Closing Costs for Property Buyers in Coral Gables: What to Include in a Budget

The agreed price is not what leaves your account on closing day in Coral Gables. Between the accepted offer and the signature there are line items that each have their own name, their own payer and, almost always, a document that lists them.

A buyer who did not ask for the closing breakdown in advance arrives at signing with less money than they need, and an international wire is not improvised in a day. There are line items for the title search, title insurance, recording taxes, prorated property tax and association dues, the property insurance the lender requires, and the inspection. Who pays each one is negotiable in the offer and local custom for the rest, but none of it is discovered on closing day: it is requested in writing before signing.

Buying in Coral Gables from abroad means understanding that the city splits two approvals that most of the county treats as one: the construction permit and the aesthetic sign-off on anything visible from the street. Owners who sign remotely often discover that a renovation is not cleared by the municipal building department alone, but also by a review board that weighs proportion, materials, color and tree canopy, and that meets on its own calendar. Ask the seller whether what is already built was approved that way or was never regularized, because the burden transfers with the deed. The usual counterparty here is an individual owner or a family estate holding a single-family house, not a developer, which means scattered paperwork, powers of attorney prepared well in advance, and response times nobody controls. Ask your closing attorney who requests the permit history from the city, ask your insurance broker whether the policy treats regularized older structure differently from later work, and ask a local architect which intervention has to go before that board and which does not. The counter you call is not the county's, and neither is the phone number.

What is specific to Coral Gables

What to verify, step by step

1. Ask the closing company or attorney for an itemised estimate before you accept the offer, and for an updated one before you sign.
2. Ask line by line who pays, under the offer and under county custom, and put the split in writing in the contract.
3. Request the title search and the proposed title insurance policy, and ask which exceptions it excludes.
4. Confirm how property tax and association dues are prorated to the closing date, because that figure is computed by the closing agent.
5. If you are buying from abroad, confirm in advance whether you must sign in person or whether a notarised and apostilled power of attorney is accepted, and how long one takes to issue in your country.
6. Ask the receiving bank for the exact international wire requirements and the clearing time ahead of the closing date.

Mistakes that cost money

• Budgeting only the price and the down payment, and finding the rest of the line items on the final statement.
• Leaving the international wire to the last days: the funds may not have cleared by signing time.
• Not asking whether you must be in Miami to sign, and finding out when there is no longer time to issue a power of attorney.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays closing costs, the buyer or the seller?

They are split, and the split is part of what is negotiated in the offer alongside county custom. Ask for the itemised breakdown showing who pays each item.

Do you have to travel to Miami to sign?

It depends on the transaction and the lender. Ask the closing company early, because if a power of attorney is accepted it has to be issued and apostilled in time.

Is title insurance mandatory?

Lenders normally require it and many cash buyers take it anyway. What it covers and excludes is in the proposed policy, and it is worth reading before closing.

Where to check it

• Miami-Dade Clerk of the Courts — deeds, liens, encumbrances and litigation on the property
• Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser — record card, area, year built and parcel history
• Miami-Dade Tax Collector — the property tax bill and its payment status
• Florida Office of Insurance Regulation — insurers authorised in Florida and their filed rates
• Florida DBPR — whether a broker, appraiser or contractor holds a current licence
• City of Coral Gables — the rules of the municipality Coral Gables belongs to

Official bodies. Specific figures are requested there, not copied from a listing.

Updated 2026-11-06