Florida Agreement for Deed

A Florida Agreement for Deed — also called a land contract or contract for deed — is a seller-financing instrument in which the seller keeps legal title and the buyer takes possession and pays the purchase price over time. What sets the Florida Agreement for Deed apart from versions used in other states is its tax and remedy treatment. Florida charges documentary stamp tax on the full purchase price when the contract is recorded, and Florida courts treat installment land contracts as equitable mortgages, which means a defaulting buyer cannot simply be locked out — the seller has to follow foreclosure procedures to recover the property and clear the buyer's equitable interest.

When a Florida Agreement for Deed Is Used

This instrument is commonly used when a buyer cannot qualify for conventional mortgage financing — credit history issues, self-employment income that traditional lenders discount, or a property type lenders avoid such as raw acreage, a small lot, or a non-warrantable condominium. Sellers use it to convert a property into a stream of monthly payments rather than a lump sum, to attract buyers in a slow market, or to retain title as security without going through a separate mortgage closing. The arrangement gives both parties flexibility on down payment, interest rate, payment schedule, and balloon terms — but in Florida that flexibility comes with a specific set of statutory and judicial overlays that must be honored to keep the contract enforceable.

Florida Execution and Recording Requirements

Although an Agreement for Deed is technically a contract rather than a deed of conveyance, Florida treats the recordable version like any other instrument that affects title to real property. Execution must satisfy the same formalities Florida uses for conveyances:

• The seller's signature must be made in the presence of two subscribing witnesses (F.S. 689.01). The witness requirement is a recurring Florida trap because most states require only notarization — Florida requires both two witnesses and an acknowledgment.
• The seller's signature must be acknowledged before a notary public or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments under F.S. 695.03.
• The instrument must include a "prepared by" block with the name and address of the natural person who drafted it, plus the post office address of each grantee — here, the buyer (F.S. 695.26).
• The legal description must be sufficient to identify the parcel; a street address alone will not satisfy a title examiner or insure-against-defect review.
• The buyer's signature is customarily included even though Florida recording statutes only require the grantor to sign, because the contract creates obligations that run against the buyer.

Record the contract in the official records of the county where the property is located (F.S. 695.01). Until the contract is recorded, a subsequent bona fide purchaser or judgment lienholder without notice can take priority over the buyer's equitable interest.

Documentary Stamp Tax on the Full Purchase Price

Florida's documentary stamp tax (F.S. 201.02) is the single biggest tax difference between a Florida Agreement for Deed and a land contract used in most other states. The Florida Department of Revenue treats execution of an Agreement for Deed as a present transfer of an interest in real property, so doc stamp tax is calculated on the full purchase price stated in the contract — not the down payment, not the payments received to date. The current rate is $0.70 per $100 of consideration ($0.60 per $100 in Miami-Dade County for single-family residences, with a county surtax applying to other property types). The tax is due when the contract is recorded.

Two practical consequences follow from this rule. First, recording the Agreement for Deed is not a free filing — on a $200,000 contract the doc stamps run $1,400 before the clerk will accept the instrument. Second, when the buyer eventually pays in full and the seller delivers a warranty deed or other conveyance, the doc stamp tax has already been paid on the underlying transfer; the closing deed itself can record for nominal consideration to avoid double taxation. The contract should specify which party bears the doc stamp burden at recording and at final conveyance.

The Equitable Mortgage Doctrine

This is the trap that surprises out-of-state sellers. In many states, a contract for deed includes a forfeiture clause — if the buyer defaults, the seller keeps the payments received and reclaims the property without a foreclosure suit. That remedy does not work in Florida. Florida courts have long held that an installment land contract operates as an equitable mortgage: the buyer holds equitable title, the seller holds legal title only as security, and the seller's remedy on default is judicial foreclosure under Chapter 702, not summary forfeiture or eviction. The principle traces to F.S. 697.01, which provides that any instrument intended as security for a debt is deemed a mortgage regardless of its form.

The drafting consequences are concrete. A forfeiture clause buried in the contract will not be enforced as written if the buyer has built up substantial equity, and an attempt to remove a defaulting buyer through county court will be redirected into circuit court as a foreclosure action. Sellers should price the down payment, interest rate, and acceleration terms with the understanding that the recovery process is judicial foreclosure — several months at a minimum and a year or longer if contested.

Homestead Property and Spousal Joinder

If the seller is a natural person and the property is the seller's homestead, Article X, Section 4(c) of the Florida Constitution requires the spouse to join in the conveyance regardless of how title is held. The rule applies even if only one spouse appears on the recorded deed and even if the spouses are separated. An Agreement for Deed signed by only one spouse on homestead property is voidable at the non-joining spouse's election, and a title examiner reviewing the recorded contract will flag the missing signature as a cloud. The marital status of the seller should be recited in the body of the contract, and if the seller is married, the spouse should sign and have the signature witnessed and acknowledged on the same terms as the seller — even when the spouse holds no record interest.

Subdivided Lands Disclosure Under F.S. 498.028

If the property is part of a subdivided lands offering and title will not be conveyed to the buyer within 180 days, F.S. 498.028 imposes additional requirements. The buyer has an absolute right to cancel within seven business days of execution, and any funds paid must be refunded within 20 days of the cancellation notice. The contract must also include — in conspicuous type immediately above the buyer's signature line — a statutory warning that the buyer may not receive the land if the subdivider files for bankruptcy or otherwise fails to perform before delivering the deed. The warning language is mandatory and must appear verbatim. This requirement does not apply to ordinary improved residential resales, but it is the rule that catches sellers using an Agreement for Deed to sell raw subdivided lots over an extended payment period.

What's Included in the Download Package

The package includes the Florida Agreement for Deed form, a completed example showing where each piece of information goes, and a guide explaining the document and the surrounding Florida requirements. The form is suitable for residential property, vacant land, rental property, condominiums, and planned unit developments, and is for use in Florida only. Files are delivered as an instant download in formats that can be filled in on screen or printed and completed by hand.