Fund News and Alerts

Keep your motivation and marketing going with these helpful tips and suggestions. 

07/29/2021

On June 16, 2021, FinCEN updated (“Modernized”) the website for filing Currency Transaction Reports (CTR). The new look will likely confuse experienced e-filers the first time it is accessed. 

07/14/2021

True story: A closing agent received a spoofed phone call from a fraudster posing as the seller. The “seller” called to say that he had an issue with his mortgage lender’s payoff amount and said to expect to hear from the mortgage company. Soon after, an updated payoff statement was received with a slightly lowered amount due. The closing agent did not realize the wiring account number had changed and wired the payoff to the fraudster’s account. Read the article.

07/01/2021

When a Fund Member is handling a real estate transaction that involves a deceased owner, the potential for estate taxes is one of the many issues to be addressed. This is especially true for large estates, whether or not the deceased is a Florida resident. 

Under the terms of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (and subsequent amendments), any resident or nonresident dying on or after Jan. 1, 2005, is not subject to Florida estate taxes. Therefore, the focus of this article will be limited to addressing potential federal estate taxes during a real estate transaction.

Read the article.

 

06/01/2021

The Fund’s Underwriting department receives many inquiries from Fund Members seeking assistance with clearing trust requirements. Trusts can be complicated and often contain unrecorded terms and conditions that affect ownership of the real property interests held in trust. The purpose of this article is to introduce Fund Members to The Fund’s updated commitment clauses dealing with trusts and to explain why they are required and how the requirements can be cleared. With a little practice, Fund Members and their staff members can gain confidence in dealing with trusts.

There are three categories of deeds involving trusts that a Fund Member will regularly encounter — the Sec. 689.07, F.S., “as Trustee” deed; a land trust formed under the Florida Land Trust Act, Sec. 689.071, F.S.; and an express trust, either revocable or irrevocable, made pursuant to the Florida Trust Code, Ch. 736, F.S. The revocable inter-vivos trust, an express trust often used for estate planning purposes and to avoid probate, is by far the most common trust encountered by real estate practitioners.

Read the article

05/03/2021

By: Romy B. Jurado, Esq., Partner at Jurado & Farshchian, PL., and a Member of The Fund

The Sunshine State has long been home to a large number of immigrants. Immigrants altogether make up more than a quarter of Florida’s labor force, and one in five residents in the state was born abroad. Additionally, one in eight residents is a native-born U.S. citizen with at least one immigrant parent. It is no surprise that Florida is one of the favorite destinations for foreigners who want to invest in real estate. As a Realtor® in Florida, it is crucial to understand foreign investment in Florida real estate and how to do it properly.

04/01/2021

Most people are familiar with decanting wine but do not know that a trust can also be decanted. According to Merriam-Webster.com, the term “decant” is defined as, “to pour out, transfer, or unload as if by pouring.” That is essentially what decanting a trust is. When a trust is decanted, the authorized trustee uses their authority to invade the trust principal to appoint all or some of the assets of the original trust to another trust. The authority of a trustee to decant a trust has been recognized in Florida since 1940. (Phipps v. Palm Beach Trust Co., 196 So. 299 (Fla. 1940)). The power to invade principal in trust or “decant” was later codified in Sec. 736.04117, F.S.

Read the article.

04/01/2021

Fee simple absolute title is usually described as “the full bundle of sticks.” Often, in a commercial transaction, the seller does not have the full bundle of sticks to convey. Typically, at least one tenant has the stick of possession via a lease. A purchaser or lender typically requires estoppel letters from every tenant and the landlord in order to determine the status of their rights and obligations under existing leases.

Read the article.

03/01/2021

This article covers both Florida and federal cases involving homestead, Florida’s “legal chameleon,” for 2020. This article provides a brief overview of the homestead provisions of the Florida Constitution and a discussion of the relevant case law from 2020.  Read the article.

02/01/2021

By: Michael Rothman, Esq.

I heard from my favorite uncle last week. He’s found a property in Deerfield Beach, Florida, just up the road from where I am, and is ready to submit an offer to purchase. For the past 30 years, he and my aunt have lived the rent-stabilized lifestyles of Upper East Side New Yorkers and are finally ready to retire to Florida.  My uncle went on and on about having his own study and a “real” backyard to grill for friends, which I found strange because my uncle doesn’t know a soul in Deerfield Beach and tends to study nothing more than baseball box scores. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the south Florida barbeque season lasts about six weekends, what with the afternoon thunderstorms, oppressive humidity and the terror-inducing mosquitos. He’d learn soon enough.

09/01/2020