say so at the start. It is workable and it changes the timeline, and it is far better disclosed early than found in week three.