Fund News and Alerts

By Michael Rothman, Esq., The Fund’s Legal Education Manager

Every real estate professional involved in a transaction with an out-of-town seller can relate to the dread of opening a FedEx envelope supposedly containing the fully executed deed, only to find that the seller signed in the wrong place, there are no witnesses, and the notary’s commission expired last month. Or, of the seller traveling abroad who missed her appointment at the local embassy, only to be told that the next available appointment won’t be for three weeks. Thankfully, with the advent of RON, the stressful days of “mailaway closings” may soon be a thing of the past.

By: Sebastian Jaramillo, Partner at Wolfe Pincavage LLP and Member of The Fund

Even though we are in the business of getting transactions closed and funded; on occasion, the deal falls through and we are left with the question of how to deal with the funds held in escrow. 

By: Michael G. Salmon, Managing Attorney at SalmonLaw PLLC and Member of The Fund

Liquidated damages ensure that earnest money deposits are central elements of real estate transactions utilizing the FAR/Bar residential sales contracts – the standard or “as is” contract (the “FAR/Bar Contracts”). As such, it should not be surprising that buyers and sellers have opposing motivations with respect to deposits. It is reasonable to expect real estate professionals representing buyers to get creative in protecting and/or recovering their clients’ deposits when real estate transactions go sideways. The route increasingly travailed by buyers, mortgage lenders and Realtors® is Paragraph 5(a) of the FAR/Bar Contracts relating to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Closing Disclosure delivery requirements (the “CFPB Delivery Requirements”), which come under the Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosure rule (i.e., TRID).

By: Shannon L. Widman, Esq. of Porath & Associates, P.A.

No one wants to see a good deal go bad. As a Realtor® your business plan survives on closed deals, not cancelled deals. Nonetheless, the more deals you do, the more likely you will, at some point, encounter the dreaded escrow dispute.

Listen as Melissa Jay Murphy talks with TitleTap's Dean Collura about how attorney title agents can market more effectively and easily.

By John St. Lawrence, Esq, Legal Education Attorney, The Fund

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) Loan Originator Compensation Rule went into full effect in 2014 bringing a subset of small mortgage lenders under a previously unknown level of federal regulation.  As a result some types of private mortgage financing are now too risky or cumbersome for many to contemplate.  This is unfortunate since seller and private financing are very popular and legitimate financing sources for intra-family loans, underserved communities and rural or non-conforming properties.

By: Marshall C. Deason, Jr., Board Certified Real Estate Lawyer, Older Lundy & Alvarez, Tampa, FL

In 1998, the Florida Supreme Court decided the case of Johnson v. Davis, which created a new duty for sellers of residential real estate.  In this case, the Court ruled that sellers must disclose any material defects in the property which are known to the seller and which are not open and obvious.  In the line of cases which followed over the next several years, courts ruled that the duty to disclose applies to real estate brokers and agents and that making a sale “AS IS” does not eliminate or limit the duty to disclose.  In addition, a buyer cannot waive the right to receive disclosure.

By: René Rutan, Real Estate Council Relations Manager, Florida ARECs

In 2010, Florida was the last state in the U.S. to approve the American Land Title Association (ALTA) 2006 Title Insurance Forms, which accomplished numerous objectives, one of which was to simplify the legal nature of the language.  Despite these efforts to simplify, title insurance still has its own language so let us help you understand what the title commitment is really saying.

By: Nomiki Zervos, Associate Attorney, Davis Basta Law Firm, P.A.

Transferring property can be both exciting and complicated. It’s not as simple as tendering the purchase price to the seller or changing the name on a deed. Before reaching the end result, purchasers typically find themselves amongst a midst of several charges and cash flows.  Amongst these is the documentary stamp tax.

By: René Rutan, REC Relations Manager, Florida ARECS

If you have been shopping for a new home recently, as I have, or working with a buyer who is, you have undoubtedly encountered the Community Development District or CDD.  Many large, multi-phase communities with lifestyle amenities are now relying on this method of funding development so it is essential that homebuyers and the real estate agents serving them have a full understanding of what CDDs are and how they work.