Real Estate Development, Sales and Leasing Industry Legal Blog

Every August Florida Property Appraisers will send out their TRIM notices, or Notice of Proposed Property Taxes, advising all tax payers of the proposed assessment on their properties. It is crucial for land owners to critically review this Notice and determine whether the assessment is fair and accurate, as the mailing of the notice commences a very short window in which a tax appeal must be filed. Very often these Notices are inflated to require payment of more taxes than should be assessed.

The county assessed value of your real estate should equal what the property would easily sell for in an arms-length transaction between a willing buyer and seller (Market Value). As often occurs, the true number that the local real estate market will bear is a lower number than what the county property appraisers value lists because properties are not impervious to natural variables that diminish value. If the property has been affected by a diminution in value caused by declining prices and market conditions, detrimental conditions (i.e. cracked slab, landslide, construction defects, condemnation, environmental problems), or other causes, the property owner should consider filing an appeal. Property tax appeals can be filed on any real estate including a home, ranch, vacant land, apartment building, commercial, industrial, or special use property.

Property owners are often shocked when receiving annual notices attempting to re-valuate their property because their property tax values often rise dramatically from a previous valuation (increases in value by 40% or more are not uncommon in some jurisdictions). This Blog post will attempt to answer two common questions we are often asked by Florida land owners: “How does the property tax process work and What can I do if I think my property has been over-valued by the tax man?”

Ownership of waterfront property is very desirable in Florida and often involves unique real property considerations.  When it comes to private waterfront property ownership, it can be difficult to distinguish where the private land rights cease and the sovereign land ownership begins.  As a result, a subset of real property […]

For well over a century, Florida’s Constitution has made the homestead exempt from the claims of creditors. Public Health Trust v. Lopez, 531 So. 2d 946, 948 (Fla. 1988). Florida’s constitutional provisions provides one of the most debtor-friendly homestead exemptions in the country, and debtors are permitted to divert substantial assets to the purchase of new and extravagant homes that can be shielded from creditors. Florida’s Unlimited Homestead Exemption Does Have Some Limits: Part I, 77 Fla. Bar J. 60 (2003). There are, however, exceptions to the rule. This blog post will focus on one exception: the creditor’s ability to collect on homestead property located in a municipality that exceeds one-half acre.

Recently, we encountered a case reminiscent of a typical law school real property class hypothetical. Our experience with its prosecution inspired me to write a refresher on the law in this area for our readers. Our experience confirmed how we likely stood up in class and answered as a 1L- one spouse cannot transfer ownership of the marital homestead away from the other spouse without notice and permission from both spouses.

By Austin Calhoun, J.D. 2013

It takes on average 600 days for a party to litigate a foreclosure through trial in Florida. Successful summary judgment motion practice may squeeze that time down to as little as 180 days. Even better, under the proper conditions, a diligent plaintiff can shorten foreclosure time down to less than 60 days by properly utilizing Florida Statute 702.10. If you’re interested in bypassing the foreclosure log-jam to obtain a speedy foreclosure – read on.

A tax deed is a written instrument which transfers title to real property from the nonpayment of property taxes. Black’s Law Dictionary (9th ed. 2009). Tax collection, tax deed sales and tax liens are governed in Florida by Chapter 197 of Florida Statutes and specifically section 197.522 illustrates the validity […]

Many people believe that by virtue of holding ownership of a property, the owner may convey the property as they wish. This is not always the case when an individual is married. A home may be owned by only one spouse. The owner of the home may choose to sell or convey the marital home to another individual, without the consent of his or her spouse. In situations such as these, the spouse who failed to give consent, or the “non-joined” spouse, may have a claim invalidating the conveyance through claiming the homestead exemption.