Three checks stand between the contract and the keys: the appraisal, the title work and your final numbers. On a $400,000 purchase with a $360,000 loan, Florida's loan taxes, the lender's title policy and recording add $2,195 on top of the down payment, lender fees and prepaid items.
If the appraisal comes in low
The lender sizes the loan on the lower of the price or the appraised value. Take a $400,000 contract, 10% down, and a $390,000 appraisal. The loan is now 90% of $390,000, which is $351,000. To close at $400,000 you would bring $49,000, not $40,000.
You have four moves: ask the seller to drop to $390,000, pay the $10,000 gap yourself, split it, or give the lender better closed sales and ask for a second look. The base As Is contract contains no appraisal-gap figure, so know before you sign whether a rider changed that.
Title commitment and survey
The title commitment lists what must be cleared before the title company will insure your ownership: old mortgages, liens, easements and restrictions. The As Is contract gives the seller 30 days to cure a defect. A municipal lien search looks for unrecorded code liens, open permits and unpaid utility balances, and it can take two to four weeks, so it should be ordered early.
Florida sets title insurance rates by rule: $5.75 per $1,000 for the first $100,000 and $5.00 per $1,000 from there to $1 million. A $400,000 owner's policy is $575 plus $1,500, or $2,075. In Orange County the seller pays for it by custom, and the lender's policy issued alongside costs you $25.
The survey shows boundaries, easements and anything built over a line. Compare it with the fence and driveway you saw.
The Closing Disclosure and cash to close
Your lender must give you the Closing Disclosure before closing. Compare it line by line with your Loan Estimate as soon as it arrives and ask about anything that moved.
| Line | Math | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Down payment | 10% of $400,000 | $40,000.00 |
| Documentary stamps on the note | 3,600 hundreds at $0.35 | $1,260.00 |
| Intangible tax on the mortgage | 0.2% of $360,000 | $720.00 |
| Lender's title policy | Simultaneous issue | $25.00 |
| Recording | 2-page deed $18.50; 20-page mortgage $171.50 | $190.00 |
| First-year homeowners premium | Orange County average, as reported from the state regulator's July 2026 report | $3,610.00 |
| Subtotal | $45,805.00 | |
| Less deposit already paid | 2% of $400,000 | -$8,000.00 |
| Due at closing, before the items below | $37,805.00 |
Still to add from your own Loan Estimate: lender fees, the appraisal, prepaid interest, escrow reserves for tax and insurance, title endorsements and the survey. As a check, Florida buyer closing costs usually run 2% to 5% of the price: $8,000 to $20,000 here, before the down payment.
The seller's side has its own tax: documentary stamps on the deed at $0.70 per $100, or $2,800 on this sale, paid by the seller by custom.
Wire fraud. Criminals send emails that look like they come from the title company, with new wiring instructions. Before you send money, call the title company at a phone number you looked up yourself, never one from an email, and read the account number back.
Before the next lesson
- Build your own estimate in the closing cost calculator.
- Add the Closing Disclosure and walk-through dates to your contract-to-close calendar.
- Ask the title company how and when they send wiring instructions, on day one.
- Read the title commitment and survey the day they arrive, and send questions to Robert.
Sources: Florida Department of Revenue, documentary stamp tax, Florida Department of Revenue, nonrecurring intangible tax, Rule 69O-186.003, F.A.C. (title insurance rates), Orange County Comptroller recording fees, Florida Realtors/Florida Bar AS IS contract. Checked November 2026.
The lender uses the lower value: 90% of $390,000 is $351,000. Note stamps are $0.35 per $100, so 3,600 hundreds cost $1,260; the $720 figure is the separate 0.2% intangible tax.
