Bureau of Real Estate Services

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BRES is responsible for activities related to the negotiation, acquisition, disposition, exchange, donation and closing of real property as agents to the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. Sometimes it is about big purchases – often though, it is about individual lots with critical resources, conserved one small parcel at a time.

Bureau staff are responsible for the management of statewide contracts for title and closing services.

Our mission is to partner with land managers, non-governmental organizations and Florida water management districts and others to successfully negotiate terms to achieve mission critical needs.

BRES currently has three primary responsibilities:

Acquisition/Negotiation:

BRES ensures each acquisition meets mandated requirements by coordinating the following for each acquisition:

∙ Due Diligence:

Through the partnership with other bureaus, items such as title work, appraisals, surveys, maps and environmental site assessments are obtained to aid in the identification of any issues which may impact the marketability of the property.

∙ Negotiate Offer and Contract Terms:

This is based on appraised value of highest and best use of the property.

∙ Board of Trustees’ Approval:

The acquisition is presented to the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the state of Florida (Governor and Cabinet) for approval.

Disposition and Exchanges:

BRES is responsible for overseeing the marketing and sale of lands owned by the Board of Trustees (BOT) that are determined to be no longer needed. They are also responsible for land exchanges that are requested for various reasons, i.e. to resolve unique property boundaries, encroachments, land management barriers and access solutions.

Closings/Donations:

BRES agents utilize contractors to perform aspects of the closing process, such as title searches, title insurance and other various closing services.

∙ Closing:

This phase consists of execution of all legal documents between the parties and the delivery of monies necessary to complete the transaction on the terms and conditions of the contract. Title is transferred to the Board of Trustees.

∙ Post-closing:

This phase consists of delivering original documents to Title and Land Records, document copies to Public Land Administration and various agencies, reconciliation with Finance and Accounting and scanning files into appropriate databases.

About DEP

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is the state’s lead agency for environmental management and stewardship – protecting our air, water and land. The vision of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is to create strong community partnerships, safeguard Florida’s natural resources and enhance its ecosystems.

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Contact

3900 Commonwealth Boulevard
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000 Public.Services@FloridaDEP.gov 850-245-2118

Bureau of Real Estate Services