Fund News and Alerts

On May 21st, drones ruled the skies over the rooftop terrace at the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors®

The Attorneys’ Real Estate Council of Miami-Dade County and the North Dade & Beaches Real Estate Council got the year off to a strong start with their annual joint meeting on January 23^rd.  The annual event gives attorneys from across one of our largest counties the opportunity to network.  Manuel Farach, Esq., with McGlinchey Stafford in Fort Lauderdale presented his Real Property Case Law Update and Impact on Your Practice.

By: René Rutan, Manager, Events & Affiliate, REC & Realtor® Relations

After a year of historic real estate activity fueled by a combination of demographics and the pandemic, the Florida real estate market appears to be taking a pause.  Add to that, a flurry of interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve, to get a handle on the highest inflation in 40 years, and you’ve got yourself a good old fashioned economic slowdown.  While you may not want to celebrate that, it does present some opportunities to focus on aspects of your practice that you may have been neglecting – like Marketing.

This premier REC event attracts over 200 Realtors® for a full day of quality education provided by members of the Central Florida Real Estate Attorneys’ Council and others.

Florida ARECS hosted a special reception in Orlando on March 18th, which coincided with The Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section (RPPTL) meeting.

As part of the closing process, once a Fund Member has received a contract to conduct a closing and issue title insurance policies, the lender involved may request confirmation that the Fund Member, also referred to as the Closing Agent, is in good standing with their title insurance underwriter. This letter is commonly referred to as an Authorized Agent Letter. This article describes the Authorized Agent Letter and, if requested, how a Fund Member may obtain it. The request for an Authorized Agent Letter serves as a good reminder of the duties and responsibilities of Fund Members as title agents. This article also reviews some related best practices and procedures. Following the best practices ensures the proper measures are being taken during a transaction to help prevent any instances of fraud or a cloud on title from occurring.  
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You can now submit policies and pay premium invoices easily and electronically* via The Fund's integration in Landtech.

Generally, creditors have no recourse against a business owner for the debts of the business so long as corporate formalities, such as separate books and records, separate bank accounts, and proper capitalization, are followed. The corporate entity form is supposed to protect its owners from such liability. That protection is often referred to as “the corporate veil.” But if the company is merely an alter ego of the individual owners, and that alter ego was used to commit fraud, courts will permit creditors to disregard the legal separateness of the business entity from its principals and “pierce the corporate veil.”

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Florida’s homestead laws have been compared by legal scholars and courts to a chameleon “which changes color to accord with the background against which it is viewed.” Crosby and Miller, “Our Legal Chameleon: The Florida Homestead Exemption,” 2 U. Fla. L. Rev. 12 (1949). This article summarizes the 2022 reported state and federal case sightings of the Florida homestead laws, its “legal chameleon.” 

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