Florida Realtors Legal News
Legal News Archive
Gov. DeSantis announced the SecureFlorida Portal – a site where foreign principals who must register ownership under a new law can do so before the Dec. 31 deadline.
Florida Realtors VP Juana Watkins urged patience in a Thur. webinar, which is now available online. The decision might have an impact but the process will take years.
Tracy Kasper calls the ruling “disappointing, (but) just one chapter in a longer legal process.” She answers some key questions, including: How does this affect my business?
Under SB 264, property owned by foreign principals used for “bona fide agricultural purposes” must be registered, and it can now be done online.
The Florida Department of Agriculture proposed wording is an ownership-reporting rule if residents of select foreign countries already own or inherit land in Fla.
The Florida Real Estate Commission has proposed wording for a new rule that includes affidavit forms that buyers must sign at closing.
If a seller’s home has solar panels, they should research how those panels could impact their transaction before going under contract.
Forged deeds, driver’s licenses, titles, etc., continue to grow as real estate-theft scams, in part because the tactic often works and, when it does, nets a criminal hundreds or thousands of dollars in fake real estate sales. They even have a name now: Title Pirates.
In a nutshell: Unless a contract states that a copy of an escrow deposit must be sent to the seller, a buyer or their agent has no legal obligation to do so.
It isn’t always a simple answer. A contract may offer advice, but buyers can sue for “specific performance.” And it’s not just the house – agents representing the buyer and/or seller may also deserve compensation.