St. Petersburg Title Company
St. Petersburg closings done right: title search, escrow, doc prep and recording from a Florida title agency licensed statewide.
Atlantic Title Firm provides title insurance, escrow, and closing services throughout St. Petersburg and the rest of Pinellas County. Buyers, sellers, FSBOs, investors, and lenders rely on us for accurate, on-time closings — backed by local St. Petersburg know-how and statewide reach. St. Petersburg is the largest city in Pinellas County and one of the most varied markets we close: new downtown towers along Central Avenue and the waterfront, 1920s bungalows in the Old Northeast and Kenwood, canal homes in Shore Acres and Snell Isle, and mid-century ranches on Pinellas Point and Coquina Key. Since the 2024 storms, Helene and Milton, the questions on almost every St. Pete waterfront file are the same: what was flooded, what was repaired, and whether the repairs were permitted.
On a typical $420,000 St. Petersburg sale, the Florida-specific closing costs run about $5,142 (deed doc stamps + owner’s title + recording). In Pinellas County, the seller customarily pays the owner’s title policy and usually chooses the closing agent.
Title & Closing Costs in St. Petersburg
If you have bought or sold in another state, two St. Petersburg line items will look unfamiliar. Florida taxes the transfer itself through deed doc stamps at $0.70 per $100, and it fixes the owner's title premium by regulation, so the rate is identical whether you close with us or anyone else in Pinellas County. Worked through on a $420,000 St. Petersburg sale:
Example: $420,000 sale in St. Petersburg
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. Petersburg closing cost calculator, or use the statewide tools below:
See all Florida title calculators →
What Is Different About Closing in St. Petersburg
Storm damage and the 50% rule. Helene’s surge flooded thousands of St. Petersburg homes in Shore Acres, Snell Isle, Riviera Bay and the Pinellas Point shore. Under FEMA’s substantial-damage rule, repairs that cost more than half a home’s value trigger full elevation requirements, and the city tracks it permit by permit. We run the permit history on every waterfront file so a buyer knows whether repairs were permitted, whether a damage determination was made, and what that means for the next remodel.
Seawalls, docks and canal lots. Shore Acres, Snell Isle, Venetian Isles and Coquina Key are canal communities where the seawall is the owner’s. We pull the seawall and dock permits, check the survey for encroachments and explain who owns what below the waterline.
Downtown condos and the reserve laws. St. Pete’s condo stock ranges from brand-new towers to 1970s buildings on the bay. The older ones are inside Florida’s milestone inspection and structural reserve regime, and we read the estoppel, the reserve study and any special-assessment resolution before the buyer commits.
Historic districts and old chains of title. The Old Northeast, Kenwood, Roser Park and Driftwood bring century-old chains, replats, unreleased mortgages and unrecorded renovation liens. Our examiners run the full chain and clear the exceptions rather than insuring around them.
Who Pays for Title Insurance in St. Petersburg?
Who writes the check for the owner's policy in St. Petersburg? By Pinellas County custom, the seller, which is also why the seller usually gets to choose the closing agent. The custom is strong but not binding: the contract's title paragraph decides, and we close plenty of St. Petersburg files where the buyer pays and picks, or where the cost is split.
St. Petersburg Closing Cost Quote
Buying, selling or refinancing in St. Petersburg? We'll send a written quote for title, escrow and recording within one business day.
Property Taxes & Homestead in St. Petersburg
The Pinellas County Property Appraiser assesses St. Petersburg property every January 1, and the total levy is about 19.9 mills per $1,000 of taxable value (the 2025 City of St. Petersburg total rate; unincorporated Pinellas County parcels use a different, usually lower, rate). A permanent resident can claim the homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes 3% cap; an investor or second-home buyer cannot, and every buyer inherits a fresh market-value assessment the year after closing. Model it before you make an offer.
Estimate St. Petersburg property taxesFree property-tax estimator with Pinellas County millage & homestead→Recording Your Deed in St. Petersburg
Once you sign and fund, Atlantic Title Firm records your deed (and mortgage, if any) with the Pinellas County Clerk in Clearwater (with a St. Petersburg office), pays the statutory recording fee of $10 for the first page plus $8.50 per additional page, and remits the deed and note doc stamps and intangible tax. Electronic recording means a St. Petersburg deed is usually on record the same day.
How Your St. Petersburg Closing Works
Open the File
Send us the executed contract — you, your agent or your lender. We open escrow, order the St. Petersburg search and send wire-safety instructions the same day.
Search & Clear
Our examiners run the Pinellas 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 Pinellas County Clerk and your owner's policy issues.
St. Petersburg Title & Property Considerations
Flood zones cover most of the peninsula’s shoreline, so elevation certificates and wind mitigation and four-point inspections are standard loan conditions. Investor and out-of-state purchases are common downtown, which makes mail-away closings and entity documents routine. Some St. Petersburg addresses are actually unincorporated Pinellas County or neighboring cities such as Gulfport and South Pasadena, with different millage.
City of St. Petersburg millage is among the higher rates in Pinellas. Deeds record with the Pinellas County Clerk of the Circuit Court, which has a St. Petersburg office as well as its Clearwater headquarters; we e-record on closing day.
Our St. Petersburg 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. Petersburg
Atlantic Title Firm closes throughout St. Petersburg, including downtown, the Old Northeast, Snell Isle, Shore Acres, Kenwood, Crescent Lake, Pinellas Point, Coquina Key, Riviera Bay and the Gateway area:
Have a St. Petersburg Contract? Send It Over.
We'll open the file today and quote your closing costs to the dollar.
☎ (561) 396-2692Order TitleSt. Petersburg Title Company FAQ
Does Atlantic Title Firm close in St. Petersburg?
Yes. We provide title insurance, escrow and closings throughout St. Petersburg and the Pinellas peninsula, from downtown condos to waterfront homes, for buyers, sellers, investors and lenders.
What do title insurance and doc stamps cost on a St. Petersburg sale?
On a $420,000 St. Petersburg sale the Florida-specific items are about $2,940 in deed documentary stamps, $2,175 in owner's title insurance and roughly $27 in recording. Our St. Petersburg closing cost calculator adds lender fees and prorations.
Who pays for title insurance in Pinellas County?
The seller customarily pays for the owner's title policy in Pinellas County and usually chooses the closing agent. It is negotiable in the contract.
How do I know if a St. Pete home was flooded by Helene and repaired properly?
Ask for the permit history and any FEMA substantial-damage determination. We pull the city permit record on every waterfront file and flag unpermitted or unfinished repairs before closing.
Do you close downtown St. Petersburg condos with pending special assessments?
Yes. We order the estoppel early, read the SIRS and milestone reports and the assessment resolution, and allocate the assessment between buyer and seller exactly as the contract requires.
A dedicated closer, co-branded marketing, and clear updates on every file — see why St. Petersburg agents make us their preferred title company.
Open & Move Your File Online
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Nearby Cities & Counties We Serve
St. Petersburg is in Pinellas County. See the full county page, or our statewide coverage across all 67 Florida counties.