Transaction Coordinator in Monmouth County, NJ.

What we handle on a Monmouth County file

Monmouth recording is handled at the Clerk's main office on Mechanic Street in Freehold, and the recording window closes at 4:00 pm even though other counter services run to 4:30. The county is stricter than its neighbors about electronic submission: it does not accept Level I e-recording at all, only Level II, and only with ACH funding. The published fee schedule carries a July 2003 effective date, so confirm figures with the Clerk before wiring. Once your deal is ratified, PLS builds and manages the file in KW Command, tracks every deadline and contingency, routes documents for signature, and coordinates with lender, title, attorneys, and the co-op agent. See the full transaction coordination service for the complete scope, and the New Jersey overview for statewide notes.

Realty transfer tax in Monmouth County: Realty Transfer Fee, graduated and paid by the seller

The Realty Transfer Fee is the seller's and is graduated, running from $2.00 per $500 on the first $150,000 to $6.05 per $500 on consideration over $1,000,000, with reduced schedules for senior, blind, disabled and low and moderate income sellers. Above $1,000,000 the Graduated Percent Fee also applies. It replaced the flat 1 percent mansion tax on July 10, 2025 under P.L. 2025 c.69, runs 1 percent to 3.5 percent as a straight percentage of the entire consideration rather than in brackets, and moved liability from the buyer to the seller. This matters more in Monmouth than in most counties given the shore price band: on a $2.75 million transfer the Treasury worked example is 2.5 percent, or $68,750, due from the seller at recording.

Recording a deed in Monmouth County

The Monmouth County Clerk sits at Market Yard, 33 Mechanic Street, Freehold, New Jersey 07728, 732-431-7324. The current recording fee is $40 for the first page of a deed, on a schedule the Clerk publishes as effective July 2003. Additional recorded pages are $10, a marginal notation is $10, names beyond the fifth are $6 each and a notice of settlement is $20. Recording of property documents runs 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, while notary and ID services continue to 4:30 pm. Monmouth e-records through the njcountyrecording.com consortium but accepts Level II submissions only, funded by ACH, so a Level I only vendor cannot be used here.

Realty Transfer Fee payment with RTF-1 or RTF-1EE where applicable, the GIT/REP seller residency declaration, the grantee's mailing address, block and lot, acknowledgment with printed names and the preparer's printed name all have to be on the deed. A cover sheet has been required on all land documents since May 1, 2017; an e-recorded cover sheet is free and uncounted, while a paper one is counted as an extra page. Because the published schedule dates to 2003, confirm the current total with the Clerk before the file is funded.

What actually holds up a closing here

The three business day attorney review clock

N.J.A.C. 11:5-6.2(g) provides three days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, running from delivery of the signed contract to the buyer and the seller, so both parties have to have it before the clock starts. At the end of the period the contract becomes binding unless an attorney for either side disapproves and notifies the brokers and the other party within the window. Extension is available only by written agreement of buyer and seller. The rule covers licensee prepared contracts for residential property of one to four dwelling units and vacant one family lots. Conley v. Guerrero, 228 N.J. 339 (2017), held that disapproval may be sent by fax, e mail, personal delivery or overnight mail with proof of delivery, and overnight mail is effective on mailing, even though N.J.A.C. 11:5-6.2(g) still lists only certified mail, telegram or personal delivery.

The smoke, carbon monoxide and extinguisher certificate

The owner must obtain a Certificate of Smoke Alarm, Carbon Monoxide Alarm and Portable Fire Extinguisher Compliance before a one or two family or attached single family structure is sold, leased or made subject to a change of occupancy, under N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.3 and N.J.S.A. 52:27D-198.1. The state schedule at N.J.A.C. 5:70-2.9(d) charges $45 when the application arrives more than 10 business days before the change of occupancy, $90 at four to 10 business days and $161 at fewer than four, and a municipality may set a different schedule by ordinance based on actual cost. The extinguisher rules are where files fail: within 10 feet of the kitchen, in the path of egress, at least 2A-10B:C, no more than 10 pounds, on the manufacturer's bracket with instructions visible, top no more than five feet above the floor, and serviced and tagged by a certified Division of Fire Safety contractor within the past 12 months unless newly purchased with a receipt. Extinguishers are not required for seasonal summer units occupied 125 consecutive days or fewer, which matters on shore rentals. The certificate is not transferable and a new application is needed if the specified change of occupancy does not occur within six months, while seasonal rentals may be issued for up to 12 months.

Level II e-recording only, funded by ACH

Monmouth publishes that it does not accept Level I electronic recording and takes Level II submissions only, with ACH funding. Counties around it accept both levels, so a vendor setup that works in Camden or Burlington will fail here. Anything that cannot be submitted at Level II has to reach the counter in Freehold before the 4:00 pm recording cutoff. Separately, the e-recording convenience fee that portal counties once charged was suspended effective April 1, 2019, so no such surcharge should appear on a settlement statement.

Pricing

Transaction coordination in New Jersey is billed per file, not as a monthly retainer. Contract to close is $450 per transaction, and the full rate card including dual agency, transaction licensee, FSBO, and listing management is published on our pricing page. No fixed overhead, no minimum volume.

Where these figures come from

The county-level figures on this page come from the official sources listed below. Municipal fees and deadlines come from each municipality's own published schedules and ordinances, which are revised more often than they are archived. We publish what we could verify and leave out what we could not. Fees and ordinances change; if you are relying on a figure here for a live file, confirm it with the issuing office, and tell us if you find a discrepancy so we can correct the page.

• NJ Division of Taxation, Realty Transfer Fee
• NJ Division of Taxation, Graduated Percent Fee notice to county recording officers
• Monmouth County Clerk, main office
• Monmouth County Clerk
• NJ DCA Division of Fire Safety, FIRE SOLUTIONS Online