Our Cape Coral office is at 3729 Chiquita Blvd South, and it is the firm’s main office. We handle residential and commercial closings across Lee County from here, for buyers, sellers, realtors, lenders and builders.
Cape Coral Property Comes With Its Own Title Questions
Cape Coral is not a typical Florida market and its closings are not typical either. The city was platted decades ago into an enormous number of individual lots, many of which sat vacant for years and changed hands repeatedly without anyone ever building on them. That history shows up in the title work.
- Vacant lot purchases. Lots that have traded between out-of-state owners for decades, sometimes through estates that were never properly probated, sometimes through tax deeds.
- Canal and waterfront parcels. Seawall obligations, dock and lift permitting, and easements along the water that were recorded in the 1960s and never revisited.
- Post-hurricane rebuilds. Contractor liens, permits closed out improperly, and insurance proceeds that touch more than one party on the file.
- New construction on infill lots. Builder closings where the lot history and the construction lien picture both have to be clean at the same time.
None of that is exotic here, it is the normal week. It is also the reason we keep a real estate attorney inside the firm rather than sending problem files out.
Buying a Vacant Lot in Cape Coral
Lot purchases look like the simplest closings on the board and are often the messiest. There is no house to inspect, so people assume there is less to check. The opposite is usually true, because a lot that has never been built on has had decades to accumulate problems that nobody had a reason to discover.
The things worth confirming before you close on a lot here:
- Whether the chain of title runs through an estate that was never probated, which is common on lots held by owners who bought in the 1960s and 70s.
- Whether there are unpaid assessments, code enforcement liens or utility expansion charges attached to the parcel.
- Whether the lot is actually buildable, including setbacks, and whether utilities are already at the property or will be an assessment later.
- Whether any easement runs through it, and where.
- Whether a prior tax deed sale sits in the history, which changes what a title underwriter will insure.
A title search answers most of that. The ones it flags are where an attorney inside the firm matters, because the alternative is a lot purchase that stalls while somebody else fits your file into their schedule.
Who Pays for Title Insurance in Lee County
In Lee County, which covers Cape Coral and Fort Myers, the seller customarily pays for the owner’s title policy. That is the opposite of Collier and Sarasota counties, where the buyer customarily pays.
- Lee County (Cape Coral, Fort Myers): seller customarily pays.
- Charlotte County (Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte): seller customarily pays.
- Collier County (Naples): buyer customarily pays.
- Sarasota County (Venice): buyer customarily pays.
None of this is law. Nothing in the Florida Statutes says who has to pay, and the contract can allocate it however the parties agree. Custom only decides when the contract is silent. But if you are selling in Cape Coral and buying in Naples, you are paying on both ends, and it is better to know that while you are still negotiating.
What We Handle From the Cape Coral Office
- Residential purchase and sale closings
- Vacant lot and land closings
- New construction and builder closings
- Commercial closings
- Title searches, title examination and title insurance
- Escrow and settlement services
- Lender closing services
The Cape Coral Office
Esquire Land Title
3729 Chiquita Blvd South
Cape Coral, FL 33914
Phone: (239) 400-5540
Email: Info@esquirelandtitle.com
We also have offices in Naples, Venice, Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte. Addresses and direct numbers are on our contact page. Realtors who refer closings regularly should start with our realtor page.