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Florida Homestead Exemption, Save our Homes, and Portability!
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Berlin Patten Ebling
Berlin Patten Ebling, PLLC is one of Southwest Florida's few law firms concentrating on legal, settlement and litigation services specifically focused on real estate and land development. We believe the key to an effective real estate transaction is extreme attention to detail, exemplary service, and frequent and continued contact with all parties. For more information or to contact us, please visit www.berlinpatten.com
buyer, florida real estate, Florida Real Estate Attorney, florida real estate law, Florida Realtors, Homestead, lakewood ranch real estate, Mortgage, owner's title policy, property deed, quitclaim deed, sarasota real estate, seller, st. petersburg real estate, tampa real estate, Title insurance, transferring title, Venice real estate
One of the most prevalent requests we receive as real estate attorneys is to prepare a deed in order to transfer title to a property. More often than not, a client will ask that we prepare a quitclaim deed (or, as many people mistakenly call it, a “quick claim” deed) on their behalf. For whatever…
‘Twas The Night Before Closing…
*’ Twas the night before closing and all through the house, not an issue was stirring not even a spouse. The deed and the mortgage were drafted with care in hopes that the couple would soon sign and share. The CD and Note were snug in the file, hoping to close the year-end in…
My soon to-be-ex Needs to Sign What?
Your friend of a friend from Michigan, Mr. Buyer, tells you he is newly retired, single, and ready to start the next chapter of his life in the Sunshine State, so he reaches out to you as his real estate agent to begin the property hunt. Two weeks later, he has found his dream…
When Estates Become Part Of Your Closing
We routinely get the frantic call from a realtor or closing party to address a title issue or incident involving a deceased buyer or seller, or even a prior party further back in the chain of title. Those inquiries come with the urgent questions: Can you fix it? Can it be done before closing? How…
Love Tax Exemptions? Don’t Forget to File!
Roses are red, Gators are orange and blue, it’s the season of love and applying for tax exemptions too! It’s that time of the year when new homeowners are settling into their homes, and with so many tasks and deadlines, it is easy for homeowners to forget about applying for property tax exemptions and discounts.…
Relocation to Florida: Looking to your Future, Leaving your Past
We all know about the snowbird, the retiree, the investor, the tourist who asks the question: how do I relocate to Florida, how do I become a resident? Beyond the weather and lifestyle, there are obvious reasons why people want to make that move, including the lack of Florida income and estate taxes, exemptions for property…
Homestead…The Gift That Keeps On Giving!
With the holiday season fast approaching, giving is on everyone’s mind. While finding the perfect gift for a loved one can be difficult, enjoying the perks of Homestead shouldn’t be. The Homestead provisions of the Florida Constitution are the State’s gift to the permanent residents of Florida. If you are a permanent resident of Florida…
Overlap between Real Estate and Estate Planning (other than the word “Estate”)
Anyone involved in real estate needs to be aware of estate planning issues that will likely apply to their real estate ownership and transactions. As you can see from the following list, there is a lot of crossover between estate planning and real estate, along with tax issues, and asset protection, among others. We have…
Renting Away the Florida Homestead Exemption
As most Florida homeowners know, the Homestead Tax Exemption (hereinafter the “Exemption”) is a valuable savings tool. The Exemption allows for a $50,000.00 reduction of a property’s assessed value and includes the Save Our Homes cap that limits annual increases in assessed value of real property to 3%. However, today many homeowners are attempting to…
Understanding Adjustments and Prorations of Taxes for Closing
Since we are fast approaching the date beyond which real estate taxes become delinquent (after March 31 of every year), now seems an opportune time to attempt to decipher for the parties to real estate transactions how taxes are accounted for on a Settlement Statement. We are encountering increasing numbers of bewildered buyers and sellers…
Homestead Deadlines
It’s that time of year where some contracts are still closing in 2017 and some are pushing into the new year. It is important for Buyers that are on the cusp to be aware of the January 1st and March 1st deadlines for the Florida homestead exemption. In order to receive homestead exemption, a Buyer…
Florida State Sales Tax On Commercial Real Property Leases Reduced Beginning January, 2018
Florida is the only state in the United States to impose a sales tax on rents. The State of Florida has imposed a sales tax on commercial rents since 1969. Currently, the tax is imposed at the rate of 6 percent in every county except Miami-Dade, which fixes the rate at 7 percent. The tax…
‘Tis Impossible to be Sure of Anything but Death and [Property] Taxes
Paying property taxes is an unavoidable consequence of owning real property in Florida. Each year, property owners receive a property tax bill reflecting applicable ad-valorem property taxes, as well as any special assessments imposed by a local governmental body. Property tax bills are issued in November and become delinquent on April 1st following the year…
To Wed or Not to Wed – Who Needs to Sign?
As most of us know, Florida law affords spouses significant protections, particularly when it comes to homestead. Homestead laws are fantastic and somewhat easy to follow when spouses are living in marital bliss, as our beloved Jamie Ebling will be doing from and after August 30, 2017. It is then that Jamie will be married…
Short-Term Rentals and Loss of the Homestead Exemption
The Florida Property Tax Exemption for Homesteaded Property provides valuable tax benefits to owners of real property in Florida. Homestead exemption tax benefits include a reduction in the taxable value of a primary residence, as well as a cap on any increase in the taxable value of the residence. Owners are frequently interested in renting…
Sales Tax on Real and Personal Property in Real Estate Transactions
Everyone knows that sales tax isn’t due when you sell a home in Florida, right? Or is it only sort-of-right? Or is it only sort-of-right-sometimes-depending-on-XYZ? Since this is a legal blog, of course it’s the latter. It is certainly true that the sale of Real Property in Florida is not subject to sales tax. Real…
Don’t Test Your Luck with the Tax Man
There was a Florida landlord, Whose rental income, he did hoard. The tax man found out, And called the cops about, And now the landlord has free room and board. -Dan Guarnieri, Esq. We are often asked whether or not sales tax is chargeable on different types of Florida rental property. As lawyers, we…
What you need to know about an action for partition in Florida
Florida law allows property to be owned individually, or jointly by several persons or entities. We are often called on to help resolve cases where joint owners of a property cannot agree on the management or disposition of the property. If the owners of property cannot resolve those differences through voluntary negotiation, they are sometimes…
The New Foreclosure Legislation is Now Law and Affects More Than Just Foreclosures
On July 1, 2013, many revisions to the Florida foreclosure statutes went into effect. While many of the new provisions are technical in nature and primarily effect attorneys practicing foreclosure law, the overall effect is a dramatic change in the foreclosures process and the rights of struggling homeowners. Also, most of the changes are retroactive,…
Dealing With Entities As Buyers In Investment Properties
As most of you are aware, more and more investors are coming to this area to invest in distressed properties. The result is an increasing number of short sale contracts in which the buyers are entities (such as LLCs) rather than individuals. Typically, short sale lenders require the seller to provide a slew of documentation,…
Another Reason to Complete Your Residential Real Estate Transaction in 2012
Beginning January 1, 2013, a new 3.8% tax on some investment income will take effect. The tax was passed by Congress to help fund the health care and Medicare overhaul. Recently, we have been receiving multiple inquiries regarding the new 3.8% capital gain tax and what impact it will have on residential real estate transactions. …
Foreclosure Update in Florida
Originally Published: 2/7/2012 Several Florida legislature bills, including HB 213, are attempting to make Florida a non-judicial foreclosure state, which would allow banks to foreclose on properties in certain instances without filing a lawsuit or otherwise using the judicial process. This may preclude homeowners from the opportunity to defend foreclosure, which many experts believe is…
Relocating During a Short Sales
Originally Published: January 31, 2012 Please be advised that the decision by any property owner to move out of their house before the completion of a short sale should be made only after considering the legal consequences of doing so and preferably after consulting with an attorney. Many short sale lender incentive programs (including HAFA)…
BOA’s Florida Enhanced Short Sale Relocation Assistance Extended to Dec. 12
Published December 2, 2011 Bank of America is still encouraging distressed homeowners to consider a short sale as a viable option for avoiding foreclosure, as the Florida Enhanced Short Sale Relocation Assistance Program has been extended to Dec. 12, 2011. This program offers enhanced relocation assistance to help encourage homeowners to engage with Bank of America on…
Lender Incentives
Some lenders are reaching out to borrowers with incentives in order to encourage them to complete a short sale. For example, Chase is offering sellers between $20,000 and $35,000 at closing (yes, this is true!). The HAFA Program allows qualified sellers who participate in the program to receive up to $3,000 at closing. Wachovia and…
Lower Property Value Does Not Always Mean Lower Taxes
Saturday, the Sarasota Herald Tribune ran an article written by Doug Sword regarding decreased property values with increased taxes for full-time Florida residents. The article read: “Last year’s decline will cut total taxes paid by property owners in the region by more than $100 million, but will also cut deeper into the budgets of struggling…
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