Atlantic Title Firm

09/21/2026

Closing during hurricane season? Read this first. 🌀

Florida’s hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, and every year a share of closings land inside a storm’s cone.

Here’s the part most buyers and sellers don’t realize:

📄 The contract has rules for it
🏠 Insurers have rules for it
🏦 Lenders have rules for it
..and they are NOT the same rules.

Our new guide breaks down what actually happens to a closing when a watch is issued, what the FAR/BAR clauses do and do not do, and how a file keeps moving when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

If you have a closing scheduled between now and November 30, this is worth five minutes.

🔗 Link in the comments 👇

09/10/2026

Counting days on a calendar is not a system. 📅

Miss a deadline on a Florida AS-IS contract and it can cost your client the deal — or their deposit.

So we built a free Contract Deadline Calculator. Enter your effective date and the terms from the contract, and it lays out every deadline for you:

• Inspection period
• Financing / loan approval
• Title review
• Survey
• Walk-through
• Closing

Weekend and holiday roll-forward is built in, so you’re not counting days on a calendar and hoping you got it right.

Free to use, no signup. Link in the comments 👇

09/08/2026

That TRIM notice sitting on your counter? It’s not a bill — it’s a proposal. And you only get a short window to argue with it.

Most Florida counties give you 25 days from the mailing date to file with the Value Adjustment Board. Miss it and you’re paying the number they picked, for the whole year.

Our new guide walks through:
→ How to read your TRIM notice and spot an inflated value
→ The informal call to the property appraiser that fixes a lot of cases without a hearing
→ How to file the formal VAB petition
→ The evidence that actually moves the number (and what gets ignored)

Check the deadline printed at the bottom of your notice, then read the guide. Link in comments.

09/07/2026

Happy Labor Day from all of us at Atlantic Title Firm! ⚓

Today we’re taking a moment to thank the hardworking Realtors, lenders, buyers, and sellers who keep Florida real estate moving every single day. We’re grateful to work alongside you — and to help bring your closings safely to shore.

Enjoy the long weekend. We’ll be back tomorrow ready to close.

(561) 396-2692 | AtlanticTitleFirm.com

09/06/2026

Buying a home in Florida? Here’s the part nobody explains until closing day: title insurance isn’t just paperwork. 🏡

A title search digs through decades of public records looking for liens, unpaid taxes, old mortgages, boundary disputes, and heirs who never signed off. If something turns up after you own the home, the title policy is what protects you.

One thing most buyers don’t know: there are two policies. The lender’s policy protects the bank. The owner’s policy protects YOU, and it’s a one-time premium that lasts as long as you own the home.

Ask your closing team which one you’re getting. If the answer is “just the lender’s,” ask why.

Questions about a closing? Send us a message. We’re happy to walk you through it.

👇 Link in the comments to run your own closing cost estimate.

09/02/2026

Your 2026 Florida property tax bill hits the mailbox around November 1 — and most people quietly overpay it.

Here’s why: Florida gives you a discount for paying early.

4% off in November
3% off in December
2% off in January
1% off in February
Full amount in March

On a $6,000 tax bill, that November discount is $240 back in your pocket for doing nothing but opening the envelope.

Wait until March and you’ve donated it.

If you closed on your home this year, double-check who’s actually paying the bill — you or your escrow account. That’s where a lot of the confusion (and late payments) come from.

We broke the whole thing down — the discount schedule, escrow vs. paying direct, and what happens after April 1.

Link in the comments 👇

08/31/2026

Florida Closing Cost Calculator
Free instant estimate of what you'll pay at closing on any Florida home purchase, sale, or refinance. Covers doc stamps, intangible tax, title insurance, recording fees, and HOA prorations across all 67 Florida counties — updated for 2026 rates.

See what you'll pay at your Florida closing, buyer or seller. Free calculator: doc stamps, title insurance, recording fees, prorations. 67 counties.

08/28/2026

Florida Title Insurance Calculator
Instant Florida title insurance premium calculation at state-regulated promulgated rates. Owner's policy + simultaneous-issue lender's policy. Updated for 2026. Same rate at every Florida title agency.

Get your exact Florida title insurance premium in seconds, free and no signup. Owner's and lender's policy at state-set rates, all 67 counties.

08/25/2026

Most Florida homeowners have no idea there’s a December 31 deadline attached to Amendment 3.

On November 3, Florida votes on raising the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. Big news if it passes with the required 60%.

Here’s the part almost nobody is covering: there’s a residency requirement. If you’re a Florida permanent resident on December 31, 2026, you qualify as the exemption phases in. Establish residency after that date and you start at the current $50,000 — and don’t reach the full amount until your FIFTH year of homestead.

For a relocating buyer, closing in November versus February can be a five-year difference in when the savings start.

And one more thing worth knowing: the exemption only applies to NON-school taxes. School levies are roughly 40% of a typical Florida bill and they don’t change. Any estimate multiplying $200,000 by your total millage is overstating your savings by about 40%.

So we built a free calculator. All 67 counties, using each county’s actual 2025 millage split into school and non-school. Enter your county and home value and see what you’d pay today, in 2027, and in 2028.

Savings range from about $978/yr in Walton to $3,052/yr in St. Lucie.

🔗 Link in the comments 👇

We don’t support or oppose Amendment 3 — this is informational. Read the ballot summary and both sides before you vote.