Fund News and Alerts

RECs Host Realtor® Roundtables

In late Spring the Attorneys’ Real Estate Council of Palm Beach County and Broward Attorneys’ Real Estate Council hosted Real Estate Round Tables for members of RWorld, the Realtors® of Broward, Palm Beach & St. Lucie.  The events featured ten tables, each focused on a unique topic and hosted by one or two real estate attorneys.  Multiple rounds lasting twenty minutes provided agents the opportunity to sit with an experienced attorney and discuss the issues they cared most about.

07/03/2024

The Jacksonville Area Real Estate Council organized a road trip in April to the Wildlight development in Nassau County, along with real estate agents seeking their Wildlight Certified Realtor® designation.  REC Members enjoyed lunch and networking with Realtors®, the developer and approved builders at Rayonier’s headquarters.  They heard a presentation on the neighborhoods and amenities planned for this 24,000-acre development along the St. Mary’s River separating Florida and Georgia.  Attendees were able to grab a pint at Mocama Brewing, the onsite craft brewery and then take a trolly ride through the development.

07/03/2024

The Florida ARECs Realtor® Education Library Guide has been updated to include a number of new 
programs, including:

07/03/2024

As Florida has embraced technological advancements in the notarial process by allowing online notary publics to perform remote online notarization (RON), certain scenarios recur for Fund Members, leading to questions about Fund Underwriting approval requirements. The most frequent questions posed by Fund Members involve the requirements for Fund Underwriting RON approval when the signer is a foreign national. These situations require additional analysis as opposed to scenarios where the signer is a United States citizen. 

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07/01/2024

By Rene’ Rutan, REC Relations Manager, The Fund & Florida ARECS

"Homeownership promotes stability and healthy outcomes, builds intergenerational wealth, and ultimately is fundamental to America's promise of opportunity,” said Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner Julia Gordon in HUD’s press release celebrating this year’s National Homeownership Month.

06/12/2024

Title insurers are routinely called upon to insure loans on property before, during, and after construction. The priority of the loan is of paramount importance to the lender in every instance. Florida’s Construction Lien Law, Sec. 713.13, F.S., contains the concept of the notice of commencement. The notice of commencement marks the beginning of construction and establishes a single point in time to which any liens filed against the property relate back. A notice of commencement is valid for one year (or longer if so provided). Its primary purposes are to create an equal playing field for all who work on a project and eliminate disputes over the priority of lienors’ claims filed at various times during construction. A notice of commencement can create a challenge to the loan priority if it is recorded and unexpired prior to a mortgage in a current loan transaction. 

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06/03/2024

You Can Do It All! Close Seamlessly with Fund Integrations Using your closing software’s built-in Fund integrations saves you precious time and eliminates the need to navigate to different screens to perform a task. Place and import orders, CPLs and jackets, and submit and pay policies seamlessly. Learn how!

06/03/2024

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) settlement prompted significant changes that have impacted the entire real estate industry. Use these resources to help you navigate the changes and ultimately grow your business.  If you have questions (and who doesn’t), sign up for one of our FREE 30 min. Q&A Zoom Meetings with Shannon Widman, Fund Deputy General Counsel!

06/03/2024

Fund Members should be aware of a requirement to include government-issued photo identification (IDs) with electronically submitted deeds in Lee County effective June 1, 2024. Florida Statute 28.2225 created the Title Fraud Prevention Through Identity Verification Pilot Program in Lee County for the purposes of assisting law enforcement to verify the parties engaged in a property-related transaction

05/30/2024

This 2-hour FREC-accredited program provides a deep dive into changes in condominium law since the Surfside collapse. Agents will learn what they need to do to avoid liability when representing a buyer or seller in a condominium transaction.

05/28/2024