Florida Real Estate Legal Questions

(1)Can we submit a purchase offer directly to bank's attorney? (already pre approved) Anyone can submit an offer, but if short sale is already signed and approved, then that contract has priority. (2)Are we eligible to receive any of the relocation assistance money if we sign the Non Owner Occupancy Certificate? Assuming bank has signed and the seller/landlord signs, you should be eligible (3) I revised their addendum and sent back to broker signed, but if owner doesn't sign and we stay on verbal month to month how much notice to vacate.  Assuming rent is paid monthly on the 1st, the notice must be at least 15 days prior to the end of any monthly rental period.  For example, they would have until May 16, 2013 to deliver a notice to quit effective May 31, 2013. ... Read More

When a HOA forces a homeowner to sell their home for the collection of unpaid assessments and their is a current mortgage who owns that mortgage?   Simply put, a 1st mortgage has priority over the Association assessments, and the Association foreclosure does not, in any way, affect the lien of the mortgage.  The ownership is also unaffected by the HOA's foreclosure. Is the HOA required to contact the mortgage holder (bank) and advise them of the sell?  They do not have a legal obligation, but the information is public record. What if the mortgage refuses to accept the sell from the HOA; what happens to the house and the homeowner?  The mortgage holder has no legal obligation to approve a short sale by the HOA, but if the HOA is paying off the lowan in full, the mortgage holder cannot refuse to accept same.  However, the mortgage holder cannot stop an HOA sale, and such sale does not affect the mortgage holder's lien (which can still be foreclosed).  ... Read More

When you say lease, I assume that it is in writing and you are not worried about proof problems to prove what the "lease agreement" actually is.  A lease, verbal or written,  is a present, possessory interest in land.  The death of the landlord is unlikely to have anything at all to do with the lease. Assuming that the lease is written, read the document.  The standard document usually contains a paragraph which may be titled something like, "Successors and Assigns" and say something like, This agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto, their respective successors and assigns." If you have any question, check on lawyers.com for a real estate lawyer in your area.  ... Read More

Mr Spenser, I couldn't  say whether there was any actionable fraud , misrepresentation, or other violation of law which would make your mortgage "illegal" .    In residential loan closings,  there is a disclosure document called a "TIL" or Truth in Lending Disclosure. This document would show all the details of the loan including total amount due and payments on your LOAN, but it would not include escrows, so it is possible that your loan payment amount went down but that your escrows went up. Most HARP loans require escrow as an obligation under the mortgage which doesn't  relate to the NOTE (the debt). Banks can and sometime do recalculate escrows so I suspect that  the actual cost of the ins and taxes increased. Also, I suspect that the Bank holding your old mortgage could have readjusted your  escrow which might have made your  total payment even higher if you had not refinaced. However, there may have been a Truth in Lending. RESPA violation or fraud, but this would require further examination of the closing documents and correspondence, etc. to determine. Today, major Banks' lending policies are highly controlled to avoid this type of misunderstanding, but if you think there was misrepresentation or fraud, you should contact an attorney. ... Read More

You do not list a city so it is not possible to answer your question.  If you want to know who owns real estate you should contact the register of deeds in the county where the property resides. This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies.... Read More

If your contract allows you to terminate the contract and receive a full refund of your deposit and you properly terminated the contract within the designated time frame, then your termination would be effective.  If you did not timely or properly terminate the contract, then you may have to forfeit your deposit if you do not wish to proceed. Your facts seem to suggest that the inspector was not thorough. Most inspectors have disclaimers in their contracts stating that their responsibility is limited to the refund of their fee. If the defects are of a nature that the seller appears to have intentionally concealed defects, then you should consult with a real estate litigation attorney in your area if the seller is not releasing you from the contract. The foregoing is specific to the law and procedure in Florida.  This response does not constitute legal advice as the facts presented are limited and unstated facts will likely impact your particular situation. This response is intended for general education only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please schedule a consultation with a local attorney for more specific and detailed answers to your legal issues.... Read More

You should not purchase commercial real estate without having a competent real estate attorney as part of your team.  There are numerous additional factors in a commercial purchase that need to be addressed. As to your specific question, it is advantageous from a liability standpoint to have the real estate titled in the name of a different entity than your publishing business. However, the publishing business would need to pay rent to the owning entity and sales tax on that rent would need to be paid.  Since you are renting out part of the space anyway, your overall situation should be analyzed with your real estate attorney to determine whether this is a prudent expense. The foregoing is specific to the law and procedure in Florida.  This response does not constitute legal advice as the facts presented are limited and unstated facts will likely impact your particular situation. This response is intended for general education only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please schedule a consultation with a local attorney for more specific and detailed answers to your legal issues.... Read More

In Florida your home is constitutionally protected from claims of creditors.  It is best to title the home in both names with the designation "husband and wife" after the names.  This creates a tenancy by the entireties and protects the property from any judgments against just one spouse.  It also creates a right of survivorship between the parties.... Read More

I need more information. However, I make the following comments and observations: Lenders don't even consider short sales unless you've got a signed contract. So, I assume you have signed contract*. If you've got a contract then you submit it to Lender for short sale approval application along with copy of the contract , hardship letter, financial statements, tax returns etc. Note: title companies sometimes can handle the short sale paperwork, however they are not permitted by law to negotiate short sale approvals. There really is little reason to close on short sale unless you can get some waiver or reduction in deficiency. *Important, any sales contract with buyer should have a short sales rider which specifically makes the contract conditional upon receiving lender's Short Sale  approval and which approval specifically waives Lender's right to pursue deficiency. Hopefully, your contract has this special rider, otherwise you could have a problem. Finally, you should seek legal counsel.... Read More

Dear Madam, Unfortunately, I need a few more details to answer your question. The most important is finding out how your late father held title (solely or in joint names) and whether he was married at the date of death. It's also important to determine if the property was his homestead. Assuming your father died unmarried, owning real property, with no will, the estate would definitely have to be probated to sort out who owns the property.   Charles H. Sanford... Read More

When the county holds the tax certificate, the certificate may be redeemed any time before a tax deed is issued or before the property is placed on the list of lands available for sale.  When someone other than the county holds the tax certificate, the certificate may be redeemed at any time before a tax deed sale.  The redemption period ends at the time of the tax deed sale.  Notice is provided by the clerk to address of the owner as it appear on the actual record of conveyance of the property to the owner.   ... Read More

Dear Ms. Knight,   Typically many attorneys ask to see the whole trust so they can see who has the authority to sell or mortgage the real property and whether the trust addresses that at all.  You may want to request that the trust document NOT get recorded but instead that a trust affidavit be recorded with only the pertinent language attached.  That way you should be able to keep private what you want to keep private.  I hope that helps but if I can assist you further, please feel free to call or email me.  My phone number is 305.854.0500.   With regards,   Cheryl Julien Kaufman, Esq.... Read More

You need to speak with a local consumer rights attorney.  There are various local, and state statutes that may protect your rights and a local consumer rights attorney will be able to determine which laws apply. Additionally, you should read over the agreement signed with the HOA, and determine what actions it can undertake and determine if it is acting contrary to the agreement. Most consumer rights attorneys offer free initial consultations to determine what options are available. This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies.... Read More

Sorry, I do not follow this description.  Probably is necessary to provide much more details and context.  However, in general, an attorney can ask for details such as price as a requirement for representing his or her client.  A realtor is not always necessary in a real estate transaction, although they provide valuable resources and expertise. ... Read More

A competent real estate attorney would ask you why you wish to transfer the property to your wife so as to inform you of the ramifications of such a transfer. For example, if the property is encumbered by a mortgage, you will likely have to pay documentary stamp tax and may be triggering the "due on sale" clause of the mortgage.  More information from you would be needed to determine if such a conveyance is in your best interest. Another benefit of involving a competent real estate attorney is that the deed and any related documents would be prepared and recorded correctly. The foregoing is specific to the law and procedure in Florida.  This response does not constitute legal advice as the facts presented are limited and unstated facts will likely impact your particular situation. This response is intended for general education only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please schedule a consultation with a local attorney for more specific and detailed answers to your legal issues.... Read More

The answer to this depends on what your declaration of condominium says about ownership and maintenance responsibilities for common elements. Typically maintenance and repair of any of the common elements are the responsibility of all of the unit owners, and not just a select few. Therefore all of the unit owners typically must pay assessments even if a maintenance work or item only affects building that houses part of the owners. This is similar to roof repairs as well. If the condominium was developed in phases or even sections it is possible that the declaration could provide for special assessments against  the unit owners in the specific phase or section. If you wish to follow up and ask more specific questions and provide more details and specifics, we can forward to you the necessary documentation to engage our services.  However, until that occurs, we cannot offer you legal advice. This is specific to Florida law and does not constitute legal advice as the facts presented are anonymous and incomplete. This is intended for general education only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. This should not be relied on and you must seek your own attorney client relationship. ... Read More

Technically yes, the lease is a binding contractual obligation of the owner and is an interest in the property. A new owner would need to honor the terms of the lease agreement after the sale. Of course, your lease agreement may have special provisions which could have a different result. This is specific to Florida law and does not constitute legal advice as the facts presented are anonymous and incomplete. This is intended for general education only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. This should not be relied on and you must seek your own attorney client relationship. ... Read More

I would need more details and facts before I can respond. You will need to identify any particular penalties and interest (I do not know what you are referring to when you say "Homestead penalties and interest"), and you will need to identify the nature of the lien on the property.If you wish to follow up and ask more specific questions and provide more details and specifics, we can forward to you the necessary documentation to engage our services.  However, until that occurs, we cannot offer you legal advice. This is specific to Florida law and does not constitute legal advice as the facts presented are anonymous and incomplete. This is intended for general education only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. This should not be relied on and you must seek your own attorney client relationship. ... Read More

Yes, you can put all names of co-owners in the grantee section. BUT, this may cost a little more for recording and there may be many reasons NOT to do what you are doing, or to use something other than a quitclaim deed, etc.    There are issues that should be addressed by an attorney before doing the transfer. If you wish to follow up and ask more specific questions and provide more details and specifics, we can forward to you the necessary documentation to engage our services.  However, until that occurs, we cannot offer you legal advice. This is specific to Florida law and does not constitute legal advice as the facts presented are anonymous and incomplete. This is intended for general education only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. This should not be relied on and you must seek your own attorney client relationship. ... Read More

Any Co-owner of a property have the right to seek partition of the property, which means obtaining a court order that the property be sold and the proceeds distributed to the co-owners. You should discuss this with a real estate litigator who can tell you the process and the costs. This is specific to Florida law and does not constitute legal advice as the facts presented are anonymous and incomplete. This is intended for general education only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. This should not be relied on and you must seek your own attorney client relationship.... Read More

If the directors of the Association have breached their fiduciary duty, you have the right to take action against them. I suggest that you contact an attorney that has experience in litigating against associations to get guidance on the process and costs of doing that. More practically, you might want to gather any additional members of the Association and discuss this with them. You might find that at the next election, board members can be replaced and a more effective and functioning board can do a proper review of maintenance requirements and assessments. However, many boards these days are struggling with the fact that due to delinquencies and foreclosures, they are not receiving the anticipated assessment revenue that is needed to support the full operating budget that they adopted. In that event, they have to decide how to most effectively spend the Association money and it could be that the items that you listed were not deemed a priority given the limited funds they have received. If you wish to follow up and ask more specific questions and provide more details and specifics, we can forward to you the necessary documentation to engage our services. However, until that occurs, we cannot offer you legal advice. This is specific to Florida law and does not constitute legal advice as the facts presented are anonymous and incomplete. This is intended for general education only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. This should not be relied on and you must seek your own attorney client relationship.... Read More

You should be entitled to bring various types of action for theft, conversion, embezzlement, etc. Whether you will be able to collect anything from this individual once you get a judgment may be questionable. I suggest you discuss this with a civil litigator as soon as possible. You may also be able to recover from any E & O insurance policy the broker had and possibly from any recovery fund that may be available through the state of Florida. This is specific to Florida law and does not constitute legal advice as the facts presented are anonymous and incomplete. This is intended for general education only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. This should not be relied on and you must seek your own attorney client relationship.... Read More

For residential property, Seller and their agent are liable for known conditions that they did not disclose to you.  You should contact a litigator that has dealt with nondisclosure issues previously. This is specific to Florida law and does not constitute legal advice as the facts presented are anonymous and incomplete. This is intended for general education only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. This should not be relied on and you must seek your own attorney client relationship.... Read More