If you had to Google the answer to this then you need to work with someone who knows these things. Call me, Chris Ryder, at 561.818.3858.

First, the short answer is that the Check box found in Paragraph 9(c) (Seller or Buyer pays…) of the Far Bar As-Is ONLY dictates who pays for the Owner’s Title Policy and the Municiple Lien Search. Other than these 2 items the Buyer or Seller ir responsible for the “Charges” delineated under Paragraph 9(a) or 9(b). And for the Buyer AND the Seller that includes a Closing Fee.

This just changed. Historically, the party that chooses the Closing Agent pays their fee. Thus, the Closing Agent was paid by the party that chose to use them which was a check box on the Contract. In a cash sale where the Seller chose, and the Seller paid, the Buyer would NOT pay a Closing Fee. BUT in a sale with financing and where the Seller chose the Closing Agent and paid the fee to close THE SALE, the Buyer would still pay a fee to the Closing Agent, justified by them, as being required to close the loan. It was a fight. But now the Closing Cost section SPECIFICALLY states the “Buyer’s Closing Services” as a fee ascribed to the that party.

And the Contract includes a definition of: “Closing Services” shall have the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 627.7711(1)(a), F.S.; each party shall bear their own Closing Services fees payable to Closing Agent or such other provider(s) as each party may select.

And it looks to me like the FS refferenced is to close the sale BUT not the loan. The Buyer should ALWAYS ask RIGHT AWAY how much the Closing Agent will charge the Buyer and the Seller to 1) close the transaction and 2) the fee to the Buyer to close the loan, assuming they are using one.

The FS referenced reads: “(1)(a) “Closing services” means services performed by a licensed title insurer, title insurance agent or agency, or attorney agent in the agent’s or agency’s capacity as such, including, but not limited to, preparing documents necessary to close the transaction, conducting the closing, or handling the disbursing of funds related to the closing in a real estate closing transaction in which a title insurance commitment or policy is to be issued.”

Florida has long had 3 basic types of agency relationships between real esate consumers and licensees: Single Agency Broker, Transactional Broker and a No Brokerage realtionship. Currently all consumers are ASSUMED to be acting in a Transactional Broker relationship with the agent UNLESS AND UNTIL another form of agency is entered into such as the No Brokerage Relationship which specifies that:

As a real estate licensee who has no brokerage relationship with you,   (insert name of Real Estate Entity and its Associates)   owe to you the following duties:

1. Dealing honestly and fairly;

2. Disclosing all known facts that materially affect the value of residential real property which are not readily observable to the buyer.

3. Accounting for all funds entrusted to the licensee.