Refinancing in Fort Lauderdale, FL: Taxes, Homestead, Escrow and Condos

Short answer

Refinancing a Fort Lauderdale home adds two Florida taxes on the new loan: documentary stamps of $0.35 per $100 and a 2-mill intangible tax, which is $3,355 on a $610,000 loan. A refinance that keeps the same owners on title does not reset your Save Our Homes cap with the Broward County Property Appraiser. The local items that change the deal are your escrow timing around Broward's November tax bills, flood and wind insurance, and, for condos, the building's milestone and reserve status.

Your refinance options, in short

The refinance types and their federal rules (rate-and-term, cash-out, FHA streamline, VA IRRRL, and dropping mortgage insurance) are explained in our Florida refinance guide, and the break-even math is in our break-even guide. Rates vary daily; call for today's pricing.

Two conventional limits come up on most Fort Lauderdale files, per Fannie Mae's Eligibility Matrix dated April 1, 2026 (as of October 2026):

• Cash-out, 1-unit primary home: up to 80% loan-to-value on a fixed-rate loan. At least one borrower must have been on title for 6 months, and a first mortgage being paid off must be at least 12 months old.
• Limited cash-out (rate-and-term), 1-unit primary home: up to 97% on a fixed-rate loan.

Equity is why many Fort Lauderdale owners are looking. The city's median house price was $762,500 in Q2 2026, up 13.8% from a year earlier, and the median condo or townhouse was $483,263, up 5.9% (Florida Realtors data via MIAMI REALTORS). A higher appraised value can move a loan out of mortgage insurance or open a cash-out. Condo values grew more slowly, and condo supply was 10.4 months, so expect a more cautious appraisal on a condo than on a house.

Florida taxes on a Fort Lauderdale refinance

Florida taxes the new mortgage, and the title company collects both taxes when it records the mortgage with Broward County, as of October 2026:

• Documentary stamp tax (Florida Statutes 201.08): $0.35 per $100 of the new loan, with any fraction of $100 counted as a full $100. See doc stamp tax.
• Nonrecurring intangible tax (Florida Statutes 199.133): 2 mills, or $2 per $1,000 of the loan. See intangible tax.

Example only, on a Fort Lauderdale house at the $762,500 city median with a $410,000 balance:

• Rate-and-term refinance of $410,000: $1,435 in stamps plus $820 intangible = $2,255.
• Cash-out to 80%, a $610,000 loan: $2,135 in stamps plus $1,220 intangible = $3,355, with about $200,000 in cash before closing costs.

Add title (often at the reissue rate), lender fees, the appraisal if one is required, recording, and prepaid interest and escrow. Your Loan Estimate lists every line.

Homestead, Save Our Homes and portability in Broward

Your property tax bill is the biggest number your escrow carries, so protect your exemptions before you sign. As of October 2026:

• The cap stays if the title stays. Florida Statutes 193.155 limits yearly assessment increases on a homestead to the lower of 3% or the CPI change. The statute resets the cap on a change of ownership, defined as a sale, foreclosure or transfer of title. A refinance that keeps the same owners on the deed is none of those. Adding or removing a person at closing can be, with exceptions such as transfers between spouses, so ask the Broward County Property Appraiser before you change the deed.
• What homestead is worth here. The Broward County Property Appraiser says the basic exemption, which removes the first and third $25,000 of assessed value, saved homeowners from $659 to $1,009 in 2025, depending on the city's millage. A refinance does not require a new filing; a change in ownership or use does.
• Seniors. The additional low-income senior exemption is for owners 65 or older with homestead and 2026 household adjusted gross income of $38,686 or less, and it must be refiled every year between January 1 and March 1.
• Portability. If you are refinancing a home you bought recently, check that your portability was applied. Under 193.155 you can carry up to $500,000 of Save Our Homes savings to a new homestead if you had homestead on a Florida home as of January 1 of any of the three preceding years. Florida amended the statute in 2026, first applying to the 2027 roll, so confirm the current rules with the property appraiser.

The timely filing window for 2027 exemptions runs through March 1, 2027. See homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes cap.

Escrow and insurance: the Broward calendar

Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury puts property tax bills online on November 1. Full payment earns a 4% discount in November, 3% in December, 2% in January and 1% in February, and the bill goes delinquent after the April 1 deadline printed on it. Owners whose taxes are paid through escrow get a courtesy copy in mid-November.

Why this matters on a refinance:

• Fall closings. If you close in October or November, ask who pays this year's bill: the old servicer, the new lender at closing, or you. Your Closing Disclosure should show it. When the old escrow account is closed, the leftover balance is refunded to you, usually after payoff, so plan for the new lender collecting its own escrow at closing first.
• Insurance renewals. The new lender needs your current declarations page with enough dwelling coverage. If the house is in a FEMA high-risk zone with a federally regulated mortgage, flood insurance is required. Fort Lauderdale's Community Rating System Class 7 rating gives NFIP policies a 15% discount in high-risk zones and 10% in Zone X, as of October 2026. A higher renewal premium raises your escrow and your PITI, which can change the debt-to-income ratio you qualify with.

Refinancing a Fort Lauderdale condo, or a home with a city second

A new loan means a new condo project review, even in a building that passed when you bought. As of October 2026, the reviews focus on Florida's condo safety laws:

• Milestone inspection (Florida Statutes 553.899): required for buildings three habitable stories or more by December 31 of the year they turn 30 (or 25 if the local official requires it), then every 10 years. After a phase two report, repairs must begin within 365 days.
• SIRS reserves: for budgets adopted on or after December 1, 2024, associations cannot waive or underfund reserves for structural items. Since HB 913 (2025), members may approve a line of credit instead of full annual funding, which must be disclosed to buyers and which lenders will ask about.
• Open special assessments and unfinished repairs can block a conventional or FHA refinance until the work is done. A non-warrantable condo loan is the usual fallback, at different pricing.

Ask the association for the condo questionnaire, budget and inspection reports at application, not at the end.

City assistance seconds. If you bought with the City of Fort Lauderdale's purchase assistance (up to $75,000 as a 15-year deferred loan), call the city housing office at 954-828-6024 before you apply. The new lender will need to know whether the city will subordinate or must be paid off, and the city sets those terms.

How we compare a Fort Lauderdale refinance

QMS Lending is an independent mortgage broker in Miami, FL (NMLS #1781090), founded in 2018, with access to 100+ lenders. For a Fort Lauderdale refinance we put these side by side: a full refinance, a streamline if you have FHA or VA, and keeping your first mortgage and adding a HELOC or fixed second if you only need cash. We include the Florida taxes, the escrow you will fund and your break-even month.

Loan above $832,750? That is a jumbo refinance; see jumbo loans in Fort Lauderdale. Refinancing a rental? See DSCR loans in Fort Lauderdale. Call 305-425-1990 in English or Spanish. Michael Fernandez, NMLS #1491775, President; 4.9 stars across 200+ Google reviews. Subject to credit approval. Equal Housing Opportunity.