Title Commitment in Florida: Reading Schedule B Before You Close

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A title commitment Florida buyers receive before closing states what the title insurer will insure, what must be cured before it will issue the policy, and the exceptions it will not cover.

Schedule B-II, the exceptions, is where the surprises live. Our guide to title insurance in Florida covers the policy that follows.

What it is

The insurer's offer to issue a policy on stated terms after the closing.

Issued after the title search.

The American Land Title Association publishes the standard form.

Delivered to the buyer, seller and lender.

Read it before the walkthrough.

Schedule A

The effective date, the proposed insured, the amount, the estate insured and the current owner of record.

Confirm the legal description matches the contract.

Confirm the seller of record is the seller on the contract.

See our guide to deed fraud in Florida.

A mismatch is the first red flag.

Schedule B-I: requirements

What must happen before the policy issues: the deed, the mortgage payoff, releases of liens, estoppels, affidavits, corrective documents.

The title company works the list.

See our guide to mortgage payoff letters in Florida.

An unusual requirement signals a title problem.

Ask about each.

Schedule B-II: exceptions

What the policy will not cover: easements, restrictions, association declarations, mineral rights, survey matters, taxes for the current year.

See our guide to deed restricted communities in Florida.

Standard exceptions and specific recorded items.

Each specific exception is a recorded document you should read.

The title company provides copies on request.

Standard exceptions

Survey matters, unrecorded easements, mechanics' liens, and rights of parties in possession.

A current survey removes the survey exception.

See our guide to surveys and boundary disputes in Florida.

An owner's affidavit removes some others.

Lenders require the survey exception removed.

Easements

Utility, drainage, access and maintenance easements are common.

See our guide to zero lot line homes in Florida.

They are exceptions; you take the home subject to them.

Read where they run and what they allow.

A drainage easement across the pool site matters.

Restrictions and declarations

The HOA or condo declaration is an exception.

See our guide to HOA and mortgage approval in Florida.

You take the property subject to every covenant.

Request the document package.

Rental and architectural rules live there.

Liens and judgments

Recorded liens appear as requirements to release, not exceptions.

See our guide to code violations on a purchase in Florida.

Unrecorded municipal liens need a separate lien search.

A judgment against a seller with a common name may require an affidavit.

The title company resolves them.

Taxes and assessments

Current-year taxes are excepted; prior years must be paid.

See our guide to CDD fees in Florida.

Special assessments and CDD bonds may be excepted.

Read for any non-ad valorem item.

The tax proration at closing follows.

Coastal and environmental

Riparian rights, submerged land leases, and the coastal construction control line may appear.

See our guide to the coastal construction control line in Florida.

Mineral rights reservations on older parcels.

Conservation easements.

Each shapes what you can do with the land.

Objecting

The Florida contract gives the buyer a period to object to title defects.

See our guide to contract contingencies in Florida.

The seller has time to cure.

If not cured, the buyer can cancel with the deposit returned.

Object in writing inside the window.

The lender's review

The lender reads the commitment for first-lien position and acceptable exceptions.

See our guide to what happens at closing in Florida.

Some exceptions require endorsements.

The closing protection letter comes with it.

Lender approval of title is a closing condition.

Endorsements

Add-ons that cover specific risks: survey, condo, PUD, environmental, access.

Florida's promulgated rates set the cost.

Lenders require several.

Owners can buy some.

Ask what each does.

The final policy

Issued after recording, matching the commitment's terms.

See our guide to the after-closing checklist in Florida.

Keep it with the deed.

It covers you for as long as you own.

A future lady bird deed or trust transfer may need an endorsement.

Refinances

A new commitment for the lender's policy; a reissue credit if the owner's policy is recent.

See our guide to rate-and-term refinancing in Florida.

New exceptions since purchase appear: a HELOC, a solar UCC filing, a code lien.

See our guide to solar lease and mortgage issues in Florida.

Each must be subordinated or released.

A worked reading

Schedule A matches the contract; B-I lists the seller's payoff and an estoppel; B-II lists a utility easement, the HOA declaration and a drainage easement along the rear.

The buyer pulls the declaration and the drainage easement.

The easement crosses where the buyer planned a pool.

The buyer negotiates a credit and redesigns.

Found in the commitment, not after closing.

Timing

The commitment issues within a week or two of the order.

Objections must be raised inside the contract's title period.

A late commitment can shorten your review; ask for an extension in writing.

The final policy follows recording by weeks.

Read the commitment the day it arrives.

Where to start

Ask the title company for the commitment and copies of every B-II document the day it issues.

Read the easements and the declaration against your plans for the property.

Then start a conversation and we will make sure the lender's title conditions clear on time.