A Florida transaction coordinator handles contract-to-close on FAR/BAR residential files, working with the title company as the central closing hub. Florida is a title-company state, not an attorney state, with no statutory attorney requirement for residential closings. The closing table is simpler than most states, but the file itself carries a heavy disclosure stack: condo documents under HB 221, hurricane and flood verification, HOA estoppels, homestead notices, and FIRPTA on a meaningful share of transactions. A Florida TC manages that stack while tracking the 21-day loan approval, 3-day earnest money delivery, 5-day condo docs, 15-day rescission, and closing dates set by the contract.
This guide covers the FAR/BAR form, the FREC regulatory backdrop, earnest money mechanics, the disclosure stack, and the title-company closing model. Written for Florida agents and their TCs, and for out-of-state agents taking Florida referrals for the first time.
Key takeaways
- Florida is a Category D title-company state. Title companies run closings, not attorneys.
- FAR/BAR Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase (Version 7, December 2024) is the standard form.
- Earnest money is held by the title company or brokerage; delivery within 3 banking days.
- Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) regulates licensees through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).
- Condo/HOA disclosures, homestead notices, and hurricane/flood disclosures create a heavier-than-average disclosure stack.
What does a transaction coordinator do in Florida?
A Florida TC runs the file from executed FAR/BAR contract to recorded deed. Scope covers timeline tracking against every contract deadline, document collection and disclosure routing, vendor coordination (title, lender, inspector, appraiser, HOA, condo association), and broker-file assembly to the standard FREC expects on audit.
Florida's TC work differs from most states in three ways. First, the disclosure stack is denser: condo docs, HOA estoppels, homestead notice, flood verification, and FIRPTA appear on a majority of files. Second, the title company is the closing hub on almost every transaction. Third, FREC enforces unlicensed-practice boundaries actively under Florida Statute Chapter 475. Unlicensed TCs handle administrative and documentary work; they don't negotiate contract terms or represent parties.
On Florida deals we see, the single most common failure mode isn't a missed deadline. It's a missed condition. A condo doc not delivered by day 5. A flood zone not verified before the lender's FEMA deadline. A FIRPTA form not prepared because the seller's foreign status wasn't flagged at intake. The Florida TC's job is making sure every Florida-specific condition is in the file before the closing date forces the issue.
What is the FAR/BAR Residential Contract?
The FAR/BAR Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase is Florida's standard residential purchase agreement, jointly maintained by Florida Realtors and The Florida Bar. It's the form most Florida residential transactions use unless the parties use an attorney-drafted alternative. The contract and its addenda are available through the FAR/BAR form repository.
Two recent updates matter for 2026 files. Version 6 (August 1, 2024) rewrote the compensation language to comply with the NAR settlement. MLS compensation references came out, and buyer broker compensation moved to negotiation outside the form. Version 7 (December 31, 2024) added condominium compliance tied to HB 221 (2024), clarified the closing services definition (Paragraph 9), refined earnest-money dispute addenda, and updated the forfeiture procedure.
The condo compliance additions are the biggest change. The form now requires conspicuous checkboxes for milestone inspection dates, acknowledgment of turnover inspection reports where applicable, and disclosure of structural integrity reserve study status on buildings 3 or more years old. Running a Florida file on Version 6 in 2026 misses the condo language entirely. Florida TCs confirm the contract's current version at intake.
How do Florida closing timelines work?
Florida residential closings typically run 45 to 60 calendar days from the contract's effective date, which is longer than the national median. The extra time is driven by appraisal and underwriting cycles that run longer on Florida investor-heavy transactions, condo inspection requirements, and the FEMA flood insurance coordination that's baked into most files.
Key FAR/BAR deadlines on a financed residential transaction:
| Deadline | Typical timing | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| Effective Date | Day 0 | Last-party signature or written acceptance |
| Earnest money delivery | 3 banking days | Funds cleared to title company |
| Inspection period | Negotiable, commonly 10-15 days | Buyer's inspection and repair-negotiation window |
| Condo documents delivery | 5 days from effective date | Start of 15-day rescission window |
| Loan approval contingency | 21 calendar days | Lender approval or cancellation |
| Title commitment delivery | Typically 15-30 days | Marketable title review |
| FEMA flood insurance deadline | 30-45 days (lender-set) | FEMA compliance for funding |
| Closing | 45-60 days | Final walkthrough, signing, recording |
Each deadline is counted from the Effective Date, which is the last signature or written delivery of acceptance. It's not the first-party signature. On Florida deals we see, the Effective Date gets confused with the acceptance date often enough that we confirm it explicitly at intake on every file.
Who holds earnest money in Florida?
The title company's escrow account holds earnest money on the vast majority of Florida residential transactions. Attorney escrow is the alternative on commercial or complex deals, and broker trust account custody is permitted but uncommon and discouraged. The FAR/BAR contract specifies the escrow holder at offer time.
Standard deposits run 1% to 3% of the purchase price (lower than the national average because Florida's high-volume market favors transaction efficiency). Delivery is due within 3 banking days of the contract's effective date under the FAR/BAR standard language.
The cure mechanic is written into the contract. If the buyer fails to deliver, the seller issues written notice of default. The buyer has a short cure window to deliver. If cure fails, the seller can terminate and keep any deposit already received, or pursue the remedies in the earnest money dispute addendum if both parties claim the deposit.
Where Florida earnest money fails most often is routing. Buyers sometimes send the deposit to the buyer's brokerage instead of the title company, adding a hand-off day that can push delivery past 3 banking days. In our TC work on Florida files, we verify the routing path at intake and confirm receipt with the title company directly.
What Florida-specific disclosures does a TC track?
Florida files run a denser disclosure stack than most states. A Florida TC tracks delivery, acknowledgment, and timing on each of the following:
- Condominium documents. If the property is in a condo, the buyer receives the declaration, bylaws, rules, financial statements, and any budget within 5 days of the effective date. The buyer has a 15-day rescission window from delivery, extendable to 30. Under HB 221 and Version 7, milestone inspection status, turnover inspection acknowledgments (developer-controlled buildings), and structural integrity reserve study disclosure are specific items that get tracked.
- HOA estoppel. If the property is in a mandatory HOA, the resale certificate or estoppel is ordered early. Turnaround from HOA management companies can run 5 to 15 business days, which is the single most common closing-delay source on HOA-governed Florida files.
- Homestead notice. Buyers of primary residences receive the homestead exemption notice reminding them to file with the county property appraiser by March 1 of the year following purchase.
- Hurricane and flood disclosures. All Florida properties are subject to flood disclosure. Coastal and low-lying properties often require elevation certificates. Lender FEMA flood insurance verification is a standard closing condition with its own 30 to 45 day deadline.
- Lead paint disclosure. Federal requirement on properties built before 1978. Same disclosure stack as every state, but Florida's coastal historic inventory triggers it often.
- FIRPTA. Federal Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act. If the seller is a foreign person, the buyer may owe 15% withholding at closing. Florida's international seller base makes FIRPTA verification a routine intake step, not an exception.
- Seller property condition disclosure. Commonly delivered even where not contractually required.
On Florida files we run, the HOA estoppel and condo docs are the two disclosures that most often compress a 45-day closing into a tight finish. Both require external vendor turnaround on the HOA or association's schedule, not the file's schedule. The TC's job is starting them early.
How do Florida title company closings work?
Florida is a Category D title-company state under the closing-conventions taxonomy. There's no statutory attorney requirement for residential closings. Licensed Florida title companies handle every step: title search, document preparation, escrow, closing-table conduct, disbursement, and recording.
In South Florida (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach), closing attorneys are more common by local custom, reflecting consumer expectation rather than statutory requirement. The FAR/BAR contract accommodates either model. Most Florida closings, including most South Florida closings by count, still run title-first.
On a title-company closing, the title company receives the executed contract, orders the title search, prepares the commitment, runs the closing table, coordinates with the lender on funding, disburses per the closing disclosure, and records the deed. The buyer and seller sign at the title company, typically on the same day.
The TC works with the title company as the closing hub: earnest money receipt confirmed directly, title commitment review through the title company, closing disclosure reviewed against commission demand before signing, and broker file assembled to FREC audit standard. For a deeper look at the title-escrow mechanism, see how escrow works in real estate.
What trips up Florida files?
Five Florida-specific issues show up across most files we inherit or review:
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Condo approval delays. HB 221 tightened the condo compliance timeline, and condos built 3+ years ago now require structural integrity reserve study disclosure. The condo association or management company's document package can take 5 to 15 business days to prepare. Starting the request at contract signing rather than at the 5-day delivery deadline is how Florida TCs protect the 45-day closing.
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Hurricane-zone flood cert timing. Lenders set the FEMA flood insurance compliance deadline on a hard schedule (often 30 to 45 days). Coastal and low-lying properties need elevation certificates from a licensed surveyor, which can take 5 to 10 business days. Missing the cert blocks funding.
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HOA estoppel timing. HOA management company turnaround on the resale certificate or estoppel is the most common external-vendor delay on Florida HOA files. A late estoppel pushes the closing, not the HOA.
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Out-of-state wire-fraud risk. Florida's buyer and seller mix is national and international. Wire-fraud attempts targeting closing wires are a real and persistent risk. Title companies and TCs verify wiring instructions out-of-band (phone call to a known number) rather than trusting emailed instructions on any Florida file.
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FREC broker-file audit. FREC audits broker files. Missing consents, incomplete buyer brokerage agreements (post-NAR), and incomplete disclosure acknowledgments get caught at audit. The TC's broker-file assembly is the agent's audit defense.
In our TC work on Florida files, the first three of these show up on more than half of files. The fourth and fifth are background risk that becomes foreground when a specific file fails. Running every file against the full Florida-specific checklist is how we don't let the exceptions pile up.
How does Quill coordinate Florida files?
Quill runs Florida files on a FAR/BAR Version 7 timeline built from the Effective Date, with the title company as the closing hub. The file intake covers FIRPTA seller verification, flood zone status, HOA or condo membership, and the correct FAR/BAR version. Each Florida-specific deadline gets tracked on the file calendar with 48-hour and 24-hour reminders. Condo documents get ordered at contract signing. HOA estoppels get ordered at contract signing. The lender's FEMA flood insurance deadline gets confirmed and tracked with the lender directly.
Quill is a transaction coordination firm, not a brokerage. We coordinate files for Florida agents working under their own brokerage's supervision. We don't practice law, run title, or operate as a closing attorney. On files that use a South Florida closing attorney by custom, we coordinate alongside the attorney the same way we coordinate with the title company on title-company closings.
For the broader TC role, see what does a transaction coordinator do. For how Florida's title-company convention compares to Utah's (another title-company state with different deadline mechanics), see earnest money in Utah. For the Florida hub page with state-specific service detail, see /states/florida.
Closing thoughts on Florida files
Florida's closing convention is simple (title companies run closings) but the file itself is dense. Condo compliance, flood verification, HOA estoppels, FIRPTA, homestead, and the layered FAR/BAR deadlines all sit on top of a standard transaction. A Florida TC's value is running the full stack against the contract's timeline without letting any single disclosure or deadline compress the closing.
Florida Realtors publishes extensive member education on the FAR/BAR form and current regulatory environment through floridarealtors.org, and the National Association of Realtors maintains national research that includes Florida-specific data on transaction timelines and disclosure patterns. For the state's authoritative regulatory guidance, FREC and the DBPR Division of Real Estate are the primary sources.
Run the file from the Effective Date forward. Every Florida-specific disclosure sequenced early. Condo and HOA documents requested at contract signing. Flood and FIRPTA verified at intake. The title company as the closing hub. Quill's first file is free if you want to see a Florida file run the way it should.
$350 per file, billed at close.