Buying Privately in Miami: How Title Is Held, and What It Costs You

August 15, 2026

Every Florida property sale ends up in a public database. The county records the deed. Then the Property Appraiser publishes the owner’s name next to the parcel. Within weeks, the sale shows up on a dozen consumer real estate sites, complete with a photo of the house.

For most buyers, this is no big deal. But some buyers have well-known names or real security concerns. Others simply prefer that a $12 million purchase not become a searchable fact. For them, buying property privately in Miami matters.

The good news is that Florida offers proven ways to hold property discreetly. The important news is that the most obvious option is usually the wrong one. In fact, choosing it carelessly can cost you a great deal in property tax.

What is public, and what is not

The deed is public. So is the mortgage, if there is one. The Property Appraiser’s parcel record lists the owner of record, and anyone can search it by name. The mailing address on the tax bill is public too.

What stays private is the real ownership behind a well-built entity. Florida does not list an LLC’s members on its public registry. Instead, it lists only a manager or authorized representative. Likewise, Florida land trusts keep the beneficiary’s name in a private trust agreement rather than in the recorded deed.

The August 2026 federal change

A major federal update this month also changes the picture. The Corporate Transparency Act had required most US entities to report their true owners to FinCEN. However, on August 11, 2026, Treasury issued a final rule that took effect August 14.

The rule permanently exempts domestic companies from beneficial ownership reporting. It also exempts US-person owners and lets them delete information they already filed. Now only certain foreign-formed entities registered in a US state still have to report, and only for their non-US owners.

That is a big shift, though not an unlimited one. The separate Customer Due Diligence rule still requires banks to identify the owners of entity customers. So your lender and title company will know exactly who you are, whatever the county records show. You can achieve privacy from casual public search. Privacy from your own bank, however, is not possible, and it should not be the goal.

The mistake that costs the most money

Here is the trap, and it catches smart people all the time.

Suppose the property will be your primary residence and you title it in an LLC. In that case, you will generally lose the homestead exemption. The Florida Constitution gives homestead protection to people, not to business entities. A property appraiser will typically deny the exemption even if you are the LLC’s only member and live in the house full-time. The reason is simple: you do not personally hold title.

Why the loss is bigger than it looks

Losing homestead costs more than the yearly deduction, which is $51,411 of taxable value for 2026. Far more important, you also lose the Save Our Homes cap. This cap limits yearly increases in assessed value to 3 percent or CPI, whichever is lower.

On a high-value Miami home held for ten years in a rising market, that cap is worth much more than the exemption. Giving it up for privacy is a poor trade. Sadly, most buyers who make it never realize they did.

On top of that, LLC ownership gives up the constitutional protection against forced sale that homestead offers. That is often the exact opposite of what the buyer wanted.

The structure that usually fits

For a primary residence, a Florida land trust is generally the better tool. A trustee holds legal title, and the recorded deed names the trustee. Meanwhile, the beneficiary’s name lives in a private trust agreement. So the public record shows the trustee, not you.

Keeping your homestead exemption

Unlike an LLC, a land trust can keep the homestead exemption intact. Section 689.071(7) of the Florida Statutes covers this directly. Still, the trust agreement must contain the right language. Specifically, it must give the beneficiary a present right to live in the property as a residence.

Without that clause, the law treats the beneficial interest as personal property rather than real estate. As a result, the appraiser may deny the exemption. This is not a detail to leave to a template. It is the whole point of the exercise, which is why a Florida attorney who does this routinely should handle it.

Moving property into a proper land trust does not trigger a reassessment by itself. That is because assessment follows the property, not the name of the titleholder.

Second homes and rentals

For a second home, an investment property or a rental, the math is different. Homestead is not available anyway, so an LLC becomes attractive for its liability protection. Owners often combine the two. For example, a land trust can hold title with an LLC as beneficiary or trustee, which delivers privacy and liability protection together.

Keep in mind that land trusts alone are a privacy and probate tool, not a liability shield. If someone told you otherwise, they told you something inaccurate.

What it costs, and what it complicates

Setting up a Florida land trust with good counsel typically costs about $1,500 to $2,500, plus modest upkeep. Against a purchase in the millions, that is minor. Instead, the real complications tend to be practical rather than financial.

Lenders are the main sticking point. Financing a homestead property held in trust is hard, and many lenders simply say no. Also, moving title into an entity after closing may trigger a due-on-sale clause. So if you are financing rather than paying cash, agree on the structure with your lender before you write the offer, not afterwards.

Insurance needs attention too. The named insured must match the titleholder, and a high-value carrier will want to understand the ownership setup. Brokers who write coastal high-value policies handle this routinely. Others may find it confusing.

The other half of privacy: how you buy

Structure controls what appears in the record after closing. However, it does nothing about the buying process, which is often where exposure actually happens.

Off-market and pocket listings matter here. A property that never reaches the MLS never creates a public marketing trail. There is no syndicated listing history and no record of price cuts. For a discreet purchase, this is often worth more than the entity structure. Access to that inventory comes from relationships, not search tools.

Practical steps during the deal matter as well:

• A non-disclosure agreement where it makes sense
• Controlled access for showings and inspections
• Careful handling of wiring instructions
• A title company used to entity purchases and to clients who expect discretion

On the highest-profile deals, also think about how the closing itself works and who at each firm can see the details.

Decide before you offer, not after

The most useful thing a buyer can do is settle the ownership question during the search, not at closing. Last-minute decisions lead to rushed structures and lender problems. Occasionally, they also lead to a lost homestead exemption that nobody notices until the first tax bill arrives.

The decision itself is not complicated once you have the facts. Four questions point clearly to a structure:

• Will this be your permanent residence or a second home?
• Are you financing?
• What is the actual privacy concern: public searchability, or something more specific?
• Is asset protection part of the goal, or only discretion?

From there, your attorney and CPA can carry it out.

Chris King works regularly with buyers who need discretion. That includes access to off-market inventory and coordination with the attorneys and title companies who handle these purchases properly. If privacy is a factor in your search, raise it at the first conversation rather than the last.