Closing Costs for Property Buyers in Key Biscayne: What to Include in a Budget

The agreed price is not what leaves your account on closing day in Key Biscayne. 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.

Key Biscayne moves through a different channel because the village keeps its own permit counter and because everything that reaches the island crosses a single bridge. For a buyer abroad that is not scenery, it is logistics. The contractor quoting a renovation prices in travel and the delivery window in which material can be unloaded; the appraiser and the inspector your lender sends depend on that same bridge; and scheduled work can stop because of a closure nobody told the buyer about. On top of that, the county does not grant the approval: height, setback, landscaping and dune protection rules are set by the village, and when the parcel touches the shore a state authority enters as well, so a wall, a dock or a pool may require more than one file. Ask your insurance broker how the carrier reads the exposure of that specific parcel and what it requires before issuing; ask your closing attorney whether dune restrictions or easements are recorded on title; ask the village which work is approved at the counter and which goes before a board. It also pays to learn who manages the building or the association, because on a small island the manager is the person who actually answers.

What is specific to Key Biscayne

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
• Village of Key Biscayne — the rules of the municipality Key Biscayne belongs to

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

Updated 2026-11-06