Title & escrow • Mathews County, Virginia
Title and escrow across Mathews County.
From the Court House village to Gwynn’s Island, New Point, and the waterfront and creeks that wrap nearly the whole county, Prime Title and Escrow handles waterfront, second-home, rural, and commercial closings across Mathews County with attorney-led care. Clear title, protected funds, and closings that land on time.
Mortgage Rates
30-Yr Fixed6.53%15-Yr Fixed5.69%5/1 ARM6.10%FHA 30-Yr6.30%VA 30-Yr5.63%Jumbo 30-Yr6.45%30-Yr Refi6.64%30-Yr Fixed6.53%15-Yr Fixed5.69%5/1 ARM6.10%FHA 30-Yr6.30%VA 30-Yr5.63%Jumbo 30-Yr6.45%30-Yr Refi6.64%
National averages as of June 17, 2026Prime Title and Escrow is a title and escrow company, not a lender. Rates are for general information, not an offer. Contact a lender for a personalized quote.
Local to Mathews County
The smallest county in Virginia, and almost all of it touches water.
Mathews County sits at the tip of the Middle Peninsula, the smallest county in Virginia by land area and nearly two thirds water. The Chesapeake Bay is to the east, Mobjack Bay to the south, and the Piankatank River to the north, and the shoreline, creeks, and coves run for miles relative to the size of the place. It is a quiet, rural county with a working watermen’s heritage, an older population, and one of the highest homeownership rates anywhere, around eight and a half in ten homes owned. The water is the draw, for people who retire here and for people who buy a second home on a creek.
That is what shapes a closing here. A waterfront home, a second home or weekend place, a rural parcel, and a property in the Court House village are different files, and water frontage brings its own questions. Deeds for Mathews County property record with the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Mathews County. Our guide to what happens at a Virginia closing and our first-time home buyer guide walk through each step.
What shapes a Mathews County closing
- Deeds record at the Mathews County Circuit Court
- This court does not require a cover sheet for land records
- The smallest county in Virginia, with no incorporated towns
- Miles of shoreline on the bay, the rivers, and the creeks
- A strong second-home, waterfront, and retirement market
- Rural land and a working waterfront across the county
Mathews County by the numbers
Small, owner-occupied, and on the water.
8.5K
residents, among the smallest counties in Virginia
U.S. Census Bureau
$361K
median value of owner-occupied homes, above the national middle
U.S. Census Bureau
84%
of county homes are owner-occupied, among the highest in the region
U.S. Census Bureau
66%
of the county is water, the highest share in Virginia
U.S. Census Bureau
Behind every one of those homes is a title that has to transfer clean. That is our work.
Where we close in Mathews County
The village, the islands, and the water.
From the Court House village to Gwynn’s Island and the waterfront hamlets, we close across the county, for buyers, sellers, second-home owners, and lenders.
Waterfront and second homes
The water is what brings most buyers to Mathews. We close the waterfront homes and the second and weekend places along the bay, the rivers, and the creeks, and we handle the flood, shoreline, and dock and access questions that come with property on the water, so it transfers clean.
Mathews Court House • Gwynn • New Point • Port Haywood • Cobbs Creek
Where deeds recordDeeds for Mathews County property record with the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Mathews County. We handle that filing for you as part of closing, wherever in the county the property sits.
Across the county
From the village to the islands and the southern tip, here are the parts of Mathews County we serve.
The village: Mathews Court House, the county seat, and the communities around it.
North and the islands: Gwynn, Gwynn’s Island, Hudgins, and Cobbs Creek.
South and the bay: Port Haywood, Moon, Onemo, and New Point near the lighthouse.
The same standard, every closing
What we handle on a Mathews County file.
Title search and exam
We trace ownership and pull what is recorded against the property in the Mathews County land records. More on what a title company does.
Clearing the title
Liens, judgments, easements, and waterfront boundary and access questions resolved before closing, so title transfers clean and insurable.
Secure escrow
Your funds held and disbursed through protected escrow, with wire instructions verified by phone.
Recording and policy
We record the deed with the Mathews County Circuit Court and issue your title insurance policy.
Closing costs in Mathews County
What recording a deed costs here.
Mathews County is in Hampton Roads, not Northern Virginia, so a sale here does not carry the Northern Virginia WMATA and congestion fees. It does carry one regional charge those areas and the rest of the state do not share: the Hampton Roads regional grantor’s tax, which funds transit and transportation across the region. The buyer generally pays the state recordation tax, and the seller, as grantor, pays the state grantor’s tax and the Hampton Roads regional grantor’s tax.
The exact amount depends on your sale price and the deed. We calculate the precise numbers for your transaction and lay them out before closing. For the bigger picture, see our guide to closing costs in Virginia.
Recording charges on a Mathews County sale
- State recordation tax: $0.25 per $100 (Va. Code 58.1-801), usually the buyer
- Local recordation tax: about $0.083 per $100, one third of the state tax (Va. Code 58.1-814)
- Grantor’s tax: $0.50 per $500 (Va. Code 58.1-802), the seller
- Hampton Roads regional grantor’s tax: $0.06 per $100 (Va. Code 58.1-802.5), the seller
- No WMATA Capital Fee or Northern Virginia Congestion Relief Fee, those are Northern Virginia only
Sources: Code of Virginia, Title 58.1, Chapter 8, and the Virginia Department of Taxation. This is general information, not tax or legal advice, and the exact amount depends on your transaction.
Why Mathews County clients choose Prime
Attorney-led, independent, and local.
Attorney-led
Two real estate attorneys oversee your file, so if a shoreline, easement, or title question comes up on a waterfront parcel, you have legal judgment on it, not a checklist.
Waterfront and flood
Most of Mathews touches water. We handle the flood, shoreline, boundary, and dock and access questions that come with a home on the bay, a river, or a creek.
Second homes and retirees
Many buyers here are retiring to the water or buying a second or weekend home. We are used to out-of-state buyers, remote and mail-away signings, and making a move from another state straightforward.
Rural land
Away from the shoreline, much of the county is rural land and larger parcels. We handle the boundary, access, and well and septic questions that come with it. See our commercial services.
How a closing runs
A clear path from contract to recording.
1
Open and order
We open the file, confirm the property, and order the title search and any survey.
2
Title commitment
We review what is recorded and surface liens, easements, and shoreline and boundary questions.
3
Clear and confirm
We resolve defects and confirm the figures with your lender and the parties.
4
Coordinate closing
We align buyer, seller, lender, and agents, and schedule the signing, including remote signings.
5
Fund and record
We protect and disburse the funds, record the deed with the Mathews County Circuit Court, and issue the policy.
Mathews County questions
What people ask us.
Do you handle closings throughout Mathews County?
Yes. We close across the entire county, from the Court House village to Gwynn’s Island and the waterfront hamlets at Port Haywood, New Point, and Cobbs Creek, for buyers, sellers, second-home owners, investors, and lenders, residential and commercial.
I am buying a waterfront home or a place on a creek. Is there anything different?
There can be. A waterfront property can sit in a flood zone, which affects insurance and lending, and the boundary along the water, along with any dock, pier, or access rights, is worth confirming. We check the flood designation, review the survey, and make sure title and those water rights are clear before you close.
I am buying a second home or retiring to the water here. Can you handle that from out of state?
Yes. A large share of Mathews buyers are retiring to the water or buying a second or weekend home, often from out of state. We close for them regularly, we are used to remote and mail-away signings, and we keep an out-of-state purchase straightforward.
Where do Mathews County deeds get recorded?
With the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Mathews County, in the Court House village. The county has no incorporated towns, so the whole county records in one place, and we handle the filing for you. This court does not require a cover sheet for land records.
Are closing costs higher in Hampton Roads than the rest of Virginia?
Hampton Roads adds one regional charge the rest of the state outside Northern Virginia does not: a regional grantor’s tax of $0.06 per $100, paid by the seller, that funds regional transit and transportation. It does not carry the higher Northern Virginia WMATA and congestion fees. We lay out the exact figures for your sale before closing.
Do you handle rural land and larger parcels in the county?
Yes. Away from the shoreline, much of Mathews is rural land and larger parcels. Those closings can raise boundary, access, easement, and well and septic questions, and we make sure those are clear and reflected in the title before you close.
Closing in Mathews County?
Send us the property and the timeline, and we will send back a clear quote with no guesswork. Independent, attorney-led title and escrow for Mathews County and across Virginia and West Virginia.
(703) 552-4155Serving Mathews County and Hampton Roads