St. Augustine Beach Title Company
Title insurance, escrow and closings for St. Augustine Beach and Anastasia Island — local know-how, licensed in all 67 Florida counties.
Atlantic Title Firm provides title insurance, escrow, and closing services throughout St. Augustine Beach and the rest of St. Johns County. Buyers, sellers, FSBOs, investors, and lenders rely on us for accurate, on-time closings — backed by local St. Augustine Beach know-how and statewide reach. St. Augustine Beach is the small city on Anastasia Island south of the St. Augustine lighthouse, a strip of oceanfront condos, beach cottages and gated communities like Sea Colony and Anastasia Dunes along A1A Beach Boulevard, with canal and Intracoastal homes on the island’s west side. Second homes and vacation rentals make up much of the market. Our St. Augustine Beach closings turn on oceanfront condo rules, the CCCL, rental-program transfers and seasonal sellers.
On a typical $650,000 St. Augustine Beach sale, the Florida-specific closing costs run about $7,902 (deed doc stamps + owner’s title + recording). In St. Johns County, the seller customarily pays the owner’s title policy and usually chooses the closing agent.
Title & Closing Costs in St. Augustine Beach
Most of what makes a St. Augustine Beach closing “Florida-specific” comes down to two numbers: the documentary stamp tax on the deed, charged at $0.70 per $100 of the price in St. Johns County, and the owner's title insurance premium, which Florida sets by rule so the base rate is the same at every title agency in the state. Here is how they land on a $650,000 St. Augustine Beach purchase:
Example: $650,000 sale in St. Augustine Beach
These are illustrative — your actual costs depend on price, financing, prorations, and who pays what under the contract. Run your own numbers with the St. Augustine Beach closing cost calculator, or use the statewide tools below:
See all Florida title calculators →
What Is Different About Closing in St. Augustine Beach
Oceanfront condos and the CCCL. The beachfront buildings sit seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line and under Florida’s milestone inspection and reserve rules, and nor’easter erosion leaves open permits on dune walkovers and seawalls. We pull the inspection and SIRS status and flag the CCCL on the commitment.
Vacation-rental transfers. Many units and cottages are short-term rentals. We confirm the city’s rental rules, prorate booked reservations and deposits, and transfer or terminate the management agreement at closing.
Gated communities. Sea Colony, Anastasia Dunes and Ocean Ridge carry HOA estoppels, capital contributions and approval steps. We order every estoppel at file opening.
Seasonal and out-of-state sellers. Most St. Augustine Beach owners live elsewhere. We close by mail-away or remote online notarization and handle FIRPTA withholding for foreign sellers.
Who Pays for Title Insurance in St. Augustine Beach?
In St. Johns County the long-standing custom is that the seller pays for the owner's title policy. Because Florida practice lets whoever pays for the policy pick the closing agent, most St. Augustine Beach contracts name the seller's title company. Nothing in Florida law requires it: the FAR/BAR contract has a checkbox for either party, and buyers, particularly cash and investor buyers, negotiate it regularly. Whichever side you are on, we are happy to be written in.
Request a St. Augustine Beach Closing Quote
Tell us a little about your St. Augustine Beach purchase, sale or refinance and a licensed title agent will call you back with real numbers.
Property Taxes & Homestead in St. Augustine Beach
The St. Johns County Property Appraiser values every St. Augustine Beach parcel each January 1, and the bill is the taxable value times the total millage, which runs about 16.1 mills (the 2025 City of St. Augustine Beach total rate; unincorporated St. Johns County parcels use a different, usually lower, rate). Two Florida rules matter most to a new owner: the homestead exemption (up to $50,000 off taxable value plus the 3% Save Our Homes cap) is available only if the home is your permanent residence on January 1, and the assessment resets to market value the year after you buy. The seller's old bill tells you very little about yours.
Estimate St. Augustine Beach property taxesFree property-tax estimator with St. Johns County millage & homestead→Recording Your Deed in St. Augustine Beach
Every St. Augustine Beach deed and mortgage goes on record with the St. Johns County Clerk in St. Augustine. Recording fees are the same in all 67 counties: $10 for the first page, $8.50 for each page after, plus the doc stamps and intangible tax collected at closing. We e-record the same day you sign, remit the taxes to the Department of Revenue, and issue your owner's policy once the documents are back.
How Your St. Augustine Beach Closing Works
Open the File
Send us the executed contract — you, your agent or your lender. We open escrow, order the St. Augustine Beach search and send wire-safety instructions the same day.
Search & Clear
Our examiners run the St. Johns County records for liens, judgments, easements and gaps in the chain, then clear what turns up.
Commitment & Figures
You receive the title commitment; we order payoffs, estoppels and the survey and build the settlement statement with your lender.
Sign, Fund, Record
You sign in person, by mail or by remote online notary; funds disburse; the deed records with the St. Johns County Clerk and your owner's policy issues.
St. Augustine Beach Title & Property Considerations
The island’s 1920s and 1950s plats carry vacated streets and beach-access easements, and Intracoastal and canal lots raise seawall, dock and sovereign submerged land questions. Some addresses with St. Augustine Beach mail are actually unincorporated St. Johns County, Crescent Beach or Butler Beach, with different millage.
Deeds record with the St. Johns County Clerk in St. Augustine. Recording is statewide, $10 for the first page and $8.50 per additional page, and we e-record on closing day.
Our St. Augustine Beach title search and examination are built to surface issues like these before you close — so you take title clean and your ownership is protected from day one.
Neighborhoods & Areas We Serve in St. Augustine Beach
Atlantic Title Firm closes throughout St. Augustine Beach, including the oceanfront and A1A Beach Boulevard, Sea Colony, Anastasia Dunes, Ocean Ridge, the Intracoastal side, Butler Beach, Crescent Beach, the lighthouse area and the Anastasia State Park edge:
Buying or Selling in St. Augustine Beach? We're Ready.
Local St. Augustine Beach expertise, statewide licensing, and a closer who answers the phone.
☎ (561) 396-2692Order TitleSt. Augustine Beach Title Company FAQ
Does Atlantic Title Firm close in St. Augustine Beach?
Yes. We provide title insurance, escrow and closings throughout St. Augustine Beach, Anastasia Island, Crescent Beach and the rest of St. Johns County, for buyers, sellers, second-home owners, investors and lenders.
What do title insurance and doc stamps cost on a St. Augustine Beach sale?
On a $650,000 St. Augustine Beach sale the Florida-specific items are about $4,550 in deed documentary stamps, $3,325 in owner's title insurance and roughly $27 in recording. Our St. Augustine Beach closing cost calculator adds lender fees and prorations.
Who pays for title insurance in St. Johns County?
The seller customarily pays for the owner's title policy in St. Johns County and usually chooses the closing agent. It is negotiable and the contract controls.
What happens to booked rentals when I buy a St. Augustine Beach condo?
The contract decides. We prorate the booked income and deposits on the settlement statement and transfer or terminate the rental-management agreement at closing.
Does a St. Augustine Beach oceanfront condo need a milestone inspection?
If the building is three stories or taller and past the statutory age, yes, and lenders now ask for it. We pull the status and the reserve study with the estoppel.
A dedicated closer, co-branded marketing, and clear updates on every file — see why St. Augustine Beach agents make us their preferred title company.
Open & Move Your File Online
Already have a signed contract? Send it over and we’ll open your file today.
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Nearby Cities & Counties We Serve
St. Augustine Beach is in St. Johns County. See the full county page, or our statewide coverage across all 67 Florida counties.