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This year’s two day Urban Land Institute (ULI) Annual Florida Summit was held in Miami at the Turnberry Isle Resort and was comprised of more than 650 attendees. The theme of this year’s event was Creative Disruption: “The Future Ain’t What it Used to Be.”

The mission of ULI is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. ULI is an independent global nonprofit supported by the top real estate professionals from throughout the state including developers, attorneys, engineers, architects, and land use planners, from both the private and public sector.

The “Creative Class”Continue Reading “The Future Ain’t What it Used to Be”- 2016 ULI Florida Summit

Increasingly, paper is becoming a thing of the past, and although the law is notoriously slow to follow trends, it has been rather quick to latch onto the digital wave.

It is as if some black-robed man with a curly white wig slammed down the gavel and proclaimed, “All men witnesseth that heretofore law shall no longer move like a snail, but rather shall transpire at the speed of light!”

In 2000, Congress actually made such a proclamation; it passed a law making electronic documents and electronic signatures valid in almost every legal fact, except wills, certain trusts, and some relatively esoteric commercial transactions.Continue Reading Florida Real Estate Law Meets The Digital Age: Are Electronic Documents Valid?

Many home sellers mistakenly consider an “AS IS” sales contract as a release from liability for all faulty or defective conditions on the sale of a home. However, under the landmark case of Johnson v Davis, 480 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1985) the Florida Supreme Court took a different view.

Florida Supreme Court’s View on “AS IS”

In Johnson, the Florida Supreme Court effectively changed the law in Florida holding that where a seller of a home knows of facts materially affecting the value of the home which are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer, the seller is under a duty to disclose those facts to the buyer.

The effect of Johnson does not make a seller of a home a warrantor of the good condition of the home. Slitor v Elia, 544 So. 2d 255 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989). However, recognizing that in the sale of a home, full disclosure of material facts must be made wherever elementary fair conduct demands it, caveat emptor (or let the buyer beware) is not the rule in Florida residential transactions. Therefore, in the sale of a home, if a seller knows something that materially affects the value of the home which is not readily observable, it must be disclosed. Otherwise, the seller may be subject to various fraud claims or breach of contract claims by the buyer.

But my contract expressly states “AS IS”Continue Reading When Is “AS IS” Not Really “AS IS”?

Tuesday night’s sold out Market Watch 2016 event was held at the Harborside Event Center with over 1,100 attendees and featured presentations from real estate experts Randy Thibaut, Denny Grimes, and Stan Stouder.

Mr. Thibaut announced a 44% increase over the last year in building permits for Lee, Collier, and Charlotte Counties. Importantly, he reminded attendees that a large portion of the permits were apartment and assisted living units, which have been “white hot” in Southwest Florida lately. In fact, the Lee County apartment market is one of the best in the nation and has increased eight fold from 2014 to 2016, according to Mr. Stouder’s statistics.

Increase in Multi-Family Housing Continue Reading Market Watch 2016: “Tapping the Brakes on the Real Estate Market” in Southwest Florida

On January 21, 2016, Certified Commercial Investment Members (“CCIM”), Southwest District, held its 16th Annual Commercial Real Estate Outlook Conference at the Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers, Florida. The annual event was well attended and full of positive projections from local leaders regarding market trends for Southwest Florida’s real estate industry. Land Use Attorney Austin Turner and Real Estate Attorney Michael Lehnert attended and provide the following recap:

The Mayor’s Inside Look at Downtown Fort Myers

The program began with the City of Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson providing an “inside look” at downtown. He explained that our community is postured for many robust real estate opportunities in the next decade, such as the development of its urban infill areas. Mayor Henderson seemed confident that the real estate market, both on a statewide and local level, “is back.” He stated that Fort Myers has recently issued permits for private development that will result in $450 million invested into the downtown area. The Mayor also stated that Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW’s) new baseball stadium and potential basketball arena will positively influence the community’s youth.

The Macro Outlook of Florida’s Real Estate MarketContinue Reading Southwest Florida Real Estate Industry Leaders Say “We’re Back”

Effective February 16, 2016, recent changes to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (“FIRPTA”) will require many buyers to withhold 15% of the purchase price when purchasing interests in real property from foreign sellers.

For those of you who don’t know, FIRPTA is a federal act requiring “foreign persons” to pay income tax on the amount realized from selling an interest in U.S. real property. When someone buys an interest in U.S. real property from a foreign person, FIRPTA requires the buyer to withhold a certain percentage of the purchase price to ensure the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) receives its share of taxes from the transfer. While the current laws and regulations require a buyer to withhold 10% in most instances, starting February 16, 2016, FIRPTA will require many buyers to withhold 15% of the amount realized by the foreign seller.Continue Reading FIRPTA Withholding Increase for Real Estate Buyers

If you own or are planning to buy a home in a “CDD” and aren’t sure what that means, this post is for you. A community development district, often referred to as a “CDD,” is a special purpose unit of local government created under Florida law, for purposes of financing, constructing, operating and maintaining community-wide infrastructure, improvements and services for the benefit of the properties within its boundaries. Examples of some of the types of improvements that might be included within a CDD are stormwater management systems, conservations areas, roadways, street lighting, and landscaping. Some CDD’s also own and operate utilities and recreational facilities such as clubhouses, swimming pools, and parks.

How does a Community Development District Operate?Continue Reading Understanding Home Ownership in a Community Development District

In 2011, Florida enacted section 252.363, Florida Statutes, a law which grants certain permits and authorizations an extension for the amount of time a declared state of emergency was in effect, plus an additional 6 months.

Important Executive Orders

Following Governor Scott’s recent declarations of emergency, many throughout Southwest Florida now have an opportunity to extend the expiration dates of their permits. On August 28, 2015, following the threat of Tropical Storm Erika, Governor Scott declared a state of emergency in Executive Order 15-173 which applied to the entire state of Florida and will last until October 27, 2015. Previously, on August 6, 2015, Governor Scott had also declared a state of emergency for Dixie, Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, and Taylor Counties that will last until October 5, 2015.

What does this mean for you?Continue Reading The clock is ticking if you want a permit extension under this Florida law