The 2011 Florida legislative session ended late last night and the Florida real estate market scored some impressive victories as everything was said and done.
Here’s a synopsis of some of the more important real estate changes:
Tax relief for non-homesteaded owners and first-time buyers – Voters in 2012 will get a chance to adopt HJR 381 which will reduce the yearly assessment cap on non-homestead property from 10% to 5%. It would also give anyone who hasn’t had a homestead exemption in Florida for three years a property tax discount of 50% of the home’s assessed value, not to exceed the median home price in that county. This additional first-time homestead owner exemption phases out for the property owner over five years while their Save Our Homes is phasing in. The measure also allows the Florida Legislature to prohibit assessment increases when property values fall. Currently, the Legislature does not have the power to prevent local governments from “recapturing” the tax revenues that Save Our Homes shields during a rising real estate market.
Continue Reading Florida Real Estate: 2011 Legislative Update
Tags: Florida, legislature, new laws, real estate
With all the short sales and foreclosures occurring in the Florida real estate marketplace, renters need to know their rights under the recently passed Distressed Condominium Relief Act. Otherwise, they might just find themselves at odds with their landlord and the units association.
While Florida already had one of the toughest 
As was expected, Governor Crist signed the Distressed Condominium Relief Act on Tuesday. The new law expands the powers of community associations when it comes to dealing with delinquent unit owners and makes it easier for lenders to approve bulk sales on foreclosed units. It also repealed the requirement that individual unit owners carry additional hazard insurance above the association’s policy.
Starting April 5th the federal government will begin offering financial incentives to hasten the short-sale process for eligible homeowners as part of the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program. Under the new guidelines, lenders and owners are provided incentives that will help them take advantage of either the short-sale process, whereas the borrower and the mortgage lender agree to sell the home for less than the value of the loan; or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, whereas the homeowner voluntarily gives the deed of the property back to the lender.
