Our Port Charlotte office is at 866 S Tamiami Trail, Unit 1. From there we handle residential and commercial closings across Charlotte County, for buyers, sellers, realtors, lenders and builders.
Port Charlotte Lots Have Long Memories
Port Charlotte was laid out and sold in individual lots on a scale few Florida communities match, and a great many of those lots were bought by people who never moved here and never built. Decades later those parcels are trading again, and the title history is where the decades show up.
- Owners who died out of state. A lot bought in 1962 and left to three children, none of whom probated anything in Florida, does not convey cleanly. It has to be cleared first.
- Tax deed history. A tax deed in the chain changes what an underwriter is willing to insure and may require additional work before a policy issues.
- Missing or defective releases. Old mortgages that were paid off but never released still sit on the parcel until somebody clears them.
- Unclear legal descriptions. Early plats and hand-typed deeds produced descriptions that do not always match what a modern survey shows.
These are exactly the files that stall at title companies without an attorney, because the answer is not a form, it is legal work. Ours is done in-house.
Who Pays for Title Insurance in Charlotte County
In Charlotte County the seller customarily pays for the owner’s title policy.
- Charlotte County (Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda): seller customarily pays.
- Lee County (Cape Coral, Fort Myers): seller customarily pays.
- Sarasota County (Venice): buyer customarily pays.
- Collier County (Naples): buyer customarily pays.
Custom, not statute. The contract can allocate it differently, and custom only controls when the contract is silent.
Clearing a Lot Before You Can Sell It
If you have inherited a Port Charlotte lot, or you are buying one and the title search came back with problems, the fix depends on what is actually wrong.
- An unprobated estate generally needs a probate proceeding, or in some cases a summary administration, before anyone can convey clear title.
- An unreleased mortgage can sometimes be cleared with a satisfaction from the lender, and sometimes needs more than that if the lender no longer exists.
- A defective legal description may need a corrective deed, and sometimes a survey first.
- A gap or cloud that nothing else fixes may need a quiet title action, which is a court proceeding rather than paperwork.
Which of those applies is not something a title search tells you on its own. Somebody has to read the file and decide, and that is legal work.
What We Handle From the Port Charlotte 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 Port Charlotte Office
Esquire Land Title
866 S Tamiami Trail, Unit 1
Port Charlotte, FL 33953
Phone: (941) 799-4800
Email: Info@esquirelandtitle.com
We also have offices in Naples, Cape Coral, Venice and Punta Gorda. Addresses and direct numbers are on our contact page.