Who Chooses the Title Company in Florida
In Florida the answer to who chooses the title company depends on who is paying for title insurance. In most residential transactions, the buyer pays for the lender's title insurance policy and the seller pays for the owner's title insurance policy. The party paying for owner's title insurance gets the right to choose the title company. Because the seller typically pays for owner's coverage in Florida, the seller often picks. The contract is what controls it.
Read the contract first
The FAR/BAR contract used in most Florida residential transactions has a section that specifies who pays for owner's title insurance and who chooses the title company. Look at this section before signing. If the buyer wants to choose, the contract can be written that way. Buyers paying for both policies always have the right to choose under federal law (RESPA Section 9), which prohibits sellers from requiring the buyer to use a specific title insurer as a condition of sale.
New construction is different
Builders on 30A and across Florida often recommend a preferred title company. Many builders work with a title company they own or have a financial relationship with. Federal law allows this if the relationship is disclosed in an Affiliated Business Arrangement disclosure. You are not required to use the builder's title company. You can choose your own. Builders sometimes offer credits or incentives to use their company, but the credits are negotiable and often cost less than the savings on the closing itself.
Cash buyers and refinancing
A cash buyer with no lender involved has full choice of title company. The contract controls who pays, but the buyer is generally free to negotiate the title company along with everything else. On a refinance, the homeowner is the party paying for the new lender's policy, so the homeowner chooses the title company.
What to ask before choosing
The questions that matter most when picking a title company:
- Is the company attorney led or does it operate without an attorney on staff
- How long has the company been doing closings in your county
- How quickly does the team respond when something complicated comes up
- Does the company handle the title search in house or outsource it
- What is the company's wire fraud protocol
- How does the company communicate status during the file
Why this matters on 30A
On 30A specifically, the property mix is unusual. Beachfront condos, gated community homes, historic Seaside parcels, and new construction in Inlet Beach all carry different title issues. A title company without local experience can miss easements, HOA quirks, or community specific restrictions that delay closing. Choosing a local company with 30A experience can shorten the timeline and prevent surprises.
Working with AquaRK Title Services
We are an attorney led title company based at Grand Boulevard at Sandestin. Bryan Kiefer has been handling Florida real estate as an attorney since 1992. If you would like to use AquaRK Title Services on your closing, tell your real estate agent before you sign the contract. They will write us in. If you have already signed a contract that names a different title company, contact us anyway. We can often work with the parties to change the title company before closing.