Listen to this post

My colleague, Sharon Zuccaro, previously blogged about Tips to Avoid Common Mistakes on Florida Homeowner Association (“HOA”) Disclosures. As Sharon pointed out, sellers of homes within HOAs are not required to deliver copies of the HOA’s governing documents to purchasers, but are required to provide a Disclosure form. The Condominium Act provides different disclosure requirements for non-developer sellers of condominium units.

Disclosure Required

The buyer of a condominium unit from an individual is entitled to receive copies of certain governing documents at the seller’s expense, if the buyer so requests in writing.  If such request is made, the buyer may cancel the contract for the sale of a condominium unit within 3 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays after the contract was executed by the buyer and the buyer has received a current copy of the declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and rules of the association, a copy of the most recent year-end financial report and frequently asked questions and answers document, and a copy of the condominium governance form prepared by the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes.

Continue Reading Required Disclosures to Buyers of Resale Condominium Units in Florida

The Board of Lee County Commissioners is set to consider proposed changes to county impact fees for schools, regional and community parks, EMS and fire services. The Board will hear the item at its regularly-scheduled public hearing on April 10th at 9:30 a.m. in Commission chambers.

You can access the impact fee studies on the county’s Department of Community Development website at www.lee-county.com/dcd/. Highlights of the studies include:

  • A decrease in school impact fees of 5%
  • An increase in fire impact fees for retail and office uses
  • A decrease in fire impact fees for all other uses
  • An increase in regional park impact fees of 5%
  • A decrease in EMS impact fees for all uses except warehouse and motel/hotel uses

For all those interested in this often controversial matter, tune in or show up to the April 10th meeting to voice your opinions or observe the Board’s actions on these proposals.

George Wheeler is a 30 year employee with the Florida Department of Revenue. He currently serves as IDP Administrator in Classified Use Administration. His responsibilities as Senior Appraiser at DOR include the areas of agriculture/greenbelt, conservation, and working waterfront.

Since a recent article in the Florida Land Development News about property taxation and potential exemptions, we have received numerous questions about the treatment of conservation lands for ad valorem taxation. We first ran into this issue some time ago, and had the pleasure of working with George Wheeler with the Florida Department of Revenue to determine the best option for the landowner in that case. For this blog post, we imposed on George again and he was kind enough to chat with us about this rather misunderstood area of property taxation.

Continue Reading Thoughts on Ad Valorem Assessment of Conservation Lands: A Conversation with George Wheeler

Not only have single family home prices increased, but inventory has decreased, spurring an increase in lot purchases in anticipation of new home construction. The return of single family home construction in Cape Coral will result in new jobs, increased wealth into the area and improvement in the economy.

The median sales price for Cape Coral and Fort Myers single family homes increased 20%, comparing November 2011 with November 2010 figures, according to the Florida Sales Report. 

Continue Reading Cape Coral, Florida, Looking Brighter: Real Estate Market Improving

Listen to this post

Margo D. Beller of CNBC reported last month about a congressional bill introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (New York), and Senator Mike Lee  (Utah), aimed at attracting foreign investment to the U.S. housing market in another legislative effort to jumpstart the U.S. sputtering economy. The Visa Improvements to Stimulate International Tourism to the United States of America Act, or VISIT-USA Act (S.1746), could help move the inventory of unsold homes in the U.S. by offering foreign purchasers of U.S. homes a renewable three-year “homeowner’s visa.” It could further serve to accelerate the U.S. economic recovery by generating additional consumer spending and tax receipts. “X” Visas: Real Estate Investments of $500,000 or More Would Qualify The VISIT-USA Act upon enactment would establish an X (non-immigrant) visa (renewable every three years) for foreign investors, and their accompanying spouse and children, who invest and maintain a total of $500,000 in U.S. residential real estate, of which at least $250,000 must be invested in a primary residence where the investor resides for a minimum of 180 days per year. Investors could rent any other properties, aside from the $250,000 primary residence, purchased to reach the required investment amount. The 180-day residency requirement is intended to make investors subject to federal and property taxes. The bill also would make investors ineligible to receive any type of public assistance. “W” Visas: Canadian Retiree Visa The bill also aims to encourage Canadian tourism to the U.S. by establishing a W (non-immigrant) visa for Canadian citizens over 50 years of age (and their accompanying spouse and children) who own a U.S. residence or rent a U.S. accommodation for the duration of their stay. These visas would be renewable every three years with a maximum authorized period stay of 240 consecutive days. How Would Southwest Florida Benefit? Southwest Florida is currently a favorite destination for many Canadian, German and South American visitors who like to vacation in the U.S. However, most of these can only travel to the U.S. as visitors, with a maximum stay under U.S. immigration law ranging from 90 days to six (6) months. These time limitations dissuade some visitors from purchasing vacation homes in the U.S. This bill would open the door for these individuals to further invest in the communities they vacation in. Additionally, many Canadian visitors who don’t remain in the U.S. for longer periods of time due to the current six (6) month limitation on their stay as visitors would be able to remain in the U.S. for up to 240 consecutive days. But Wait, There’s More! The VISIT-USA Act would also amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide qualifying nationals of China (PRC) with a five-year multiple entry/exit visitor visa. Most countries have reciprocal agreements with the U.S. that provide for up to a 10-year multiple entry visa. However, Chinese nationals are currently required to apply for a new visa every year. The bill also seeks to create incentives for foreign visitors to visit the United States during low peak seasons by directing the Secretary of State to offer, for a fee, premium processing of visitor visa applications, and decrease non- immigrant visa applications and issuance fees in selected countries when there is a low demand for visitor visas from such countries. What’s Next? The bill is currently before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. You can track its progress at www.govtrack.us.

Does the recording of a Notice of Commencement signed by the Landlord affect the Landlord’s rights under a previously recorded Notice of Lien Prohibition? The answer, of course, is: “it depends.” 

A “Notice of Lien Prohibition” is a tool sometimes available to landlords that prohibits contractors and materialmen from placing a lien on the landlord’s underlying fee interest to space that has been leased to a tenant, when a tenant has made improvements on the space but failed to pay the the contractor and/or materialman in full. This tool is available under Section 713.10 (2)(b) of the Florida Statutes, which provides the following protection for landlords:

The interest of the lessor shall not be subject to liens for improvements made by the lessee when:

1. The lease, or a short form or a memorandum of the lease that contains the specific language in the lease prohibiting such liability, is recorded in the official records of the county where the premises are located before the recording of a notice of commencement for improvements to the premises and the terms of the lease expressly prohibit such liability; or

2. The terms of the lease expressly prohibit such liability, and a notice advising that leases for the rental of premises on a parcel of land prohibit such liability has been recorded in the official records of the county in which the parcel of land is located before the recording of a notice of commencement for improvements to the premises, and the notice includes the following:

a. The name of the lessor.

b. The legal description of the parcel of land to which the notice applies.

c. The specific language contained in the various leases prohibiting such liability.

d. A statement that all or a majority of the leases entered into for premises on the parcel of land expressly prohibit such liability.

Steps to Take for Protection

To minimize the risk of a lien being placed on the landlord’s fee interest to rental property for 

Continue Reading Liens on Leasehold Interests – Landlords Beware

Listen to this post

Security must keep pace with technology. We experience it first-hand. Remove your shoes, jacket, liquids and electronics. Place them on the conveyor belt, and proceed to the body scanner. But wait, this seems odd – I’m heading into my real estate closing, not the airport, right? 

Fortunately, real estate transactions do not command the physically invasive security measures that accompany aviation, but the gap may be narrowing slightly based upon recent alerts. National and local title insurance underwriters and The Florida Bar have recently published alerts in reaction to the latest fraud scam affecting real estate transactions – the weapon of choice is the Smartphone.

How It Works

Continue Reading Fraud Scam with Smartphone Endangers Real Estate Transactions

Listen to this post

D. Michael Burke left his career of 15 years in Ohio as the owner of a computer hardware servicing company, to grow into one of the top producing real estate agents in Southwest Florida. Michael has become the “voice of real estate” in Lee County, Florida through his weekly featured column in the Fort Myers News-Press Saturday’s Home Finder section, and his own publication with 20,000 subscribers “The Coconut Point Press” which features local real estate market trends in Southwest Florida. D. Michael Burke is a licensed real estate agent with Keller Williams Elite in Bonita Springs.

Michael believes that there is no reason why homes should not sell in the current real estate market.  In the last couple of years, the market in Southwest Florida has shown clear signs of stabilizing with the number of closed sales rising each month and lower inventory levels. So, as we conclude 2011, we would like to share D. Michael Burke’s top home selling tips for sellers to effectively sell their properties. The following are Michael’s best home selling tips, listed in the order of priority from highest to lowest:

Continue Reading The Best Home Selling Tips of 2011: Q&A With Realtor D. Michael Burke

Listen to this post

Florida’s Construction Lien Law is intended to provide a balance of protections for owners, contractors, subcontractors and material suppliers. Commercial landlords and lenders should be aware of recent changes to the Construction Lien Law which, in certain circumstances, have tipped the scale against their interests.

One of the most common problems faced by a commercial landlord is when a tenant’s contractor (or a subcontractor, supplier or laborer) records a construction lien against the landlord’s interest in the property. Such lien encumbers or “clouds” the landlord’s title to the property and can prevent the sale or refinancing of the property. It can also create a default under the landlord’s mortgage.

Continue Reading Recent Changes to Florida's Construction Lien Law: Commercial Landlords and Lenders Beware

Listen to this post

Often the 6 o’clock news highlights the plight of a homeowner fighting his or her homeowners’ association (HOA) because the association is enforcing a rule that the owner doesn’t like and claims to have been unaware existed. The rule was probably there all along had the homeowner read their association documents. Also in the course of everyday conversations in this economy, homeowners who have fallen behind on their assessments are asking, “Can my condo/homeowners’ association really evict me for just a few thousand dollars I owe?” Following are answers to five common questions owners ask, often when it’s too late, about purchasing and living in a community association:

1.  Can my association really “evict” me for unpaid assessments?

Yes, although it is not an eviction, but a foreclosure. In Florida, condominium associations, by law, and HOAs, if provided in their recorded documents, do have a lien to secure the payment of assessments, late fees, interest and attorneys’ fees and costs of collection.

Continue Reading Top Five Questions About HOA/Condominium Associations