How do I check for PACE financing on a Palm Beach County home before buying?

Read the tax bill, not just the seller's payment estimate

Begin with the exact parcel control number, the property's legal description and the seller's ownership name. The Tax Collector's property tax page links to the public system where bills can be viewed and printed. Match the parcel rather than relying on a similar street address. Save the bill and review the non-ad valorem assessments separately from the taxes calculated using taxable value and millage. If an assessment label is unclear, ask the Tax Collector and the levying program administrator to identify it.

The Tax Collector explains that PACE financing is repaid through an assessment on the property. Its monthly payment answer warns that mortgage escrow may not adjust until the lender receives the bill containing the assessment. A seller's current mortgage payment therefore does not establish the buyer's eventual carrying cost. Ask for the financing schedule and the expected assessment, including any obligation that has not appeared on the bill yet. A paid tax bill documents that bill's status, not the remaining financing balance.

Find the recorded agreement and read the document

Use the Clerk's Official Records search for the financing agreement, a summary memorandum, related notices and any satisfaction or release. The Clerk identifies party names, legal description, physical address, parcel control number, instrument number, and recorded book and page as usable search information. Use the seller's ownership name and the parcel identifiers together. Open the instrument image and verify the property description. A result label or an address match is insufficient to establish which property an agreement encumbers.

Section 163.081(7) makes the recorded residential agreement constructive notice that the assessment constitutes a lien with equal dignity to county taxes and assessments from recordation. The statute also permits recording a notice of lien for the full financing amount. Ask the title examiner to reconcile the instruments and any release rather than assuming a document described as a memorandum is harmless. A buyer's public search is a useful screening step; it is not a title opinion or assurance that every relevant instrument has been found.

Reconcile the seller's disclosure with current law

Request the seller's written PACE disclosure, executed financing agreement, repayment schedule and correspondence about additional financed work. Under section 163.081(8), the disclosure for a levied residential assessment with an unpaid balance must be given at or before the seller executes the sale contract. It may appear in the contract or a separate writing. Read the actual documents before treating an unanswered disclosure field or a verbal assurance as a resolved issue.

Current residential requirements are in section 163.081. Some county explanatory material still links to older versions of section 163.08. Use the current statute for the legal requirements discussed here, and ask counsel which rules govern an older agreement. If the bill, recorded document and seller disclosure disagree, preserve the discrepancy and request written clarification. Do not choose whichever record produces the lowest apparent monthly cost.

Get a payoff quote separate from the annual assessment

Ask the program administrator identified in the agreement for a written payoff quote effective through the proposed closing date. Have the closing professional confirm what it includes, whether a current billed assessment remains payable, and how the payoff and any remaining tax obligation will be handled. Obtain instructions for documenting satisfaction or release. The amount on the annual tax bill is a scheduled assessment payment. It should not be substituted for a quote settling the remaining financing obligation.

Section 163.081(4)(a)10 requires disclosure that remaining residential financing may be repaid without additional prepayment fees or fines other than nominal administrative costs. The county FAQ separately directs owners to their PACE provider for early payoff information. These sources do not supply a parcel's payoff amount. Have counsel review any disputed charge or proposed allocation between buyer and seller. A negotiated closing credit also needs lender and closing review; it does not by itself establish that an assessment has been extinguished.

Resolve mortgage acceptance and closing treatment

Provide the agreement, assessment schedule and payoff quote to the buyer's mortgage lender early. The county FAQ says the assessment is designed to remain with the property, while warning that a seller's or buyer's lender may require payoff at sale or refinancing. Obtain the lender's written position for the proposed mortgage. An explanation that PACE can stay with the property does not establish approval for this transaction.

Before closing, have the title examiner and closing professional confirm the agreed treatment in the closing documents and explain what evidence will demonstrate completion. If payoff is required, reconcile the quote, disbursement and release process. If the assessment remains, confirm acceptance, the remaining schedule and the carrying cost with the lender. Keep the records together. The purchase decision depends on the actual financing and documents, not a general promise that the assessment will automatically transfer without consequences.

What the records cannot show

• A tax bill alone does not establish the current full payoff amount or a mortgage lender's acceptance of a remaining assessment.
• An unsuccessful buyer search does not establish clear title, rule out recently executed financing, or replace a professional examination.
• This page does not determine the enforceability of a particular agreement, resolve disputed charges, or establish the condition of financed improvements.