Fund News and Alerts

Real estate fraud is on the rise, posing serious risks to buyers, sellers, and other industry professionals alike. From forged documents to identity theft and wire diversion, the real estate market is facing increasingly sophisticated threats that demand heightened awareness and fortified security protocols. This article introduces a simple yet powerful framework: Don’t Be a ‘Fraud Magnet.’ Fund Members are the frontline in safeguarding closings. This article outlines a two-tiered strategic approach to combat real estate fraud: establishing minimum standards (SECURITY) and adopting enhanced, strongly recommended standards (PROTECT) to reinforce defenses against increasingly sophisticated threats further. Read the article

Join us online, Oct. 22-24! This class is designed for new real estate paralegals, legal assistants and other transactional real estate support paraprofessionals. Via live virtual classes and pre-recorded videos, you’ll learn the essential basics of transactional real estate legal practice including the issuance of title insurance policies, and how you are supported every step of the way. Register by Oct. 16  Register Today!

Join us Tuesday, October 21 (12:00 PM - 1:00 PM) ET Knowledge is power! Do you know how you are being targeted or the price you could pay for costly mistakes? Cybercrime is constantly evolving and threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated. This intermediate level course will improve your cybersecurity skills to help you protect your firm, yourself and your family from cyber threats.

This program will educate Florida attorneys on the various threats prevalent in the business world today: email deception, fake domains, social engineering scams, and various hacker techniques, among others. The program will explore real-life cyber-attack stories and will draw lessons from these tales, equipping Florida attorneys with strategies to safeguard their personal and professional digital domains. Register Now

By: Frederick W. Jones, Past President, Attorneys’ Real Estate Councils of Florida

Notice to Florida Residential Real Estate Attorneys – UPDATE

Re: Florida Realtor®–Attorney Joint Committee Appointments for the 2026–2027 Term
Deadline for Submitting Applications to The Florida Bar is October 27, 2025! 

The Attorneys’ Real Estate Council of Palm Beach County sponsored a novel event – Real Estate Professionals Night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on July 24.  

Fund Senior Manager, Legal Education, Michael Rothman presented Real Estate Agents Guide to Florida’s Condo Safety Laws Post Surfside to the Central Panhandle Association of Realtors® on June 10, and again to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors® on August 7.  

Do you save the day by saving deals? If you are, then you need to visit the Marketing resource page. We shared some of these resources at the Florida Realtors® Convention & Trade Show and you can too, so check it out today and add a little superpower to your marketing.  

As the saying goes, “death and taxes are the only two certain things in life.” This adage holds true in Florida, particularly when it comes to real estate transactions. The Florida documentary stamp tax, referred to here as the “stamp tax,” is an excise tax applied to certain documents related to real estate transactions, as outlined in Ch. 201, F.S. The stamp tax primarily affects real estate transactions in two areas — deeds and mortgages. However, there are plenty of other instances where the stamp tax can be triggered, which will be further explored in this article. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the basic principles behind the stamp tax, determine what documents are subject to it, and provide resources for further research. Read the article

Before you dive into closing software demos or pricing, think about how you do business.  Which features are essential? What functionality is “nice but not necessary”? What could improve your process?

The "Choosing Your Closing Software Buyer's Guide" includes questions to help you learn more about what each software offers your practice.